Where do all the hot new electronic gadgets really come from? Who builds them? What is it like to work in China’s new engine: the 24/7 factory? Last week, we wished aloud for more in-depth stories about the people in the trenches driving China’s new revolution. Since then, some fabulous links have turned up. Here are a few…
Shenzhen Seen - richly colorful photos show us the face, pain, and beauty of life in and around Shenzhen’s factory towns
Life of a Gold Farmer - video from the front lines of low wage work in the world’s top online games
21st Century Carrier Pigeon - following a day’s work for “Mr. Wang” as he plays a fascinating role in global supply chain
Blogging Factory - the skill, the food, the environment, the scale — Andy Huang’s blog gets up close and personal with video, photos, and discussion straight from the assembly line
China Blue - important, touching, haunting documentary gets behind the propaganda and into “camera free zones” to show us how things run when the inspectors go home (show website)
Best reaction: “Wow - that is intense. I am sitting here looking at everything digital in my room, and realizing the most of it probably came from factories like these.” Couldn’t say it better.
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Wow, how did you hear about these sites! Really cool stuff. You might be interested in checking out my new blog about environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility in China: http://www.ResponsibleChina.com. Let me know if you hear of anything relevant to the issues I cover, regarding the arts or gaming industry in China. That would be very interesting to write about.
Thanks! After last week’s post, I became a bit obsessed with learning more about China’s workers, so I started searching. Some of the links I found in my bookmarks history, others I found via a great thread on MetaFilter. (Speaking of the mefi thread, someone just linked a really interesting post on China’s Instant Cities.)
Nice site you’ve got. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for stuff that might be relevant.