When asked why he moved to New York, John Lennon simply said: "If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else?" Today, for young Chinese workers, Beijing and Shanghai are Rome.

In February, an article titled Why Do I Choose Big Cities Over My Hometown? was widely circulated on social networks.It resonated with millions of working men and women who waved goodbye to their parents and hit the road back to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

The author expressed his eagerness to return to Shanghai, where he had worked for five years, after being forced by his family to come back to his hometown, a third-tier city in Northwest China. Once there, he found it difficult to blend in.