Construction in Beijing
One thing I have found particularly interesting about Beijing is the very dramatic class differences that exist side-by-side throughout the city. My brother lives in a high-rise that caters to ex-pats which is, by all standards, extremely high-end (his three-bedroom apartment costs his company a horrifying $3000 US/month). Yet, everywhere you look, there are clear signs of abject poverty and struggle. Even the workers who don't fall into the "poverty" category exist on a salary that seems shockingly low by our standards. For example, for $800 RMB (about $100 US) a month, you can employ a housekeeper who will come clean your home seven days a week. And the congenial vendors at the Silk Market, where tourists spend so many of their dollars, will haggle to the death over 5 RMB (about fifty cents). While I know these differences exist in the U.S., the gap between the haves and the have-nots appears so much wider here.
From our vantage point on the 12th floor of my brother's building, we have been watching the construction of another relatively swanky high-rise. The labor conditions are pretty shocking by U.S. standards. Our whacked-out sleep schedules have given us sufficient opportunity to watch the goings-on at weird enough hours to convince me that their shifts run twenty-four hours a day. I have looked out at 2:30 am and 5:30 am, and although there are fewer workers at those times, they are definitely hard at work, even then. The equipment and methods they are using are also surprisingly antiquated (at one point, we saw a worker sweeping brick rubble with a little wisp of a broom that looked like it had been homemade out of a web of bush branches). Despite all this, the energy with which the workers approach their task (whether voluntarily or otherwise) is amazing. It is not unusual to see a worker running while pushing a heavily loaded wheelbarrow. Although I obviously don't condone these working conditions, it is easy to understand after witnessing these people in action why U.S. companies would be so eager to move their jobs to Asia.
Construction workers sifting dirt by shoveling it through a screen propped up on a stick
Workers moving brick by wheelbarrow
Bicycler bringing a meal to the workers
From our vantage point on the 12th floor of my brother's building, we have been watching the construction of another relatively swanky high-rise. The labor conditions are pretty shocking by U.S. standards. Our whacked-out sleep schedules have given us sufficient opportunity to watch the goings-on at weird enough hours to convince me that their shifts run twenty-four hours a day. I have looked out at 2:30 am and 5:30 am, and although there are fewer workers at those times, they are definitely hard at work, even then. The equipment and methods they are using are also surprisingly antiquated (at one point, we saw a worker sweeping brick rubble with a little wisp of a broom that looked like it had been homemade out of a web of bush branches). Despite all this, the energy with which the workers approach their task (whether voluntarily or otherwise) is amazing. It is not unusual to see a worker running while pushing a heavily loaded wheelbarrow. Although I obviously don't condone these working conditions, it is easy to understand after witnessing these people in action why U.S. companies would be so eager to move their jobs to Asia.
Construction workers sifting dirt by shoveling it through a screen propped up on a stick
Workers moving brick by wheelbarrow
Bicycler bringing a meal to the workers