my bed
Room 31 This photo was taken on the first day I moved into Room 31. My bed is the one on the right. My roommate is a mother of two from Shanxi province. She left her children and her husband behind in hope to earn more money for her family in Beijing.
laundry line bed storage cabinet
Room 4 This image shows the basic provisions of an underground hostel: a bed and a small storage cabinet.The superintend- ent installs additional laundry lines at your request. Room 4 remains empty most of the time. I initially attributed its lack of occupants to the unlucky number four ( 四, si), the Chinese pro- nunciation of which is similar to ‘death’ ( 死, si). I later learned from my neigh- bours that this room is rented out on an hourly basis. Exhausted workers come stumbling in for an afternoon nap. At times this room functions as an affordable love hotel. Room 4 becomes a VIP room for the superintendent’s family during their visit to Beijing dur- ing national holidays.
Room 10 Three construction workers from Hen- an province share this room.They carry almost no luggage, perhaps just one change of clothing. Everything they own is on their bodies, allowing them to be hyper-mobile: they can go anywhere at a moment’s notice. The most valuable item they own is their cellular phones, and the most valuable asset they have to offer is their able bodies.
mouldy walls are covered with newspapers and fabrics
since open-flame cooking is prohibited in basement migrant hostels, residents use electrical hot plates as alternatives.
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