Work Shift

China's 996 Work Culture is Driving Young People Out of Megacities

A man looks at to the Tuo River, in the city of Luzhou

Photographer: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP

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Guan Yinglu was an ambitious young professional working around the clock at a shipping company in Shanghai when she realized she wasn’t living the life she wanted. A few years ago, she moved back to her hometown in Luzhou, a smaller city in southwestern China.