Statistics say they are wealthy, but many disagree

Feng Yanna says to live a middle class lifestyle in China you need more than the current average income in Wuxi.

"About $20,000 a year is not a high income. It is not nearly enough to educate your children, have a nice home and feed and clothe yourself," she says.

The 34-year-old homemaker and her daughter Shen Qinwen, 8, were shopping at Wanda Plaza, one of the city's main shopping malls, with her cousin Chen Yunna, 40, and her daughters, Liu Yuqing, 11, and Liu Yilin, 8.