China's young generation gets thrifty in gloomy economy

"The point is not only saving money, but to lead a quality life with lower cost," said Lin Yufei, 24, who launched a group called "Let's have a 100-yuan week" on popular Chinese social networking website douban.com.

"I spend 10 yuan to commute to work every day, which leaves me only 50 yuan for living," complained one participant on Lin's site, using the name "Traffic Cost is a Problem."

($=6.85 yuan)

(Editing by Megan Goldin)