Wang Feng's daily life at the university is simple and well regulated. He eats in the dining hall, studies in the library, plays football and checks out websites from the Internet Café on campus. Any passerby would think he was a student. However, he is not a student but a former student for he graduated a year ago. Now he rents an apartment close to the university and lives a comfortable campus life since he couldn't find a proper job. He said, "Except when I'm sleeping, I'm always on campus."

Wang Feng is not alone. There are many like him around the universities. They do not "fly desks" in office jobs for they have no jobs. Instead they are just flying-on-campus.

Research by the Communist Youth League of Shanghai Municipality reveals there are a number of different reasons why graduates might end up flying-on-campus. Some are avoiding the tedium of employment or the rigors of studying for a post-graduate exam. Others are just hanging on waiting for opportunities to further their education overseas. Some have found they are not so attractive to prospective employers for one reason or another and haven't managed to find a regular job yet. Then there are those who just didn't get their diplomas.

Flying-on-campus is not a new phenomenon. Researchers from Fudan University explain it has been around for several years. However, it has been attracting more attention recently as more and more graduates fall into the category.

In Wang Feng's residential quarter there are now many graduates flying-on-campus.

Zhao Ming, 24 years old, came to Shanghai after graduating in another province. He failed his post-graduate entrance examination for Tongji University this spring. In order to prepare for next year's exam, he rented a room near the university. He said, "I rent a room close to campus because it is convenient for me. I can get the information I need for the post-graduate examination. Besides, life is much cheaper here for I can use the university resources."

Sun Lei had planned to further her education overseas after graduation. At first everything went smoothly. She applied to an overseas university and even got a full scholarship. She was then twice refused the visa she needed.

"I wasn't sure what to do next so I decided to settle down near my college as the cost of living is cheaper here. I am still hesitating between studying overseas and finding a job here," said Sun.

Wang Feng complains that costs have been rising as more graduates are now flying-on-campus.

Zhao Ming said, "I have been paying 1,000 yuan a month for a room in my old apartment. Now my landlord is hinting that he wants to increase the rent."

This may seem like an alternative lifestyle but many of today's university students can identify with it.

According to research by the East China Normal University, some 55 percent of students attribute flying-on-campus to the gap between an ideal world and reality and expect to join this group themselves while waiting for a regular job to come along.

Recent research by the Coordinating Group for the employment of postgraduates of Shanghai higher institutions directly under the Ministry of Education sheds some light on the issue. It shows that 2.12 million students graduated from universities across China last year. This year the number reached 2.8 million, and it will be 3.4 million next year. Shanghai's institutions alone will be turning out over 100,000 in 2004, including 15,000 post-graduates and 48,000 with first degrees.

Puns are much favored in the Chinese language. These often depend on different characters, pronounced in exactly the same way but having quite different meanings. There is a relevant pun on the words "hai gui". Written one way this reads as "sea turtles" and written another way it means "returned from overseas (studies)". So graduates returning to China have come to be known as sea-turtles.

China is now producing domestic graduates in unprecedented large numbers. They find themselves facing falling salaries and increasing competition from the return of the sea-turtles.

Some experts believe that there are some positive effects of flying-on-campus. For instance, it can give people time to think, and to map out their future in an unhurried manner.

However, other experts take a negative view. They say these are no longer students. They use up limited educational resources and so put pressure on university managements. What's more, there are social considerations involved in the emergence of this new subculture.

The experts think the best way to resolve the issue is to help those involved to find jobs. For example, groups of graduates from Shanghai Jiao Tong University were allocated mentors from the staff to help them realize their goals. Full use was made of the Internet, e-mails and the telephone to help these students get employment information. Other than those who want to take post-graduate entrance exams at home or further their education overseas, most graduates there now find jobs successfully.

(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, September 13, 2004)