https://x.com/shanghaidaily/status/2057046531493204395

https://x.com/RT_com/status/2057033551560814961 (video)

Housing rents have as much as halved in some major Chinese cities due to more and more subsidized rentals coming onto the market and boosting supply.

China built 8.7 million government-subsidized rental houses between 2021 and last year , according to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The construction of new affordable housing projects continues, with 24 centralized apartment projects including more than 12,000 units breaking ground across 22 major cities last month, according to CRIC data. Government-subsidized rentals will likely account for around 85 percent of the total.

About 199,000 new affordable rentals are expected to be added nationwide this year, keeping the downward pressure on housing rents, CRIC said.

Chen pays just 1200 RMB, or $168, a month for her apartment in faux Venice in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. It’s so cheap that it's allowed Chen to retire at the tender age of 28.

Experts say Chen is part of a broader trend that has seen a growing number of young people across China migrating to small towns and cities, taking advantage of cheap real estate prices that have been plummeting since the COVID pandemic.

Some are redefining their dreams to focus on rest and relaxation, much like what some young adults in the West are doing under what they call FIRE: “Financial Independence, Retire Early.”

That's much more achievable in China because the cost of living in some places can be so low compared to prices in the West.

The bargain prices have benefited young people like Chen willing to live in remote but affordable housing now available across the country. Chen describes it as the perfect life: a sea view, clean air, and cheap rent.

“I have all the time in the world, the freedom of doing whatever I want,” said Chen. “I am living the life that I want.”

The dream life

Chen used to work in a glossy high-rise in Shanghai, making up to 700,000 yuan ($98,480) a year at a large finance firm. But she had never liked the idea of working. After three years, she began plotting her escape from the drudgery of China’s white-collar workforce.

Her plan was to save up and find somewhere to live with rent so low she could live off returns on her investments.

Last year, her dream came true: Chen saved 2 million yuan ($290,000) and found a spacious apartment at “Life in Venice”. With such low rent, she calculates she can live there for the rest of her life without ever having to work again.

Though “Life in Venice” doesn't have a branch of her favorite sour soup hotpot restaurant, door to door delivery, or proximity to major hospitals, her new residence has plenty of conveniences like a grocery store and eateries.

Some, like 29-year-old Ban Zhao, are rejecting the corporate rat race altogether.

Last summer, Ban moved from a bustling commercial city on China's east coast to a small town in China's southwestern Yunnan province. Tucked away in a lush valley, the town is famed for fresh, clean air and healing hot springs. There, for just 800 yuan a month ($110) Ban rents an apartment with three bedrooms, one of which she converted to a yoga studio.

She and her boyfriend work less than 20 hours a week, offering yoga classes online to make ends meet. The rest of the time, she walks around her scenic neighborhood surrounded by trees and blossoms, often enjoying the region's famed sunshine.

“I can do whatever I want and not do whatever I don’t want,” Ban said. “I live in heaven.”

TLDR: China's living costs are low and the 'housing crisis' created a ton of very cheap housing, so young Chinese can retire comfortably if they choose to at very young ages

Fyi China grew around twice the rate as the U.S. last year, during a trade war U.S. initiated.