In big cities such as Beijing,
Shanghai and Guangzhou, surging real estate prices are seriously
troubling the younger generation. The question of housing impedes
their ability to love and follow their dreams, and it is
dramatically changing their philosophies and values, according to a
Beijing Evening News report on August 12.
Competing priorities: love vs.
security
One night in May 2007, 27-year-old
Li Tong called her best female friends to announce she had just
gotten married that day. The impassive, bashful words shocked her
friends, who couldn’t help asking, “But to whom?”
She married a Guangzhou native whose
parents had already prepared a house for him. “We’ve known each
other for five months, long enough to decide on marriage.” However,
Li Tong was reluctant to talk about her new husband with her
friends. They were sure she wouldn’t have married him so quickly if
it weren’t for that house, no matter how deep she claimed their
love was.
Love has become vulnerable in the
face of skyrocketing housing prices, in front of which love often
retreats, particularly in larger cities. The cost of real estate is
like a sieve, separating the men who cannot afford houses out of
the marriage pool and leaving them with few options.
Li Guogang is one of these men. He
works with a public institution in Hangzhou, and his meager income
is only enough to feed himself. He told China Youth Daily,
“When I first got the job, I was thinking that two months’ salary
can buy one square meter. But now, I don’t even think about buying
a house.” Li comes from a rural area, so his parents cannot afford
the initial payment for him. Even if they could, his salary is
still not enough for the monthly installments.
He is self-deprecating, explaining
that he is a man with no house and no farmland, so how could a man
without a career or home talk about love? He feels that girls today
are getting increasingly materialistic, putting their trust in
houses instead of love. So, Li refuses blind dates and has no
intent to date anyone at present.
Dashed dreams of city
living
Zhang Ze comes from the countryside
in northeastern China. After studying broadcasting and hosting in a
vocational college, he came to Beijing to pursue a career. Before
departure, he promised his mother that he would buy a big house in
Beijing so that she could live an easy life in the capital. “Urge
the kids to study hard so they can earn their college degrees in
Beijing,” he said to his two sisters, who pooled their resources to
prepare several months’ living expenses for him.
After arriving in Beijing, Zhang
realized that he still had a long way to go in order to make his
dream a reality. The competition in media was fiercer than he had
expected, and he found it difficult to find a job. Finally, one of his distant relatives
recommended him to a TV station and he got a job on the crew;
however, one month’s hard work could give him a salary of no more
than 3,000 yuan. Years later, he met a girl named Lele. They got
married and moved into a low-rent apartment in the southern part of
Beijing. One year later they had a baby, and his wife had to resign
to take care of their little son, leaving Zhang to support the
whole family by himself.
Then the government began
demolishing old buildings in southern Beijing, and they were forced
to move six times over the course of just a few years. Each time
they moved they were farther from downtown, but the rent continued
to climb. Their monthly savings in the bank couldn’t keep up with
the soaring housing prices. His dream of settling in Beijing had
been shattered.
When Zhang took his family back to
his hometown to celebrate the Spring Festival, he found most of his
classmates who stayed there were well established and lived a far
more decent life than he did in Beijing. It was not until then that
Zhang finally gave up his dream.
Is owning a house really that
important? “Absolutely,” Zhang answered without hesitation, “Now
I’ve got a wife and a boy. If we want to have a home in the real
sense, a house of our own is the last step to go.”
Difficult choices: house or
social life?
Zhang Yangyang, a single girl in
Beijing, began her frugal life after buying a small home. She was
forced to set rules for herself: No more new clothes, no parties,
less shopping, and stay at home more. “Sleeping is the most
provident activity!” she exclaimed.
Zhang cut herself off from the newly
opened fancy restaurants, KTV, and bars. She chose a smaller, less
expensive hairdresser and used cosmetics sold in supermarkets
instead of brand names. Once, she couldn’t stand the temptation and
bought a 350-yuan eye shadow on impulse. “I regretted it
immediately and felt so guilty! Then I forced a friend to buy it
before opening the package. I never expected that my living
standard would drop by such a large margin after buying the
house!”
“Before buying the house, I earned
4,000 yuan a month and spent most of it on things which turned out
to be useless. Now at least one third of my salary is spent on the
housing installment. Since I know where the money has gone, I feel
more settled.”
Zhang rides a bicycle to work every
day, and considers it to be the best sport. “My efforts cannot
match the possibilities the society has presented us. Now with the
time I used to spend entertaining, I’m studying a second foreign
language and reading books for work. I must work hard and grasp
every opportunity to get a promotion and a pay raise. I hope to
complete my installment in advance.”
“I hate to be called a ‘house
slave.’ Things can be viewed from different perspectives. I am not
only the slave of the house, but also its owner. Why do people
focus only on my tragic role?” Zhang is very ambitious. She spends
her spare time reading law books, and is preparing to attend the
committee of the owners once moving in, to fight for more rights
and interests for herself.
(China.org.cn by Lu Lu August 14,
2007)