Turning the tide

Such existential anxiety influences many women, and at different stages in life. One of her clients, about 70 years old, says that, in the past, she had a husband to serve. Later, she had to work and raise their child and, now, with her husband having passed away and her child living independently, she is on her own, which means she can finally do whatever she wants. But here comes the dilemma — she doesn't know what to do. In Zhang's analysis, the reason behind it is that the woman sees herself as unnecessary; as someone who hasn't done anything meaningful in her life.

"This is the pain that most of my mother's generation face," Zhang says, adding that they are always ready to sacrifice their own careers or lives for their families. Zhang's mother, for example, gave up the opportunity for a promotion at work, "because the children need her to take care of them".

In recent decades, the rise of feminine consciousness has awakened in women in China the desire to take a different path from their mothers and grandmothers.

Instead of taking on the traditional gender roles, like wife and mother, Zhang, like many of her peers, remains childless.

"There are women at 18 or 19 who come to me talking about the distress caused by gender bias. At college they want to be leaders and take the major that is dominated by men," Zhang says.