"Iron Butt Tourism" Trend Reflects the Mentality of Chinese Youth

From Guangzhou to Lhasa, the hard-seat train journey is a highly favored route among young people. This is China's longest train route, spanning 53 hours in total. (Screenshot from video)

(November 14, 2024) – The ban on the popular "Night Ride Kaifeng" event by authorities has sparked widespread discussion. In fact, "Night Ride Kaifeng" is just part of the broader trend of "Iron Butt Tourism," which is sweeping across mainland China. This trend reflects the shift in the mentality of Chinese youth amid the dual pressures of an increasingly stagnant economy and severe unemployment.

The Rise of Iron Butt Tourism

On Chinese social media platforms, "Iron Butt Tourism" is gaining traction among young people. They are eschewing expensive flights and high-speed trains in favor of the slowest and cheapest options—green trains, buses, public transit, or even shared bikes—enduring hours or even days of travel. Along the way, they befriend fellow travelers and sample local delicacies.

The hashtag #ironbutttravel has already garnered 19.8 million views. Their motto: "Youth has no price, set out with an iron butt." "Those with tough butts will enjoy the world first."

A popular route on social media is the hard-seat train from Guangzhou to Lhasa. Spanning 53 hours, it’s China’s longest train line. Travelers on this route often use stopovers at major stations to try local cuisine and take in the scenery, with some claiming, "A week like this feels more exciting than my whole life."

Others take on even more adventurous journeys, such as traveling from Beijing to Shanghai entirely by public buses—1,608 kilometers, 1,217 stops, and 51 bus rides for just 349.8 yuan. They eat and explore along the way, arriving in Shanghai six days later.

Another example is young travelers taking the Chengdu-to-Linzhi bus route along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, a 51-hour, 550-yuan ride. They jokingly say their butts could "wear through the seat." "Only those with iron butts can endure this."

Some try budget hard-seat train routes, such as 15 hours from Nanning to Kunming for 22 yuan, or 36 hours from Chongqing to Xinjiang.

Bike-sharing travelers are considered to have the "hardest butts." For example, a student from Beijing Institute of Technology cycled 125 kilometers from Beijing to Tianjin on a shared bike, taking 10 hours and 28 minutes. Another female college student biked from Shenzhen to Hong Kong just for a cup of milk tea.

"The main reason is budget. Iron Butt Travel allows me to see more places with less money," said Peng Fei, a 27-year-old self-proclaimed "Iron Butt" traveler, to CNN.

As China's economy continues to decline, people are experiencing an overall downgrade in living standards. In 2023, 42% of workers planned trips with a budget of less than 2,000 yuan, and young people are becoming increasingly frugal.

To save money, social media is awash with budget travel guides. Examples include solo trips to 20 cities across three northeastern provinces in 41 days, costing just 6,500 yuan, or a 21-day, 9-city trip through Liaoning Province for 3,000 yuan.

Young travelers avoid hotels, opting to spend the night at places like Haidilao restaurants, McDonald's, budget bathhouses, or internet cafes. They are switching from long-distance travel to visits to nearby county towns, applying money-saving principles to transportation, accommodation, tickets, and food.

The Changing Mentality of Chinese Youth

The popularity of "Iron Butt Tourism" reflects the profound impact of China's worsening economy and severe unemployment on its youth.

Youth unemployment has repeatedly hit new highs, with the rate for those aged 16–24 reaching 18.8% in August this year and 17.6% in September. An increasing number of recent graduates are opting for so-called "slow employment" or "freelancing," with even jobs offering monthly salaries of 5,000–6,000 yuan becoming hard to find.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government, rather than providing welfare or assistance to struggling university graduates, has focused on propaganda, urging youth to "abandon pride and entitlement" and to "embrace hardship willingly."

Faced with increasingly harsh employment conditions and an oppressive political environment, today’s young people seem to have realized that instead of enduring the endless grind of 996 work schedules and intense competition, they might as well "lie flat," pursue freedom, and enjoy life on their own terms.

Chinese media reports that an increasing number of young people with college educations and relatively privileged family backgrounds are choosing to stay at home or in rented apartments, becoming urban "couch youth." This trend is spreading from first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to second- and third-tier cities.

A 2021 survey showed that over 70% of "couch youth" had higher education qualifications, including associate or bachelor's degrees.

A study from Peking University last year revealed that among the roughly 96 million urban residents aged 16–24 in China, 16 million (about 17%) were "missing," with most of them staying at home and relying on their parents for support.

The popular saying, "Eating at home adds just one more pair of chopsticks, but working outside drains six wallets," underscores the sentiment.

Chinese media personality Wei Zhen analyzed for Epoch Times: "If you do the math, you’ll find that working now is not worth it."

"For example, if you work in a big city like Beijing, your starting salary might only be 5,000–8,000 yuan, which is not enough to live on. Renting a shared apartment in Beijing costs over 2,000 yuan, commuting costs 200–300 yuan per month, and if you’re busy with work and eat out every day, a single meal can cost 30 yuan. In this way, 8,000 yuan would be spent completely."

"If you want to maintain the quality of life you had in your hometown, working in Beijing is nearly impossible. If you fall sick or face emergencies, you would still need financial support from your parents. Essentially, you're paying to work. Many people think, 'If I go back to my hometown, I might not pass the civil service exam or get a stable job, and working here doesn’t make money either. So why not just stay home, save my parents some money, and eat at home?'"

Earlier, discontented youth, digital nomads, and even entrepreneurs flocked to Dali, making it a haven for "lying flat." A book titled The Art of Not Being Governed gained popularity within Dali's "lying flat" community.

"I met many like-minded young people on the road," said Peng Fei, a 27-year-old traveler, to CNN. "Many were college students taking a gap year or recent graduates with little money. They aren’t in a hurry to join the labor force or integrate into society."

At just 23, Lin En has already completed at least 10 "Iron Butt" journeys since late 2023, spending over 300 hours on buses and trains.

"You see much more on the road—things you can't see from a plane," Lin said.

Mr. Lu from Beijing told Epoch Times: "China is in a terrible state right now. This behavior among young people represents a primal longing for freedom and a hope for the future. Normally, they would seek to acquire skills or engage in meaningful activities, but now they see no possibilities or way out. Anything resembling freedom or dignity is suppressed, as seen with movements like the 'White Paper Revolution.'"

"But youth carries a primal impulse to do something, and they channel that through activities like this to release their energy," he added.

Wu Se-zhi, a researcher at the Taiwan Cross-Strait Policy Association, told Epoch Times: "In mature democracies, even if young people lack wealth, they have space for creativity. They engage with public affairs or participate in politics. In China, however, opportunities for political engagement are minimal, and young people see no hope for the future, all while living under a repressive regime."

"If young people lose hope or society becomes even more competitive and inward-focused, and if the government devotes all its energy to politics and ideology, the youth will increasingly pursue short-term psychological relief rather than focusing on improving their future quality of life," he concluded.

Editor: Lin Yan