Haipiao, a word used to describe young people moving to Shanghai for versatile lives, now has a new interpretation: Chinese striving in a foreign country facing an uncertain future. Their nomadic lifestyle is encouraged by revised visa policies and their desire to develop themselves, usually free from social expectations back in China.
“海漂”，这个词原本是用来描述去上海体验多元化生活的年轻一族，现在它又有了新定义：在海外求生存、前途飘忽不定的中国人。对自我发展的向往以及签证新政的出台使得他们放下国内的“社会期望”，选择了一种漂泊动荡的生活。
A MyCOS survey, among 5,126 college graduates who chose to undertake further study abroad in 2009, found that 43 percent of them planned to stay abroad after graduation, while 31 percent chose to return to China. The rest were not sure what to do.
据麦可思公司的调查显示，在2009年到国外深造的5126名高校毕业生中，有43%的人打算学成后留在国外，31%的人则选择归国，剩下的尚不知何去何从。
“Their enthusiasm to try their luck in a foreign country is partly due to changes in visa policies,” said Wang Qian from Aoji Enrollment Center of International Education Ltd.
“他们之所以热切想在国外碰碰运气，多半源于英国签证新政的出台。”澳际教育咨询有限公司的王茜（音译）说。
According to Wang, in 2008 the UK extended the validation time for the Post Study Worker (PSW) visa from one year to two years. With a PSW visa, international graduates can stay in the country, look for a job and decide on their future path.
王茜表示，2008年英国留学生毕业工作（简称：PSW）签证有效期从1年延长至2年。获得该签证后，留学生留在当地进行求职，并规划自己的未来。
“Men in China are expected to be well-established in a career at 30 and women should be worried if they are still single at that age,” said Li, who studied in the US for 12 years before returning in 2007. “To many this seems less attractive than Western culture which encourages more diversified lifestyles.”
李今朝曾留美12年，于2007年回国。他表示：“在国内，人们普遍认为男人应当‘三十而立’，而女人则应当‘三十成家’。与国内相比，西方文化提倡多元化的生活方式，这对许多人来说更有吸引力。”
Liu Xiao (a pseudonym), 30, agrees. He graduated with an MA from the University of Edinburgh in the UK and has been working as an engineer at Broadcom Corporation for four years.
30岁的刘潇（化名）对此表示认同。在英国爱丁堡大学取得硕士学位后，他就职于美国博通公司，做了4年的工程师。
But another overseas “drifter”, Lin Yanqin, has had a clear plan since graduating from Rikkyo University in Japan with a BA in tourism this March.
但同为“海漂一族”的林燕琴（音译），自打今年3月从日本立教大学取得旅游专业学士学位后，便做好了清晰的规划。
Working as a website editor in Tokyo, the 24-year-old is using her itinerant lifestyle to improve her CV.
作为东京的一名网络编辑，现年24岁的她想通过这种漂泊式的生活方式来丰富自己的履历。
“I don’t think I will have a competitive advantage unless I gain work experience here in Japan before returning to China,” said Lin.
林燕琴说：“如果不在日本积累一些工作经验再回国，我肯定没有竞争优势。”