China's 'ant tribe'

China's "ant tribe" poses policy challenge for Beijing
“蚁族”向北京提出政策挑战

TANGJIALING, China (Reuters) - They sleep in boxy rooms crammed into dingy low-rises and spend hours commuting to work on crowded buses as part of a trend of poorer white-collar workers being forced to the fringes of China's wealthiest cities.

中国唐家岭——他们住在低矮昏暗小楼里的盒子间里，每天花几小时搭乘拥挤的公交车去上班。作为收入水平较低的白领的一部分，他们正逐步被推到中国最富有的城市的边缘。

Some say these struggling college graduates who swarm out of their cramped accommodations and head to work in the urban sprawl each morning are reminiscent of worker insects in a colony. Not surprisingly, they are often referred to as China's ant tribe.

这些大学毕业生每天早上从拥挤的住处蜂涌而出前往无限扩张的城区上班。有人说，他们让人联想起一个动物群落中的劳动者。不足为奇的是，他们常被称作中国的蚁族。

The growing ranks of 'worker ants' poses a policy challenge for Beijing's Communist Party leaders as high property prices and dim career prospects thwart the ambitions of many graduates for a comfortable middle-class lifestyle.

随着高房价和渺茫的职业前途给一心追求舒适的中产阶级生活方式的大学毕业生带来重重阻挠，逐渐增长的“工蚁”阶层给北京的党的领导人提出了一个政策挑战。

In Tangjialing, a dusty suburban Beijing village laced with dirt roads, college-educated software technician Kong Chao typifies the spartan existence of many such graduates.

在北京郊区的一个被脏兮兮的小路围绕的灰蒙蒙的村子——唐家岭，大学毕业的软件技术员孔超（音）是这群强悍艰苦的毕业生的典型代表。

"This is hard, but there's no other way," said Kong, 24, who is relatively fortunate as he has a toilet and cooking area in his cramped room and doesn't have to share with other tenants.

“这样的确很艰难，但是没有其它的办法。”现年24岁的孔超如是说。他算是相对幸运的，因为他的狭窄的租住房有厕所和一块儿可以烧饭的地方，而且不用和其他人合租。

Kong pays 550 yuan ($81) a month in rent, about 10 percent of his monthly wage. A similar room in a central area of Beijing would eat up most of his salary.

孔超每月要付550元房租，大约是他月收入的10%。而若在北京的中心区域租一处相似的住处，他的工资就所剩无几了。

"You see what a crowded city Beijing is," he said. "We younger people all come to seek work. But we can take it."

孔超说：“你看到北京城太拥挤了。我们年轻人都来这儿找工作，但是我们受得了。”

The rising number of graduates living on the edge of poverty in China's biggest cities could become a socio-economic challenge for the Chinese government, whose biggest fear is that economic stagnation could stoke discontent among educated urban classes, fuelling protests that challenge Communist Party rule.

在中国最大的几个城市中，生活在贫困边缘的大学毕业生数量的增长可能成为中国政府面临的几大的社会和经济挑战。而政府最大的担忧是经济的停滞可能激起受过教育的城市阶层的不满并刺激对共产党领导的抗议。

Although Chinese officials have sought to create a broad urban tier of middle class families with "well-off characteristics" nationwide, a lack of concerted policy action to tackle the proliferating "ant" problem could unleash potential political risks for Beijing in the coming years.

尽管中国官员已经设法在全国范围内创建一个宽泛的具有“富裕特征”的城市中产家庭阶层，但是，由于缺乏应对激增的蚁族问题的一致政策，这在未来的几年内的北京可能会引发潜在政治风险。

"When they're 26, 27 or 28, they'll say 'I need to buy a house', because that means eligibility for marriage," said Tom Doctoroff, a Shanghai-based consumer trends author. "If the time comes to get married and you can't buy, that causes anxiety."

“当他们26、27或者28岁的时候，他们会说‘我需要买套房子’，因为那样才有条件结婚”，上海的一位消费趋势作者汤姆-多克托洛夫说：“如果到了结婚的时候你还买不起房，会导致焦虑情绪。”

The population of 20-something graduates struggling to live on the cheap has been estimated by the state-run China Daily newspaper to reach about a million, with 10 percent in Beijing.

中国国营报纸《中国日报》的一项评估显示，生活在这种便宜出租房内的二十来岁的大学毕业生人数达到了约一百万人，其中有10%集中在北京。

PROPERTY CONUNDRUM
房产难题

Surging property prices have been at the crux of the problem.

