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THE 2ND GENERATION

OF MIGRANT

Simin.

Yang

26 Years Old

Simin Yang was born in Ke Mu Lang, a village in the northern Tianhe district of Guangzhou, where she has lived with her parents and younger sister for 26 years. Yang has long been used to the life in Guangzhou's urban village and firmly rooted in the city.


However, her parents are not from Guangzhou. In order to live a better life, the couple came to Guangzhou from their hometown Zhaoqing City, Guangdong province in the 1990s. Young couples who come to Guangzhou for the first time finally choose to live in Kemulang Village, which is home to people who have come to Guangzhou for work. They ran a small business and gave birth to Yang and her sister. A few years later, with money from their business, they bought a plot of land in the village and built a square. After 2000, more and more immigrants came to Guangzhou to work. As an urban village with relatively low rent, Kemulang has become a good choice for some immigrants to rent a house. Years ago, Yang's parents added a few buildings to their land. Later, due to the development of Real estate industry in China and the expansion of urbanization in Guangzhou. Several of Yang's houses became very valuable (currently valued at 60 million to 70 million yuan, or $9.2 million). They rent out their spare apartment, making rent collection one of the main sources of income for the Yang family. Although Yang's family is relatively wealthy in China, Yang and her family live a simple and simple life. As housing prices rise so suddenly, it is difficult for them to adapt to the change from rural-urban immigrants to rich people. Yang and her family still feel like poor people and have maintained many of their old habits over the years. They are not in pursuit of luxuries. The furniture and appliances in their homes are obviously better than those in the average urban village, but they are not luxurious.


Yang didn't do very well in school, so he got a job as a telephone customer service officer after he graduated from secondary school. For her shy, introverted self, the job doesn't require too much face to face networking and is not stressful, so she is satisfied. Yang has been dating a boyfriend for several years. He is not a Guangzhou native but is from Zhaoqing city, Guangdong province, like Yang's parents. He is now working in Guangzhou. Yang doesn't have many ambitions or plans for his future. In her opinion, if all goes well, she will marry her current boyfriend in the future. After marriage, she still hopes to live in her own home with her husband. Unlike many 21st-century girls, she wants to live with her parents all the time. Or at least live near her parents' house. Although Kemulang village is located in the most developed Tianhe District of Guangzhou, it is located in the north of Tianhe District and close to the mountains, so it is not as developed as the south. But Yang has never thought of moving to the city centre, where life is too fast and too expensive for her. Although Yang's family is completely affordable, her main activities are still concentrated in the northern part of Tianhe District. In a word, Yang is very satisfied with what she has now. A stable job, a flat marriage and a happy family are her main pursuits in life. Although she is only 26 and has a long life ahead of her, she doesn't want to make too many changes in the future.

 

Schedule

07:30 She wakes up and says good morning to her boyfriend through WeChat. Washes and dresses up quickly. 
08:00 She goes out with simple clothes (T-shirt, Cropped Trousers and sneaker) and almost no makeup on (put on lipstick at most).
08:05 She buys a simple breakfast (Traditional Guangdong Breakfast) and eats it on the subway to the work place.
08:30 She arrives the work place 12km away from her home.
12:00 She can get a 1.5-hour-break at noon. Generally spends it on eating lunch and playing cellphone along.
15:00 Even though it is the work time now, she still can take a short break from her work, the less pressure of which is the condition she most satisfies withe.
18:30 She can finish her work on time generally. But she almost has no communication with her colleagues apart from the work issues.
19:00 She usually eats dinner in Longdong Village where is relatively prosperous but not far from her village. Also eating with her families at home still is one of her most basic activities that maintains the family relationship, even thought she does it less and less as she gets older.
20:00 It is best time to hang out for the young people living in Guangzhou. But she prefers to stay at home, only goes out when be invited by her besties or boyfriend.
23:30 It is the curfew of her family.
00:45 She goes to sleep after saying good night with her boyfriend. Although, she stays up late sometimes because of various mobile entertainments. 
 

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