Suicide the major cause of death among young people

In the end it was easier for Hong Qiankun to take his own life than to continue bearing the burden of modern life.

He had spent a year looking for a job by the time he received his master's degree in chemical science from Tsinghua University last July.

Though he eventually found a post at a training school in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, a small city on China's southeastern coast, the conditions were far from ideal. He lived in a crowded dormitory, received a meager wage and had trouble understanding the accents of his colleagues and students.