Chinese youth fear the Lunar New Year.

"This Lunar New Year, I proactively asked my boss for permission to work overtime so I could go to the city early and avoid staying home for a few extra days," said a young woman born after 1995 in China.

Chinese people carry their belongings back to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year. Photo: China Times

"If I had to use a scale of 1 to 10 to express my 'fear of Lunar New Year,' I'd definitely put it at an 8 or 9," said Hu Minmin, who has been working in Shenzhen for three years, according to Xinhua.Mẫn Mẫn likes celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year) in her hometown but is hesitant to go back because it's expensive.

"When visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year, you can't just go empty-handed. One year, I had to give gifts to all my relatives, plus give New Year's money to the children, costing over 20,000 yuan (US$2,900). So when I returned to Shenzhen, I had to buy tons of instant noodles, eating them instead of rice for several months to save money," the young woman said.

While sharing the same fear of returning home for the Lunar New Year, Bach Anh, 32, from Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, has a different reason.

"Ever since graduating from university, my parents have been hinting at the idea of ​​bringing a boyfriend home. It's been seven years now, and I still haven't brought anyone home to meet them. My friends have all gotten married one after another, even my younger sister has started her own family," Bach Anh said. "Every time Tet (Lunar New Year) comes around, everyone calls me 'an old spinster,' which makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time."

She graduated from a prestigious university and works for a large state-owned enterprise. Bai Ying's parents are both retired university professors. In the eyes of others, she is considered an "ideal match," but marriage is a matter that gives Bai Ying a headache.

"My biggest wish this year is to find someone who truly loves me, get married, and live a peaceful life," she confided.

Wang Jun, a young man from Shandong province, dreads returning home for the Lunar New Year because he is forced to drink alcohol every day. "I'm terrified. Every day my head feels dizzy, and my stomach hurts," Wang Jun said.

His family lived in the countryside, and during the Lunar New Year, there weren't many recreational activities in the village, so the only pastime relatives and friends had was gathering to drink alcohol. Wang Jun had a low tolerance for alcohol; he always got drunk, but he couldn't refuse to drink for fear of offending everyone.

Therefore, this Lunar New Year, Wang Jun proactively requested to return to Beijing early to work, avoiding having to stay home and drink alcohol. "People from the countryside are simple and honest; they only know how to offer drinks to express their feelings. However, people often force others to drink. If there were no need to force people to drink, and they could drink as much as they wanted, the Lunar New Year would be so much more enjoyable," Wang Jun said.

According to VNE