When Ding Xuan spotted an opportunity to snap up a two-bedroom flat for less than her previous year's rent, she bought it over the phone as quickly as possible."It only came to me later that I should go and have a look at the place before actually moving there," she said of her new home in Linghai, in China's north.
Lying flat was a buzzword created by young Chinese who have opted out of the rat race due to increasing social anxiety and pressure.Li Chuang had a high pressure job in a Beijing publishing house. Then one day he quit and went to a monastery. He's never turned back.According to an online survey of 60,000 people aged 18–35 in 2023, about 12.8 per cent said they wanted to lie flat and 28.5 per cent of respondents said they wanted to lie flat but couldn't manage it.
"Women face a glass ceiling at work. When they turn 30, if you say you want to get married or have a child, you will be discriminated against in the job market," Ms Ding said. "They face a not-very-bright present — not to say future. And China's youth unemployment rate is very high," she told the ABC.
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