Acceptable rents

Young college graduates may be moving out of vibrant metros such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to reside in smaller cities, but rents there are not altogether friendly either.

These youngsters, dubbed the "ant tribe", have been pushed to the sidelines in cities. Since they can hardly afford to rent an apartment in big cities where living costs are higher, they cluster together in villages on the fringes of urban centers.

This generation, born after 1980, has been expanding rapidly into cities ever since China massively increased its university enrollment program starting 2003. A further 6.3 million graduates are expected to join migrant workers and other job hunters this year.