Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesFed up with China's employment situation, young people on the mainland are retreating to the countryside. China's youth unemployment rate in August hit a new record of 18.8%, the highest since the new system of record-keeping began in December. Young Chinese transplanting rice seedlings in a field. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBut China's young "retirees" have pushed back against criticism that they are too picky or have given up. Such accusations, while unfair, are understandable in Chinese societal culture and context, said Hang Seng Bank China's Wang.

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Persons: Gen, Wenzi Dada, Chung Chi, Chung Chi Nien, That's, Chung, Dan Wang, Wang, Keyu Jin, Wenzi, Gen Z Organizations: Visual China, Getty, CNBC, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hang Seng Bank, London School of Economics, Hang Seng Locations: Chongqing, China, Guizhou, Wenzi, Yunnan, Sichuan —, Shanghai, Hang Seng Bank China