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From This Collection

The lucky migrant workers who get to retire in Beijing

Oct 4, 2019
While many people move away from the countryside for work, few of them are able to officially register in the cities.
A man sells dream catchers in Beijing. Few migrant workers from the countryside can stay in the city long term.
Photo courtesy of Shanghai 808 Studio

China's struggling shoe components suppliers contemplate their futures

Oct 4, 2019
Three shoe component suppliers discuss the U.S.-China trade war and the changes they have seen in the last few decades.
A shoe heel manufacturer in southern China's Dongguan city exports mainly to the U.S.
Shanghai 808 Studio

The people who connect the China and U.S. markets

Oct 4, 2019
Darren Quon and James Gau worked in manufacturing before moving into the business of consulting and sourcing.
Skyline of Dongguan city, a manufacturing hub.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

The Chinese manufacturers behind U.S. shoe brands

Oct 3, 2019
Shoe manufacturing shifted from Europe and the U.S., to Japan and Brazil, then to South Korea and Taiwan. Now, much of it takes place in mainland China.
Workers at Changjian Shoe factory in Dongguan city.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

The children of Chinese factory workers

Oct 2, 2019
As part of a series on Communist China’s 70th anniversary, Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak and Shanghai bureau news assistant, Charles Zhang, spoke to people in the country’s shoe industry – the world’s biggest – about their achievements and challenges over the last few decades. You can read more stories from the China 70 series here. China’s […]
Hu Maolin was left in the care of his grandmother when he was two years old, while his parents worked in the cities.
Photo courtesy of Shanghai 808 Studio