Stressed out white-collar workers are scaling skyscrapers, camping out on rooftops, smashing up restaurants, pretending to be children and even visiting cemeteries in a bid to relieve the pressure of modern life.
As the country's economy continues to steam ahead, once popular forms of entertainment, such as karaoke, card games and even boxing bars, appear to be losing their appeal.
Consider the members of Shanghai's Cat Rain club. By day, this group of young women works executive jobs, but by night they climb buildings so they can spend the night on the roof.
"It's a good way to release our pressure. You feel relaxed when you're sitting on the roof, looking up to the sky and chatting with intimate friends," said Gong Ying, 25.
The stress of work is not just limited to people in Shanghai.
A recently opened restaurant in Beijing encourages customers to smash plates - as long as they are willing to pay to replace them.
Though there has been some debate about the extravagance of such services, some psychologists say the activity reflects the desire of some white-collar workers to vent their angst.
Some workers even appear eager to return to their childhoods. This May, hundreds of people took part in a festival in which adults pretended to be children. It was an adults-only event, and participants could read comics and eat sweets all day.
Scenic places such as parks and rivers can also help people relax and put things in perspective. But a cemetery?
Cemetery companies in Shanghai organized visits to local graveyards for stressed-out workers in March. The participants were taken to quiet spots in the cemetery where they could contemplate life and their futures.
Roof-camper Chen Bin, an IT marketing professional, said she had camped out on a rooftop about 30 times. When she's not sleeping out under the stars, she also has several other adrenalin-fueled interests, such as downhill racing and paragliding.
"Pressure may bring us distress, but it doesn't mean we can't find ways out," Chen says. "Life should be imaginative."
(China Daily August 21, 2007)
