Chinese workers ditch cramped cubicles for remote locales, freedom – and just look at that view
- Known as ‘digital nomads’, many were born out of China’s strict pandemic measures – but families and friends are still trying to process this new way of life
- China’s remote-working trend is in its early stages, but even local governments and businesses are taking stock and looking to capitalise on development opportunities
Taking a break from her laptop to gaze upon the ancient forests outside her temporary workspace, Liu Nian momentarily loses herself in the surrounding mountain range – with birds chirping and sunbeams piercing through towering trees, accenting the nearby nunnery gardens dotted with brightly coloured hydrangeas and succulents.
Sure beats the average view from an office cubicle.
Feeling refreshed while teleworking at a hidden cafe at the idyllic Jizhao nunnery in southwest China’s Yunnan province, the 31-year-old creative director dives back into an online discussion with her teammates scattered across the country.
Being able to do her job remotely allows Liu to work in all kinds of remarkable and unconventional places – on a moving bus traversing southern China, by a verdant tea plantation in Zhejiang province, on the Tibetan plateau overlooking a tranquil valley.
“When you walk out of the real office, you see that your office could be a wide range of places,” she said.