猛增的房产价格已经成为这个难题的关键。

Over the past 12 months, cheap lending has ramped up real estate demand by families and speculators, causing prices to rise by around a third in some cities and turning the possibility of owning their own home into a distant dream for many young couples.

在过去的一年中，信贷低利率催升了家庭和投机商人的房地产需求，导致一些城市的房产价格上涨了约三分之一，并使得许多年轻人拥有自己的房子的可能性变成了遥远的梦想。

With China's property sector crucial for the broader Chinese economy, accounting for nearly a quarter of fixed asset investment, authorities have been at pains to balance the needs of economic stability with those of ordinary citizens.

房产业作为中国经济的关键部门，占了固定资产投资的近四分之一。当局已经在平衡经济稳定的需要与普通百姓的需要间下了不少功夫。

Provincial and municipal governments are being urged to provide more land for affordable housing, and recent indicators suggest China will tighten its monetary policies after opening the taps during the financial crisis, which could alleviate the country's property market bubble.

省、市政府被强烈要求提供更多的土地建设百姓负担得起的住房，近期的指标显示，在金融危机中开放的货币政策之后，中国将紧缩货币政策，旨在缓解国家的房产市场泡沫。

In January, property prices in 70 cities across China rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier. The eighth consecutive year-on-year rise added to worries of a real estate bubble.

一月份，中国有七十座城市的房产价格比去年同期增长了9.5%。连续八年的增长使房地产泡沫进一步令人担忧。

GLUT OF STUDENTS 毕业生供过于求

Since Chinese cities began booming in the 1990s and the workforce began to favor degree-holders over traditional state-run factory workers, people from poorer parts of China have migrated into cities for an education and then a job.

上世纪90年代以来，中国的城市开始迅猛发展，劳动力市场开始冷落传统的国有工厂的工人而偏向有学历的劳动力。来自中国较贫穷区域的居民已经向城市转移接受教育，以期之后找到一份工作。

China began expanding university enrolment in 1996 to meet growing personnel demands, leading to a surge of graduates over the past decade. Some 6.1 million students graduated last year, about half a million more than in 2008.

自1996年以来，为了满足日益增长的人才需求，中国就开始大规模高校扩招，导致过去的十多年当中毕业生数量猛增。去年，约有610万毕业生，比2008年增长了约50万。


"This is one of those areas where the government put in a package of policies that were well intentioned but didn't go all the way," said Bessie Lee, China chief executive officer with the media communications group GroupM. "They didn't look to see if there would be enough jobs."

对此，传媒公司M的中国区总裁李女士说：“在很多方面，政府基于好的出发点出台了一系列政策但是没有取得预期效果，这（大学扩招）就是其中之一。他们没有仔细考虑过有没有足够的职位。”

Due to the glut of job seekers and the financial crisis, companies in popular cities such as Beijing have slashed monthly wages from between 50 to 100 percent to below 2,000 yuan in some cases, workers say.

由于就业市场供过于求以及金融危机的影响，诸如北京等热门城市的公司减薪率高达50%-100%（100%的减薪率？），据一些员工透露，有些公司员工的月薪直降至2000元以下。

Some experts suggest the government should divert young professionals into second-tier cities such as Chengdu and Xiamen to take pressure off Beijing and Shanghai.

有专家指出，政府应当鼓励年轻的专业人员前往成都、厦门等二线城市以减轻北京和上海的压力。

LIVING IN FARM HOUSES 为梦想宁住农舍

For now, educated workers live in tiny rooms carved out of lean-to farm houses or in low-rise flats outside urban job centers because they cannot afford to rent a private flat.

目前，由于无法独自负担整套公寓，一些受过教育的工作人员租住在农村单坡檐屋开辟出来的小房间里或是城区就业集中区域外低矮楼房的套间里。

In the evenings in Tangjialing, whose population has swelled to 50,000 from 3,000 before the rise of "ants" about two years ago, tenants hang laundry, socialize at greasy diners and use cheap Internet cafes.

由于“蚁族”人数的激增，唐家岭地区的居民数量从两年前的三千人暴涨至五万人。每到晚上，租户们会晾衣服、在油腻的晚餐间相互交际，去便宜的网吧上网。

"They're mostly from other parts of China, so their parents aren't at their side to help," noted Mou Jianmin, who follows the trend as head of a cultural promotion firm in Beijing.

