wall hooks are used as ceiling anchors to hang mosquito netting the window of Room 6 remains permanently closed since the area directly above is a garbage collection point
Room 6 (above) A nearby restaurant owner rents Room 6 as accommodations for his employees.The three girls are from the same township in Shanxi province. Waitressing is a demanding job characterised by long shifts and low pay. In fact, migrants are known to take on what are popularly described as ‘3-D’ jobs: dirty, demanding, and dangerous. The girls are nonetheless grateful: long work hours mean they are less likely to waste money (they simply have no spare time for anything else), and the provision of housing by their employer also helps them save up as much money as they can to bring back home. Shanxi province, the coal-mining central of China, is one of the poorest regions in the country. With the coal-mining industry as the prime economic driver, Shanxi offers little to young girls. Many of them decide to migrate as a result in search of better opportunities.
Room 12 (below) Mei and two other girls share this room. Mei is one of the longest standing residents in this hostel. She has been living here for almost two years, since completing her undergraduate degree at a Beijing university. She now works as a translator. Mei translates English text in user manuals to Chinese for ten to twelve hours a day. She feels that her current living conditions are unde- sirable, but she chooses to remain in the hostel because it is affordable, and its location is within walking distance to her office. Mei was in the process of preparing her dinner. She bought five live fish at the nearby morning market and attempted to keep them alive in a basin of water under her bed.Three of the fish committed suicide by jumping out of the water. The ventilation shaft serves as a fridge for food storage during winter months. Dried foods are kept in sealed containers under the bed or on the storage cabinets. Food storage is kept at a minimum to prevent insects.
the ventilation shaft is used as food storage during winter months. To send or receive mobile messages residents put their phones in this space hoping for reception dining table (not in use)
only electric cooking appliances are permitted inside the hostel Mei’s bed plastic basins used as fish tanks
On Site review 22: WAR
6
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator