ABSTRACT
As a rule, young people in China's cities share several common problems. Their situation is not unique, existing in other developing and developed countries. Urban youth are for the most part poorly educated and lack discipline. While generally sharing these problems, Chinese urban youth can be subdivided into three groups, based on age. The first consists of those around thirty, the second is teenagers and those in their early twenties, and the third includes those in their mid-to-late twenties. Like their elders, many urban youth in their midtwenties are cynical because of the disillusioning experiences of the Cultural Revolution. Conversations with peasant youths–as well as city youths who had worked in the countryside and knowledgeable cadres–confirmed that most peasants would prefer any job with a guaranteed fixed wage and the welfare benefits that went along with it. With rare candor, the authorities have publicly acknowledged both the existence and scale of the youth problem.
