Indeed, as well as college students like Liu Dan, some disadvantaged groups -- such as some 200 million migrant workers and laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises -- also suffer from discrimination in the labor market. Most Chinese employers will not consider job applications from candidates above 35, excluding the majority of China's laid-off workers.

China's residential permit system (or "hukou") ties farmers to farmland, restraining the surplus labor force in rural areas from migrating into the cities and thus suffering discrimination from urban dwellers.

Due to the discrimination, they have little say over their treatments. They cannot enjoy some basic rights, such as work-related insurance and health care.

Although the government always vows to protect the interests of them, sometimes they even cannot get paid on schedule.

According to Xie Zhiyong, a professor at the China University of Political Sciences and Law, discrimination also exists in China's civil servant recruitment exams.

"Some posts only accept male candidates," he said, "and 35 is the age limit for the promotion of many posts -- these requirements have no necessary connections with the nature of the work."

Such widespread discrimination sometimes triggers tensions in society, often resulting in tragedy.

One such case that raised public awareness of job discrimination was the murder committed by Zhou Yichao, a university graduate that was also a carrier of Hepatitis B.

In 2003, Zhou killed a civil servant and seriously wounded another, primarily due to his anger over the recruitment procedure of a local government department in Jiaxing City of East China's Zhejiang Province -- he had successfully passed the interview and the exam for the post, but had failed the health check-up.

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