Hopes dashed

Teng Ya'nan has many photos and videos of former students on his smartphone. He enjoyed teaching young students at 51Talk, an online English education platform. The working environment was good－the tutors were mostly 20-somethings like himself－and he was satisfied with the salary.

He hoped the company would introduce changes to conform with government requirements so he could continue working as a teacher, but those hopes failed to come to fruition.

He joined the company in Wuhan, Hubei province, in 2017, and left in early November.

"For the first couple of days after I left, I felt very happy as I was able to enjoy some free time," he said. "However, anxiety and boredom started to kick in as time went by."

He has to pay rent for his current home and also service a mortgage for an apartment he has bought in Wuhan that is still under construction.