College graduates pursue ‘China dream’
While most Chinese college graduates were vying for posts in the civil service, four young men chose to build their “China dream” by starting a business, a source of encouragement for many of the country’s netizens.
Tan Longchao, Ma Nan, Chen Zhe and Tang Ming opened a shop that sells native products at the end of 2011, after graduating from Beifang University of Nationalities in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
The sales volume of their store, “Dream Sweet”, reached 1 million yuan ($160,000) last year. As a shop and a distributor they have signed contracts with more than 20 other companies, and become the general agent for nearby provinces.
The success story has led to wide discussions on the Internet.
During the college graduation and recruitment period, some young Chinese have been inspired to pursue their dreams.
This is in contrast to the news that up to 2,900 undergraduates and 29 postgraduates applied to be sanitation workers in Harbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.
“After hearing about the Harbin story, I felt disappointed for the younger generation of our country. The four young men from Ningxia offer hope and I believe many youngsters will be inspired.” said a netizen named “Xiaobudian”.
On his blog, “Xiaodong” said, “I was hesitating about starting my own business but I know I will be halfway to success if I am brave enough to follow my dream.”
Just like other college graduates, Tan and his business partners were expected, by family and friends, to become public servants, which could have ensured them a stable life.
“My family was confused and disagreed with me when I first wanted to start the business,” said Tan, “they said I was wasting my time and tried to persuade me to apply for village official roles.”
According to Tan, all four got permission from their families to continue the business by showing them the sales volume in the first month, 30,000 yuan ($4,827).
The partners invested all the money they earned last year to develop the business.
“Earning money and finding a stable job should not be seen as a symbol of growing up. For us, doing something that we are passionate about is the way to become more mature. We are satisfied that we didn’t lose any money in the first year, and we have gained experience in marketing and running the business.” Tan said.
According to Ma Nan, the sales target for this year is 3 million yuan ($483,000). “Whether our business is successful or not, we have learned something and grown up during the process. That was the original intention of starting the business.” Ma said.
According to statistics, the number of civil servant applicants surpassed one million each year since 2009. The number is expected to top 1.56 million this year. Some web users expressed concern with this.
A netizen named “Lixiaoguan” wrote, “With so many young people giving up their dreams and potential, who will realize the ‘China dream’?”
Liu Xiaocheng, a teacher from the school of journalism and communication of Lanzhou University said, “Starting a business is not the only way to realize a dream, but seeking a stable life is definitely not a favorable trend.”
He added, “Increasing the fairness of the social welfare system and providing a more flexible policy of becoming a civil servant will be great encouragement for young people to pursue their own dreams.”