Running from China: the single women in their thirties escaping to study in the West

In China, where many women in their thirties see no future, some are leaving to study in Western countries – and the topic is going viral

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A woman takes in the view of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Single Chinese women in their thirties are leaving behind what they consider lives of little hope in China to study in Western countries, as part of a “run philosophy” that has gripped social media. Photo: Getty Images

Xinrou Shu

Published: 7:15am, 24 Jun 2024Updated: 9:49am, 24 Jun 2024

After waking up at 6.30am, Claudia Ke brewed herself a cup of tea. The grey, drizzly January sky over Burgundy, France, somehow reminded her of winters in Shanghai, where she had lived for six years.

It had been five months since she had arrived in the famous French wine region, in August 2023, and she was still adjusting to the laid-back lifestyle.

The 35-year-old’s life in China had been defined first by the years she worked for fashion magazine Vogue in Beijing and then Macy’s department store in Shanghai, as well as trying to build her own consulting company.

Then there was Shanghai’s hellish Covid-19 lockdown of 2022. The first notice posted in her neighbourhood said the lockdown would last four days, but it was extended to the entire city of 25 million on April 5, and in her area, it didn’t end until June 22.

Workers wearing protective clothes talk to a woman on a Shanghai street during the city’s 2022 Covid-19 lockdown. Photo: AFP

The Chinese metropolis became a ghost town, with food coming in the form of government drop-offs of vegetables and meat, bulk-buying with neighbours in WeChat groups, and online grocery shopping.

Because the government distributed food based on housing unit, not occupancy – meaning a household of five would get the same amount of food as a household of one – many residents had to turn to the latter two options.