Catchphrases etched in history

"Jumping into the sea" (下海) (xiahai)

In the 1980s, when China was reforming its planned economy, it had a two-track pricing system (official and market prices) for industrial raw materials - steel, non-ferrous metals, timber and coal.

Seeing business opportunities within this system, many people, especially government employees and those from State-run factories or institutes, quit their jobs to open their own businesses.