River town
- Source: Global Times
- [22:03 January 24 2010]
- Comments
A carpenter from Hubei Province, Mr Liu prepares for paving at the Expo site in Pudong on November 28, 2008.
By Jiang Xueqing and photos by Chen Hui
The 5.3-square-kilometer construction site for the Shanghai Expo 2010 spans both sides of the Huangpu River. The workers clamber to their mid-air office and savor a bird's-eye view of the Paris of the Orient.
It's a land of opportunity, many migrant workers agreed, although few took the chance to leave the site and sample the city they see. Some said they would leave Shanghai right after they got paid, according to Chen Hui, a self-employed kitchen product exporter in Shanghai who also loves photography.
The workers told Chen their shelters on the construction site would be demolished as soon as the project was over.
"They said, 'The cheapest hotel in Shanghai costs about 100 yuan. Where are we supposed to live if we keep staying here?'" Chen told the Global Times.
Only about 10 percent of workers on the expo site hoped to stay in Shanghai, he said.
A migrant himself from the county-level city of Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province in 1982, Chen spent a year and a half from September 2008 taking photos of over 100 migrant workers from 20 provinces.
Starting out to document construction of the venues, the 43-year-old gradually altered his focus toward the workers and spent time chatting with them to understand their life, work and thinking.
"People tend to admire the grandeur and splendor, but care less about the ordinary workers who did it," he said.
On site, a 20-square-meter shelter for 15 people had rather poor ventilation in 38-39 C temperatures last summer. Workers without showers poured cold water over themselves from head to foot. In the evening, as they had nothing to do, some preferred working overtime for extra pay.