“他们大多来自中国其它地区，所以他们的父母都不在身边给他们提供帮助，”北京一家文化推广公司老板、关注这一趋势的牟建民这样说。

In Wuhan, home to a cluster of universities, recent graduates live eight to 10 in a flat in low-rise apartment buildings without heat or hot water, said Swedish-born Maria Troein, who studies and teaches in the central China city.

在高校林立的武汉，据一位在武汉学习同时教书的瑞典人Maria Troein说，刚刚毕业的大学生八、九个人挤在低矮楼房的公寓里，没有暖气也没有热水。

"I wouldn't call it desperation, but there's definitely some anxiety," she said.

"There's a dream. (But) the ant people really can't afford to have it," Troelin added, referring to the goal of middle-class prosperity many "ants" pursue amid the squalor.

“我不会称之为绝望，但是绝对有焦虑。”Troelin说。在提到这些“蚁族”在这样的清贫中追求中产阶级的富足的梦想时，她补充道，“他们都有梦，但是现在的蚁族真的无力负担他们的梦想了。”

With millions of migrant workers having been laid off from coastal manufacturing hubs during the financial crisis, Chinese authorities have been trying to create more jobs in China's less developed interior to absorb this surplus labor, with increasing numbers of workers choosing to stay at home.

金融危机的大环境下，沿海城市生产制造中心成百上千万农民工失业，中国政府已经努力在略欠发达的内地城市创造更多的就业机会以吸收这部分过剩劳力，但越来越多的工人选择留在家中。

One pressure valve, however, may be to encourage graduates to move to cities in China's hinterland where they would have a better chance of buying their own home and could contribute to the government's efforts to stimulate these local economies.

For now, though, in Tangjialing, many residents such as high-tech company salesman Li Xingshen, want to stay and claw their way up. Li recently traded a 200-yuan room for a more comfortable 500-yuan one with a private toilet.

But this modest step up is all he can afford for now.
"If I lived in an actual flat, that would cost 1,000 yuan, then I'm out of money," Li said.

然而，一个压力阀可能就是鼓励大学毕业生向内地城市转移，在那里他们购买自己的房子的机会会大很多，同时也有助于政府促进当地经济的发展。但目前在唐家岭，还有很多像高科技公司销售员李兴申（音）这样的住户愿意留在那里希望有出人头地的一天。李兴申最近从租金200元每月的屋子换到了一个月租500元有卫生间的房间。但是，这个住宿条件的小小改善是他目前能负担的极限了。他说：“如果我住在一个真正的公寓里，每个月要花1000块，那样我就没钱了。”

link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61H01220100218
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I believe it's not a unique phenomenon in China. For the group of people who don't earn a lot of money, if they want to stay in popular cities like Beijing or Shanghai, the prices are that they have to live in cheap places far from the center and spend much time commuting from their residence to work. It's happening in every major city around the world. Some of them are actually able to afford a better place, like Kong Chao in the news, but probably they want to save up for more; If they were willing to move to their hometown instead of struggling in Beijing, life would be much less pressure and much easier, I believe. But they made such a choice for themselves; so if they think it's worth all the trouble, it's good then.

I have two friends, who have bought a small apartments outside the 5th ring road in Beijing and the commutation (home to work+work to home) takes around 4 hours every day. They bought the apartment because they were tired of paying the high rent every month (this is their claim. but I guess it's probably because they want to settle down, relationship-wise. It is deep-rooted in Chinese people's mind that we need a house of our own when you are starting a family; and for male citizens, they have to take on more responsibilities. It's been taken for granted that it's the male role to buy the house, which seems quite unfair to them. But there was some strange survey showing that it's more difficult for female graduates to find jobs than males. Can this make up for the unfairness males suffer from the home buying issue? :-p

After the TV show 《蜗居》, the ant tribe has gained a lot of media attentions. I know what happened in the TV show, but didn't see it; I still don't want to see it now. In China, there are not many TV shows that can invite so much discussions and debates in society. But failed marriage, kind wife, mistress and her living-under-much-pressure sister, corrupted official, power-money deal, subtle love etc, I'm sure there are true incidents in real life, and that's not a small number; but in my opinion, this show magnifies one of the social problems to its fullest degree, no wonder the mighty SARFT banned it from TV stations. Well, SARFT made ridiculous decisions all the time, but I kinda liked this one. The show totally has a very bad influence on a number of people, like girls who are willing to trade their youth and good looks or whatever for money. Some of them take pride in it. In this society, we already have way too many awful values and moralities.

What I usually do is pretend to not see the problems and live with a big heart(seriously, there is basically nothing I could do about them), because otherwise, living becomes too depressing.