While Beijing attracts thousands of Chinese seeking job opportunities and a chance to realize their dreams, the high cost of living, especially housing rents, make the road difficult. Here we take a look at some of their stories.
While Beijing attracts thousands of Chinese seeking job opportunities and a chance to realize their dreams, the high cost of living, especially housing rents, make the road difficult. Here we take a look at some of their stories.
Gong Han, 24, at his bedroom in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Gong, born in Yueyang city at Hunan province, moved to Beijing in September, 2016, carrying only a bag on his back. Gong currently works as a fitness instructor at a Hosa Fitness club in Dongzhimen and earns a monthly salary of 4,000 yuan ($579). Unfortunately, due to a foot fracture not long ago, Gong was out of work and had to live in the club’s three-square-meter warehouse. Since he was unable to do anything, Gong spent his time on books and music. “I want to come and visit Beijing, which I have never had the chance to,” he said.
Yun Xin, 24, at his rental room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Yun Xin came to Beijing in August, 2016, after graduating from the Communication University of Shanxi in Taiyuan city. He moved with the belief of having more employment opportunities in Beijing, rather than staying in Taiyuan. He currently works at an auto-related company, earning a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan. Yun Xin spends 1,800 yuan per month on renting a single room in Shunyi district, Beijing. “I am quite content with my job and the rental room. I feel free here,” he said.
Zhou Wei, 28, plays the guitar in his room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Zhou moved from Central China’s Hubei province to Beijing two years ago. He currently works as a programmer, earning a salary of 12,000 yuan per month, and spends 1,400 yuan per month on rent to live at an apartment in Haidian district. Zhou has moved several times since coming to Beijing and said he sometimes feels disappointed with the rental houses he finds online looking different to what they are in real life. “It’s a bit lonely to live in Beijing. Since I have so much free time, I am used to playing the guitar after work,” he said.
Fan Yiwen, 30, on her bed in a rental room at Beijing. Photo: Chinadaily
Fan moved to Beijing from Zibo city, a region based in East China’s Shandong province,six months ago. She is currently employed as a sales director of a company, Bengege Recycling, and founded an international maternal and infant shop, ZHOME, which now has five branches. “I believe it’s very important to protect the environment, removing waste recycling matters in an appropriate way,” she said. Fan earns a 16,000 yuan per month and spends 2020 yuan on rent each month to live in a single room.
Xu Jingfang, 30, in a bathroom at her single room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Xu moved to Beijing in 2009, after graduating from the Hebei Tourism Vocational College in Chengde city, Hebei province. She currently earns around 10,000 yuan per month and lives in a single room without paying rent. The company she works for supplies Xu with the accommodation. “I often work as late as 2 am in the morning and I still could not complete my work. Having a nice sleep is what I want most every day,” she said. Xu wants to keep working and living in Beijing, and said her biggest wish was to own a house.
Liu Yan, 36, lies on her bed at the house she lives at in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Liu moved to Beijing in 2012, and currently works as a mermaid performer at Pacific Marine World. Liu and her roommate spend 4,000 yuan per month renting a room in Haidian district, Beijing. “I am content with my room, though the house rent is a bit expensive. It is, however, near my work place,” she said. Liu said she wants to continue to pursue her mermaid performing and diving job, based in Beijing, in the future.
Yang Wanping, 54, lies on a bed at a rental room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Yang and his wife moved to live with their son in Beijing in March, 2017, to take care of their grandson. The pair, from Shanghai, pay 1,600 yuan a month to live in a single room, based in Beijing, with their son, his wife and their almost one-year-old grandson. “We used to rent a room at a bungalow in Shanghai with a monthly rent of 500 yuan. The housing rent in Beijing is rather expensive,” Yang said. He added the pair will move back to their hometown in Wuhu city, East China’s Anhui province, when the baby is old enough to go to school.
Li Na, 43, at her rental room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Li moved from Yixian county, Hebei province,to Beijing in 2005. She currently works at a liquefied petroleum factory and guards vehicles in her community during the night. Li earns 3,500 yuan each month and spends 1,500 yuan a month to rent her room. “I guard the vehicles every night so that I can live at the garage without paying rent,” she said.
Liu Jiahao, 28, at his rental room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Liu and his wife moved to Beijing in July, 2016. The pair live in a bungalow room near a shopping mall in Beijing. Rent is about 200 yuan per month and the pair earn 5,000 yuan a month, engaging in catering work at the shopping mall. “The room is too crowded with our things and it’s inconvenient to go to toilets outside the bungalow,” Liu said. He added he and his wife dreamt of opening a restaurant in their hometown in two years, so they had more space to live in.
Shangguan Xuming, 54, at his rental room in Beijing. Photo:Chinadaily
Shangguan has been selling fruits on a road-side tricycle since moving to Beijing in 1991. He earns 6,000 yuan per month and spends 2,000 yuan of his earnings on rent to live in a suite in the south part of Beijing. Shangguan said he planned to open a fruit shop in his hometown at Henan province within the next few years. “The prices of water and electricity is especially expensive at the rental room, as we have to pay 1.5 yuan for each kilowatt hour of power,”he said.
Source:Chinadaily
