SOCIETY

Glimpse Inside China’s Vanishing Garment Hub

As the garment industry of Guangzhou’s Kanglu area winds down to its last days, TWOC captures life in for the 100,000 workers and factory bosses in its urban villages

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
SOCIETY

Why China’s Gen Z Migrant Workers Are Leaving the Assembly Line

More educated, autonomous, and aware of their rights than the previous generation, China’s newest migrant workers are ditching factory work for the digital economy

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
SOCIETY

The Aging Migrant Workers Who Can’t Afford to Retire

With a growing urban-rural gap and lack of social security, China’s first-generation migrant workers are heading back to the workplace

GALLERY

When Art Meets the Authenticity of Labor

How performance artist Li Liao, famous for his 45-day stint on Foxconn’s assembly lines in 2012, became a delivery driver to pay the bills

SOCIETY

Behind the Scenes at China’s Christmas Factories

It’s always holiday season in Yiwu, a “fourth-tier” Chinese city where migrant workers churn out two-thirds of the world’s Christmas decorations

SOCIETY

The Workers in Limbo During Guangzhou’s Covid Outbreak

Workers in Guangzhou’s urban villages face days living on the streets as their residences restrict entry

LIFE

From Janitor to Painter: “With Art, I Have Somewhere to Unload My Burden”

How 50-year-old “cleaning auntie” Wang Liuyun discovered freedom in painting

SOCIETY

Memoirs of a ‘Postpartum Nanny’

“We have no hope of being seen as human”: a writer recalls her mother’s struggles as a ‘yuesao,’ a nanny specializing in newborn and new mother care

LIFE

A Middle-Aged Nanny’s Literary Dreams in the City

Leaving behind an abusive marriage, a migrant worker from the countryside discovered a literature club and reignited her dreams of writing

SOCIETY

The “Bangbang” Laborer Who Saved Me From the Streets

When my father kicked me out, one of Chongqing’s “bangbang” porters took me in