The pace of Shanghai is immediate, the competitiveness of Shenzhen is intense, and the rhythm of Xi’an is shaped by memory and reflection.

During winter break, I encountered these dynamics firsthand through a Dean Rusk Grant, traveling to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xi’an to examine how young adults in China navigate pressure, ambition and uncertainty. 

I was drawn to this topic because many Davidson students grappled with the same concerns: careers, mobility, and life after graduation. At the same time, these challenges take different forms across contexts, and engaging with how young people around the world navigate them offers perspectives that cannot be fully gained in the classroom alone.

Motivated by my identity as a Chinese American, I also sought to gain firsthand ethnographic insight into the social pressures and coping strategies shaping contemporary youth culture, with the goal of informing my longer-term interest in constructive Sino–U.S. engagement.

I chose these three cities because they span different levels of globalization and development—from Shanghai as a global megacity, to Shenzhen as an innovation hub, to Xi’an as a more traditional cultural center. With this holistic view, I was able to develop a more nuanced understanding of generational experiences across China.

In Shanghai, that pressure is a part of everyday life. Young adults move quickly through public spaces, often multitasking between conversations and their phones. Even leisure appears structured and efficient. In conversations across cafés, bookstores and shopping streets such as Wukang and Anfu Road, one concern surfaced repeatedly: whether academic choices would translate to stable employment.

At the same time, Shanghai’s global image as a fashionable and modern city reinforces another

layer of pressure: the need to keep up. Its skyline, from the Oriental Pearl Tower to the Lujiazui Financial District, reflects opportunity and ambition, but also a quieter fear of falling behind. That sense of competition becomes more pronounced in Shenzhen. Known as a center of

technological innovation and home to companies such as Huawei and Tencent, Shenzhen attracts young people from across China seeking opportunity. Many described submitting hundreds, sometimes thousands of job applications in an increasingly competitive market.

Several also pointed to a gap between academic preparation and professional expectations. Terms like “socially confident” and “socially anxious” are commonly used to describe one’s ability to network and communicate. While China’s education system emphasizes academic performance, students often feel less prepared for the interpersonal demands of the workforce.

In Xi’an, the pace slows, but uncertainty remains. As my parents’ hometown and the place whereI completed my elementary education, Xi’an offered both familiarity and a new perspective.

Conversations with students revealed a different set of concerns: whether to pursue graduateschool, study abroad, or enter the workforce.

One student described her experience as “calm, confused and hopeful.” While daily life felt structured, the future remained uncertain. Many students described turning to hobbies—such asdance, sports or travel—as a way to maintain a sense of identity and control.

Across all three cities, a common tension emerged between pursuing personal interests and following more secure, traditional paths. This dynamic is reflected in the growing use of the term “lying flat,” which critiques rigid definitions of success and expresses resistance to constant competition.

For me, this experience connected classroom concepts in political science and economics to lived realities. Discussions of labor markets and social mobility became more tangible throu conversations with young adults navigating these systems. The broader political and economic narratives I had previously encountered in Davidson classrooms suddenly took on a personal dimension.

Headlines about the Gaokao (China’s highly competitive national college entrance exam), the 996 work culture (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week), and the shifting landscape of Sino–U.S. relations in educational exchange were no longer abstract concepts. Instead, they appeared directly in the lived experiences of the students and young professionals I met. 

More broadly, the project underscored the importance of understanding people beyond

geopolitical narratives. While U.S.-China relations are often framed through competition, manyof the concerns I encountered—uncertainty about the future, pressure to succeed and the search for balance—felt strikingly familiar. Even in contexts shaped by geopolitical tension, the conversations I had revealed that aspirations for career progression and stability, along with anxieties about the future, are not unique to any one place, but are shared across national borders in profoundly human ways.

In the end, this experience reminded me that understanding a country extends beyond institutions or international dynamics and is rooted in the everyday lives of its people. Beneath history, politics, and rapid change, it is people—their dreams, pressures, and possibilities—that truly define a nation. 

I am grateful that, through the Dean Rusk Grant, I was able to engage with these perspectives firsthand. Bringing these insights back to campus, I hope to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of China and its next generation.

Vimi Wang ’27 is a Political Science and Economics double major from Atlanta, GA. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].