Young Chinese look beyond big expensive cities

Neon lights glow against the darkening sky in this night view of the Ping An International Finance Center and other skyscrapers in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province. [Photo/VCG]

China's first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are becoming less attractive for the country's young brains, a new survey shows.

Almost a quarter of respondents to the survey conducted by the Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily said they had left these metropolises, while another 48 percent were considering leaving.

The survey results showed that the main reasons for leaving the cities include skyrocketing house prices (64.4 percent), high living costs (46.9 percent) and bad air environment (39.7 percent).

The survey also found that those whose hometowns belong to county-level cities and central regions had the strongest desire to leave.

About 47 percent said they would prefer provincial capital cities or municipalities if they move from these first-tier cities.

The top three factors that respondents would give priority to consider when choosing a city to settle down include employment and income (56.6 percent), environmental quality (52.4 percent), and house prices (51.3 percent).

The survey also found that those whose hometowns are in eastern coastal regions had the strongest desire to return home for career development.

The findings are based on a survey of 2,000 respondents who are working or studying, or previously worked or studied, in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.