Young Chinese face hard road to happiness

Soaring prices and a complicated household registration system are preventing many young Chinese from obtaining their first home, with many expressing worry about their futures.

31-year-old Chen Yu, a program editor at a state-run TV station, is one of them. The significant expense of purchasing a home, as well as Chen's lack of a Beijing "hukou," or urban household registration, have prevented him from acquiring his own house.

"I can't imagine what I will be like in ten years, when I still won't be able to afford a house or even a car," Chen said.

In China, social benefits such as education, medical treatment and the ability to purchase a home are tied to the hukou. A person with a Beijing hukou, for instance, is not able to purchase a home in Shanghai unless he or she acquires a Shanghai hukou.

Chen's predicament has made him anxious about his future. He is worried that he may have already passed the prime of his life.

"If I were in my twenties again, I would travel for pleasure and try different jobs. Now I feel like a timid mouse. I take things one step at a time," he said.

Chen's worries are shared by many others. A 2010 report issued by China Everbright Bank and Home Link, a Beijing-based real estate agency, stated that China has the youngest "mortgage slaves" in the world, with the average age for acquiring a first mortgage standing at 27.

While most young Chinese are feeling incredible pressure to buy a house, get married and have children, their European peers are spending their time traveling the world and exploring different opportunities.