A day-in-the-life of a migrant worker in Beijing: simple, tiring yet content

A day-in-the-life of a migrant worker in Beijing

Lao Nie told me that he had lived there for one year. He likes the place, as it is very clean, close to where he works and the rent is affordable. Besides, all the neighbors there are very nice. “I like living here. Before, I lived in a one-story house with three other men. The house was in very bad condition, and there were mice and cockroaches. “

A day-in-the-life of a migrant worker in Beijing

Walking into the basement, I found that the whole place was originally a store room of the residential building. It is now leased to migrant workers with low income. The light in the corridor is dim, and the air is humid.

A day-in-the-life of a migrant worker in Beijing

At 6:40 am, Lao Nie came back home and got ready to make breakfast. He showed me what he bought from the early market, a cabbage, two cucumbers, two carrots and a quarter of a water melon, all of which cost him 8.5 yuan. “We don’t get off work at a regular time. The vegetable market is always closed after I come back home, so I am used to buying food in the early morning.”