Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Picked Up Factory Girls In Hong Kong

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing ChinaReading a great book I picked up in the Hong Kong airport on my way back from Xiamen, China. The book is Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China which documents the vast amount of migrant girls coming in from the country-sides in rural China in their mid and young teens to work in the factories. They jump from factory to factory to whatever job seems best at the moment and take on a whole new life-style as the acclimate to working 6-7 days a week, 12 hour days at minimal pay and live in crammed small quarters (10 women in a 200 square foot apartment is average)  supplied by the factories themselves.

The story is gathered and written by an American born Chinese descended journalist. It's a good book. I recommend it to anyone interested in the present day China and curiouis how the whole world is changing so quickly as determined by this facinating country that is caught in the midst of its changing and profound historical crossroads.