From living in hotels to sleeping in the office, three young Chinese tell their stories of avoiding sky-high rents
Many young people in China today leave their hometowns to seek opportunities in another city. For most of these “urban drifters,” finding a place to rent is an inescapable part of the process.
But our three narrators today went against the grain. Whether it’s due to budget or a desire to seek freedom, all of them spent periods in their lives seeking alternatives to renting an apartment. One moved into a hotel, the second lived at his own office building, and yet the third bought an RV. What’s behind their unusual choices? What was life like for them in these unorthodox places? Did they ever truly feel at home there?
Founded in 2017 by Kou Aizhe, Story FM is one of the most renowned podcast in China. Each episode focuses on ordinary people’s lives and viewpoints, including the difficulties of marginalized people. Through intimate and private interviews, Story FM digs out first-person experiences and lets listeners immerse themselves in another person’s voice and feelings. You can listen to their podcast in Chinese on Ximalaya, Qingting FM, Apple Podcasts, and the 故事FM mini-app on WeChat.
Translated By
Ana Padilla Fornieles is a Spanish translator, writer and creative currently based in Beijing, where she is part of Spittoon International Arts Collective and a regular contributor to The Beijinger. You can find her prose and poetry featured in The Shanghai Literary Review, Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Womanhood, Sledgehammer and more. Her comics and linocut prints have appeared in Shaving in the Dark, F*EMS and Celestite Poetry. Her literary translation work has been published or is forthcoming with a series of publishing houses and magazines, such as Penguin, De Gruyter, Spittoon Magazine and Books from Taiwan.
