usatoday24
It would be said that there are two very different “Chinese” in terms of aspirations. On the one hand, we have that imposing image of the nation whose cities accumulate the greatest multimillionaires numberthe country that attracts talent With salariesand that is even putting in check to the Almighty Silicon Valley wallet. And then there is the other China, whose labor crisis He is impacting on Many young peopleand the stagnation of domestic consumption is making a dent in the economy. For that “second” China, there is a space that is becoming a refuge.
His name is Chengdu, and not to grow.
Welfare refuge. I told it in an extensive report The New York Times. In the midst of a Chinese economy marked by the stagnation of domestic consumption, labor uncertainty and a growing political repression, Chengducity of the southwest of the country with more than 2,300 years of history, it is emerging as a symbol of a new youth aspiration: living better, Even if he wins less.
The payroll is not so important. Far from productive frenzy and the increase in housing that characterize megacities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen or Guangzhou, Chengdu has seen its population grow 30% in just five years, reaching the 21.5 million inhabitantsand its real estate market has become the most dynamic in the country, with a price increase 16.8% Since 2021.
The secret? A relaxed lifestyle, its flourishing artistic scene, its emblematic pandas And, above anything else, its low cost of life, a recipe that makes it a magnet for young people tired of the urban “grind” and eager to reconnect with a more bearable existence, without completely renouncing opportunities.
Disenchantment with the classic model. The Times explained That the decision to move to Chengdu is not only geographical: it is existential. The report counts cases of young people Like Emma Ma, That Beijing changed for an affordable apartment, a study of video clips and domestic help for $ 400 per month, or Treasure Wu, which left Shanghai after a “gray and oppressive experience”, cases that exemplify that generational turn.
Under this prism, the idea that long working hours and high salaries justify a life sacrificed in congested cities begins to lose strength in front of a narrative where everyday well -being It matters more. Chengdu, formerly considered a lazy or uninformed city, now embodies an answer to the other China that, despite its Technological modernizationfails to offer guaranteed social ascent that lived previous generations, at least NO TO A PART.
Reinvent yourself from the cultural. There is more, of course. He remembered the medium that despite offering fewer opportunities for professional promotion or competitive salaries, Chengdu has managed to capitalize on Your quality of life and its cultural legacy. As? From its huge LGTBQ+ community and its hip-hop scene to its bustling circuit of tea houses and Hot Pot restaurants, the enclave is perceived as a Oasis of expression and stability In times of uncertainty.
To this is added its growing relevance in sectors such as Digital entertainmentaudiovisual production and e-sports, with successes Like Ne Zha 2 or video game studies that have promoted the local economy. Historically linked to national defense for its Strategic locationChengdu could now benefit from the turn that Xi Jinping wants to print to the Chinese economic model: a commitment to key industries Like semiconductors wave national production Advanced, far from foreign dependence.
Thermometer of a national transition. If you want also, more than an urban anecdote, Chengdu’s boom serves as the thermometer of the internal tensions that policy to the second economy of the planet. On the one hand, it reflects a country that seeking balance between technological modernity and quality of life. On the other, it exposes the dissonance between An economic model Centered on export, which no longer yields as before, and the individual aspirations of millions that want much more than survive: They want to live well.
As They pointed to the Times Several real estate analysts of the nation, Chengdu has something as simple to understand as difficult to achieve at the present time: it offers housing prices according to salaries, a luxury unthinkable in other large cities (Not only from China, of course), but that perfectly explains why so many seem willing to assume less lucrative jobs in exchange for time, space and community.
End to the cult of sacrifice. Perhaps it is the last of the legs that should be analyzed. The Covid pandemia finished consolidating that transition. While Shanghai suffered endless confinementsChengdu It offered stability. What was previously judged as routine provincial It began to be seen as virtue. In Spain we also lived when we talked about Exodus and “Back to town”.
But there it has remained. Today, what Chengdu represents goes beyond his pandas or his historical heritage: symbolizes a form of Quiet resistance and pragmatic against systemic exhaustion of a nation that is redefining its own values. In the words of analyst Huang Xue to the Times: “In times of uncertainty, people want to enjoy life when they can.” Thus, in that silent desire, the city aims to become, not only in China’s happiest city, but also in its most clairvoyant mirror.
Image | Kristoffer Trolle
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