(Ecns.cn)--The term "ant tribe" has always conjured up a vision of young university graduates eking out a living in low-paid jobs and bunkered down in cramped conditions on the outskirts of cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
But now the meaning for this term may not be limited to recent graduates, as a scholar who calls himself Lian Si reveals in his new report on the living conditions endured by many young urban adults. In his microblog on Weibo, he charges that the "ant" population now includes those aged 30 and over, and its ranks are growing.
Compared with the young people fired up with fresh ambitions for their future, the pressure on "ants" swiftly passing their prime is even greater, and as it seems they can do little to help improve their situations in the foreseeable future, they are often choosing to accept the situation instead of escaping, or stoking their dreams of a better life.
Zhang Xiaosong was born in North China's Hebei Province and came to Beijing in 2005 after graduating from college. With only 800 yuan (US$126.1) in his pocket when he arrived, he squeezed into a room no larger than 10 square kilometers with a friend and remained hopeful about his future.
Zhang found a job selling computers at a basic salary of 500 yuan (US$78.8) a month, supplemented by sales commissions if he could move some hardware. Though the work was hardly satisfactory, Zhang never thought of giving up, in fact he set a goal for himself which was to learn how to open a store of his own.
"I often gave myself pep talks, saying that if I wanted to achieve anything I should expect to meet difficulties at first and bear up through the hard times," recalled Zhang.
After almost three years of hard work, Zhang's savings amounted to 60,000 yuan (US$9,459) and together with other two friends, they opened a store selling electronic products in Haidian District's famous tech zone, Zhongguancun, taking their place among many stores of this kind there.
Zhang sells mainly USB flash disks, but it seemed no sooner had he realized his dream of opening his own business that life turned out to be less easy than he had hoped. "To tell you the truth, I did not have a clear vision for my future," admits Zhang.
Zhang is already 30 years old, but still rents a 10-square-meter house in a location quite remote from the urban hub of Beijing, with a wife who is already pregnant. "Since we are expecting a child, we are considering going back to my hometown for the birth of the baby."
Many ant tribes are clustered on the outskirts of Beijing, and their ranks include 41-year-old Song Shikui. "Right now, I do not have much ambition, and I just hope that somehow I can buy a place in Beijing someday," he sighed.
Song is an exception among young college graduates; he earned a PHD and for a time worked for a foreign company. His income was not as low as many ant tribe members, but in order save money for his family, he chose to live where most ant tribes congregate.
Song was born in Shandong Province and graduated from university in 1991, after which he went back to his hometown in a small county of Shandong to be a teacher. In 1994 he got married and the couple's son was born the following year.
Song, after trying six times to pass the exam admitting candidates for post graduate work, left home to pursue further studies in 2000. In order to support him, his wife and his son try very hard to save every penny. It paid off in 2008, when Song, at the age of 38, got his PHD.
But like everyone else, he now needed to find a job, and with the help of his teacher, landed a position in another foreign company. "I dreamed that one day I would make a large amount of money and buy a house in Beijing for my wife and son," said Song.
But reality didn't live up to his dreams. In 2009, Song's wife and son came to Beijing to join him, and in the beginning Song's son was very happy touring the capital. But one day, after the long walk back to where Song lived, the boy fell ominously silent.
"Entering into my home, my son said that the place was even worse than our house in the county," recalled Song. At the time, Song occupied a space of a little over 10 square meters for the few hundred yuan his budget would allow.
"At first I thought going back to Shandong to find a job would be easy for a PHD like me, but I changed my mind," said Song, "as the first PHD from my county, people knew that I spent time in Beijing and if I went back home with big expectations, they might just laugh at me."
Since 2008, Song has moved three times and recently took over a two-room apartment for a monthly rent of 1,700 yuan (US$268) in one of Beijing's ant tribe communities.
In terms of the salary, most ant tribe members belong to the bottom ranks of the working poor, like migrant workers, observed Hu Jianguo, a professor at the Beijing University of Technology, pointing out that it is hard for them to climb the socio- economic ladder.
"Their starting point already determines where they will remain," said Hu, adding "Although we can't deny that some disadvantaged people change their fate, their number is small, and if you start at the bottom, it is hard for you to enter the winner's circle at the end."
"It is hard to say which way of life is best, but it is certainly good to find one suits you," added Hu.
