From meditation to pottery classes, Gen Z in China relieve anxiety and stress of work life and pandemic by looking for their inner Zen

A recent graduate unsure of his next step took an 18-day pottery class and became ‘more grounded mentally’; an anxious travel blogger meditated in a temple

China’s Gen Z are learning there is more to life than the stress of work and earning money, and crave simplicity. Some even quit their jobs to find it

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Yang Fengyi took pottery classes in Jingdezhen, JIangxi province, and took this route to the potter’s studio each morning. Many young Chinese people are taking such classes, or learning meditation on temple retreats, to reduce their stress and anxiety levels. Photo: Yang Fengyi

Published: 1:15pm, 1 Apr 2023

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business management in the UK, Yang Fengyi decided to return to Shanghai in July 2021. It was a difficult time for fresh graduates to find a job during the coronavirus pandemic, he recalls.

“I didn’t want to be a NEET [not in education, employment or training], but at the same time I didn’t have a clue what I could do, so I decided to stay far away from the city,” the 23-year-old says.

A friend suggested he should spend the summer in Jingdezhen, China’s capital of porcelain manufacture in Jiangxi province, to learn how to make pottery.

“I wanted to try something new and I was told it’s cheap to live there too, that’s why I made up my mind [to go],” he says.

Some of Yang Fengyi’s fellow pottery making students work on their pots in Jingdezhen, China. Photo: Yang Fengyi

Yang went for an 18-day course at a studio in mid-July. With his savings, he rented a spacious one-bedroom flat that cost him 950 yuan (US$140) per month – an amount that would not have covered his rent for a week in the UK. His daily expenses were low too. A set lunch of two dishes and a bowl of rice cost around 15 yuan.