China: Young people leave big cities to make ceramics – 09/20/2023 – Market

“Now there’s no pressure,” says He Yun, a 28-year-old illustrator who moved to Jingdezhen, in eastern China, in search of a calmer life with a different meaning, away from the stress of everyday work in the big cities.

Just like her, many other young Chinese people, unemployed or tired of a life dedicated exclusively to work, go to Jingdezhen, the world capital of ceramics, to learn this ancient art.

The region with 1.6 million inhabitants became attractive for its cheap rents, slower pace of life and proximity to nature.

“I came because on social media everyone said it was a splendid place for craft lovers, like me, and that there was an air of freedom. It really is,” He Yun told AFP.

“When I was unemployed, I stayed at home”, but here “it’s easy to make friends”, adds she, who decided to move to this city after being fired from her old job.

Paying rent that is almost 15 times cheaper than in Beijing and Shanghai, the illustrator celebrates having more control over her time, in which she makes candlesticks and ceramic necklaces in a workshop with friends and then still manages to relax by the rivers in neighboring neighborhoods.

“I post my work on Xiaohongshu [equivalente ao Instagram na China], where people contact me to buy them. But I sell mainly in the markets”, he explains about his way of working in the new city.

“Looking for meaning”

Unemployment among Chinese youth has reached a record level, above 20%, according to official figures.

In this context, social networks have made Jingdezhen a refuge for those looking for the lifestyle called “tangping”, an expression that literally means “lying on your back”, but can also be translated as “renunciation”: giving up a great career or of money in exchange for a simple life.

The city has a ceramics school, Dashu, where many people invest in training that costs 4,500 yuan per month (US$615, R$3,000), a very affordable price.

“In two weeks it is possible to produce simple pieces and sell them in the markets”, says Anna, director of the school.

One of the institution’s students, Guo Yiyang says he quit his well-paid job as a computer programmer in March.

“In big cities all you do is work. You don’t have a life of your own,” explains the 27-year-old who “never again” sees himself working for someone else.

Chen Jia also had a similar motivation.

“I’m looking for meaning in my life. Many young people today don’t want to get to work at a fixed time,” says she, who arrived in Jingdezhen in June after failing to identify with her first job as a piano teacher.

According to the Chinese press, 30,000 young people lived in the city in 2022, but few remain there for a long period.