Change in attitude to ownership, waste sees young flock to renting

Many parents agonise over what toys to buy their children, and regret the cost when the children lose interest, but not Su Lijun , the father of an inquisitive two-year-old boy.

'For 980 yuan [HK$1,150] for six months, I can rent many toys for my boy - usually quite large toys, like a toy car or a trumpet,' the Beijinger said. 'The rental fee is cheaper than it would be to buy. Kids often get bored with one type of toy quickly. Renting is a good way to give him a variety of choices at a reasonable price.'

Su is one of the hundreds of thousands of young adults on the mainland who are in the 'hire clan', or hazuzu, a phrase coined in early 2007.

The philosophy of the group's members is to spend less money, have fun and improve living standards while avoiding waste, allowing them to save for necessities. This is quite a departure from the traditional Chinese mentality of ownership.

With an average income for new university graduates of about 2,300 yuan a month - only slightly more than a migrant worker earns and a lot less than the average rent for a flat in big cities - the young adults of the hazuzu have no choice but to follow the advice Premier Wen Jiabao gave last month in Macau: 'If buying an apartment is not an option, renting is worth considering.'

But the group is renting not just flats and cars, but products that are only occasionally used - fine clothes and accessories for parties, and photographic and sports and camping equipment for holidays. This way, they can have fun and pursue a trendy lifestyle even though they cannot afford to buy these things.