When a 29-year-old university lecturer with the surname of Wei arrived at his new job in the eastern city of Suzhou last September, he received his hukou household registration within the day. The young doctoral graduate had chosen Suzhou as his next home.
Wei, who like most students had his household registration documents held at his university in Beijing for the duration of his studies, transferred his hukou to Suzhou with his wife to start a new life there, having secured jobs in the city. Their new apartment in the city of 12.75 million was their very own.
