What middle-class people in big cities have been proud of has all been shattered in recent years.

First is real estate, such as houses in Nanshan, Shenzhen. I remember at the peak of the housing market in 2021, many first-time buyer and new small communities in the area, with small units, easily reached over 100,000 yuan per square meter.
High-quality properties around China Resources City and Shenzhen Bay, driven by the concentration of sci-tech industries and high-net-worth individuals, were wildly inflated—marking the final act of the real estate myth.
But now, that no longer exists. Middle-class buyers chasing the market are all stuck at high positions, firmly caught at the top of the mountain;
Second is work. Fortune 500 companies, top 5 industries—these glamorous labels once made many middle-class people feel they had a huge life gap compared to childhood friends who stayed in their hometown running restaurants.
Now it’s clear: as long as you’re not within the system, wherever you work can only be defined as being a worker, even if your annual income is a million.
Essentially, you’re no different from those small bosses outside earning a million a year—you just don’t have as much freedom.
Finally, the once-deified elite education has fallen from its pedestal.
A graduate student from a prestigious vocal music program switched careers to insurance sales;
Children who learned horseback riding and golf from a young age, receiving elite training,
As their family fortunes declined, could only start working in bars doing marketing to make a living.
In contrast, pragmatic people from Chaoshan are living much more clearly.
They don’t chase after the illusory international elite education,
Instead, they teach their children to do business, understand how to make a living, and stay grounded,
Recognizing reality early on, which helps them avoid most of the life gaps and internal struggles.