Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Factory Girls was published in 2008, since then the number of China's migrant workers has only increased. As of 2019 China has 290 million migrant workers (ref), which represents a staggering 20% of its population. That's a huge economic and societal transformation over the last decades, and Chang's books presents a candid portrait of this new societal class.

The majority of the migratory workers are girls coming from rural villages, who set out to support their families by working in factories in China's industrial south. They sleep in crowded dorms, and work 10-12 hours a day, fabricating electronics, handbags, shoes on the assembly line. They are ambituous and constantly try to improve their skills with English or confidence-building classes. They learn to switch jobs fast, when opportunities arise. If they are clever and have the right height, age and look, they receive promotions from the factory floor into the management offices.

The ubiquitous motto in factory towns is “trust no one” and “make money fast”. Bus drivers try to trick their riders out of their fares. Teachers set up English schools, without knowing any English themselves. The fixation on money-making and the low importance of morality is a fertile ground for pyramid schemes to take off. One of the most successful books in China's recent past is “Square & Round” and basically teaches how to scam your way upwards.

While a lot about this world sounds dark and dire to Western eyes, Chang does a good job at highlighting how these jobs help transform the fates of young Chinese women. If they had stayed in their villages, their lives would have been controlled by their families. Now as they earn their own money, support their families back home, and experience independence, their convidence levels grow and their status improves.

Great portraits, fascinating topic, great read. I'd only say it maybe was slightly too long and that Chang's own personal family story felt a bit out of place.