三十而立这句老话，现在已经不流行了，现在流行30多岁就过上退休的生活。

But first… have you ever thought about retiring in your 30s? When you're at work do you ever daydream about taking a break for several months to do whatever you want?

Many young Chinese people are considering retiring from work for a few months, a year or even forever, and some of them are actually already enjoying some form of retirement. Yingying has more.

30 Something to Retire?

Reporter:

Recently, a new lifestyle among Chinese young people is gaining in popularity and has sparked heated discussion. Most of those people actually have good jobs and earn a considerable salary. However they've chosen to quit their jobs and take a long vacation as a way to refresh and recharge.

According to a Beijing News survey, more than 80% of the respondents say they've thought about retiring early, and more than 50% said they wish they could to quit their job.

Xu Wei, a woman in her 30s, has a successful career. But she plans to retire in five or six years' time. She says she needs that time to expand her life experiences, and believes work is not a necessity.

"There are two main reasons that push me to give up the idea of continuing my work. Firstly, over the past few years, the jobs that I have experienced are all busy and stressful. Each of them takes me more than 10 hours out of each day. I feel so tired. I need more time to relax. Secondly, last year I was terribly ill and nearly died. After that I had a totally different outlook on life.

She realized that besides work, there are many beautiful things one could enjoy. She shouldn't be trapped to one place, one job.

"I hope I can have the time to enjoy my life. I want to enjoy the beauty of the sunshine, enjoy reading time with a cup of tea, and live in other places for a period. Life should be varied. I want to be the architect of my own life. "

Many people agree that heavy work pressures are the foremost reason for them to consider giving up their present job.

No one can resist the temptation of living a leisurely life free of worry. However, to retire at such a young age as your 30s or 40s seems ridiculous to some people.

25-year-old Wang Lingyu is a career woman. She believes people in society should not only think only about themselves. They need to consider their family and society as a whole.

"Having a job is very important. Not only because working can make money, but also because it is a way to show your sense of responsibility. I can't agree with the idea of quitting a job to just do whatever you want. You need to earn money to sustain your family and you need to contribute to society to make it better. For me, quitting your job is kind of like evading your responsibilities. I agree that sometimes people do feel tired and have a lot of work pressures but I would choose to change my job, not give up the idea of having a job."

Work to live or live to work? Wang Shaobin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences suggests that the most important thing is to know what you want in your life.

"Many people now have the wrong idea about work and working. The purpose of their work is to work. And that is why they feel unhappy when they are at work. For that reason I suggest they take a break, but not to give up altogether. They can use their free time to find out what they are really interested in, or to rediscover their aims in life."

The expert says when life begins to overwhelm, we should take a moment to let the soul catch up with the body.

No matter how important work is, regardless of how much money one can earn, what we should do is follow our hearts to find the real spirit in our lives.