A profile of a typical, veteran-migrant worker family out of many million across the country from BBC News:
Millions of people are leaving rural China and heading to the cities in search of work and prosperity. New towns are springing up and growing quickly, turning quiet seaside villages like Shenzhen into vibrant industrial centres.
Liu Xiao Yi comes from a small village in the mountains of south-western China. He is 36 now, with flecks of grey hair above his ears, a quick grin, and wiry body.
At the age of 11, Liu was made aware that he was now a burden on the family, and needed to leave. “That’s how it started,” he says. “I walked to another province and got a job mending shoes. After 25 years of work, Liu says he has precisely 16 yuan – about 1p ($2) – in his bank account. [Full Text]
– Also Boston Globe’s Builders at the bottom by Jehangir Pocha, and CDT’s coverage on migrant workers
