wuhan china call china bubble generation bear crush tiananmen square pro-democracy protest raise mostly without siblings unprecedented economic boom come age xi jinping china strong leader decades ascend power generation grow era prosperity peace one eat bitterness struggle parent grandparents xi start another five years china top leader reuters seek get know members bubble generation 10 people graduate university enter workforce xi first term start five years ago class 2012 10 men women represent fraction 190 million people bear 1990s provide key insights xi china generation inherit legacy live beijing shanghai chengdu wuhan putuan hubei province background diverse sons daughters former factory owner restaurateurs doctor construction worker local official school administrator attend three different universities china lead trade economics college beijing regional university central city wuhan third-tier technology school southwestern city chengdu make somewhat privilege country relatively people get pursue high education experience differ often widely yet much common optimistic open-minded tend free-spirited streak even though family root obligations remain important unmarried among feel acute pressure find mate others actively reject traditional path good thing generation think direction live say wu qiong 27-year-old daughter insurance saleswoman kindergarten headmaster wuhan really know want live life rather everyone live way crave travel experience grow comfort part everything need food clothe often things like nintendo gameboys vacation know extraordinary economic growth year year make painful slowdown hard imagine property price rise world double edge sword young adults try get establish china upward trajectory give think world get good good say qin lijuan 28 personal finance consultant chengdu even face economic crisis long make safe plan life still worry-free members class 2012 like many china project political apathy reflect perhaps instinctual caution sensitive topic presence journalists possibly genuine insouciance care politics job nothing politics say zheng yue 27 interior designer chengdu also solve political problems even care lot use change anything political issue inject daily live internet censorship always find workaround see favorite television show news stories interest xi face deep socio-economic challenge make clear believe government control less country need things go sideways china narrative shift economy slow significantly many economists think inevitable hit brick wall young chinese seem share young americans 1950s 1960s near-unbridgeable generation gap huge optimism say michael pettis finance professor guanghua school management peking university say probably ill-prepared future shock despite experience advice parent try tell wu bear raise wuhan capital hubei province 700 km 435 miles inland shanghai many ways emblematic class 2012 articulate cheerful wu decide graduate university english degree earn insufficient pursue ambition get master degree account work international settlements department foreign bank able buy property recently persuade mother invest life save apartment development call cambridge city build next subway line construction plan flip couple years appreciation house value much big return fixed-term deposit bank wu say sure go term job security wu also seem worry life afraid future say fear change add day big economic crisis financial sector fall recession think could go back english teacher come age era prosperity meet china 's 'bubble generation