Migrant workers gather in front of one of the many labor recruitment agencies in Sanhe marketplace in Longhua, Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (Photo: China Daily/Roy Liu)"Urban villages" provide migrant workers with low-cost housing in Shenzhen's Futian subdistrict.
Scratching a living
For decades, Shenzhen has been a vital part of the global supply chain as foreign enterprises outsourced their businesses in search of a cheaper, sustainable workforce and lower production costs. That allowed migrant workers to eke out a living in the city and feed their families in the impoverished inland provinces.
At the turn of the century, the city's migrant worker population peaked in the downtown. As manufacturers arrived, such as Foxconn Technology Group which relocated its largest factory at the Longhua Science and Technology Park and set up a recruiting station at Sanhe, Longhua became a new congregation point for migrant workers.
It became a magnet and transfer station for unskilled laborers across Shenzhen and nationwide.
Located in Bao'an district - one of two areas formerly outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone - Longhua is one of just a few places in the city with a plentiful supply of cheap labor and rock-bottom living costs.
Xu Bin works at an electronics factory in Shangtang, just two metro stops from Sanhe.
The 30-something works 12 hours-plus, seven days a week, earning up to 5,000 yuan ($756) a month. It's a sum Xu dared not contemplate when he idled away his days at Sanhe, his first stop when arrived in Shenzhen from his native Henan province seven years ago.
Snaking through the dense, tangled warrens of the urban villages nearby, he was shocked by the incredibly low living costs in the area, which is dominated by small and medium-sized businesses.
Urban villages have long served as enclaves of cheap housing for the migrant workers who have supported Shenzhen's economic rise.
"Thanks to the lively urban villages, I've had no difficulty finding internet bars that charge 1.50 yuan per hour and 6 yuan for a night." Xu said.
"Shabby hotels offer a bed for just 15 yuan and a single room for 30 yuan a night. At the Shuangfeng Noodle Restaurant, a bowl of noodles sets you back just 4 yuan, and it has never raised its prices. This is a wonderland for low-paid workers. It's equally a playground for job-shy people who just muddle along and idle their time away."
