Chasing a different China Dream, young digital nomads head for the hills

A woman works with a laptop at co-working space Wamo Lab in Dali, Yunnan province, China on Nov 10, 2023. — Reuters

DALI, China: In this mountain town in China’s southwest, drifters and tarot card readers rub shoulders with tech entrepreneurs and artists. Many are former city-dwellers in search of an elusive prize in authoritarian China: Space for open discussion and exchange of ideas.

In one co-working space, a group of young adults asked questions about the effect of Trump-era populism on US media during a discussion led by a Chinese journalist about the American position on the Israel-Gaza conflict. In a nearby cafe, others discussed art, sexual harassment and the listlessness of China’s youth.