Chinese Graduates Seek Comfort in Temples Amid Employment Crisis

Wang is among the 11.58 million university graduates facing a job market still shaken by last year’s strict lockdowns and crackdowns in the technology and education sectors, which are traditionally key employers. Temple visits have increased by 310% since the beginning of the year compared to 2022, according to travel booking platform Trip.com. About half of the visitors were born after 1990.

A Challenging Job Market for Graduates

One-fifth of unemployed young Chinese belong to a highly educated generation, setting a record. Improving their prospects is a major challenge for authorities, who want the economy to create 12 million new jobs in 2023, up from 11 million last year.

“There is a serious surplus of university graduates, and their priority is survival,” said Zhang Qidi, a researcher at the Center for International Finance Studies.

The economy has been recovering since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in December, but hiring is mainly being done by the hard-hit catering and travel sectors, which offer low wages for unskilled jobs.

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The Burden of Degrees

Many young people have turned to social media to compare themselves to a century-old literary character, Kong Yiji, an unemployed alcoholic scholar from a 1919 story by author Lu Xun. Kong considered himself too educated to accept menial jobs. The meme went viral, with users questioning the value society places on education if it does not guarantee them a fulfilling career.

A 25-year-old graduate from the coastal Zhejiang province, who has applied for an average of 10 jobs per day since February, feels “limited” by her education. “I don’t believe I will ever find my ideal job,” she said, adding that she has consulted a psychologist several times due to her anxiety and depression.

Yang Xiaoshan, a 24-year-old economics graduate in Beijing, accepted a bank teller position after 30 interviews. She is relieved not to follow Kong’s unemployed fate but still feels unsatisfied. “It’s not that I despise customer service, but I think it’s a waste of my knowledge,” said Yang.

State-run CCTV criticized those comparing themselves to Kong. “Kong Yiji fell into difficulties… because he could not give up his scholarly airs and was reluctant to change his situation through work,” it wrote on the Weibo messaging app. The comment sparked angry responses. “Why, instead of helping private companies grow, do you blame the 11.58 million graduates for not taking off their scholar robes?” read one message that garnered over 300 “likes”.