As China’s economy continues to decline, life is becoming increasingly difficult for the lower-class people. The Mid-Autumn Festival is supposed to be a time for family reunions, yet for those struggling to make a living, they still have to wait for work on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, even in first-tier cities like Beijing.
Ma Juqiao is the largest “daily pay” base in Beijing, located at the junction of Tongzhou and Daxing in the southeast of Beijing. To the north of the bridge is the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone, and to the south is a commercial street.
The most common storefronts there are human resource agencies, internet cafes, and funeral supply stores. Job advertisements for various temporary positions can be seen along the road, including daily pay, hourly pay, security guards, logistics, auxiliary police, with hourly wages ranging from around ten to twenty yuan to six to seven hundred yuan, making it a gathering place for gig workers.
According to reports from the Central News Agency, in the early hours of the Mid-Autumn Festival (October 6th), around 3 am, Ma Juqiao near the southern sixth ring road in Beijing was brightly lit, with some restaurants and bubble tea shops still open for business, and customers dining inside. Some men were seen playing dice on the roadside for entertainment. Many people were wrapped in thin blankets or just wore jackets, sleeping in front of the shops, while others spent the night under the bridge.
Around 4 am, groups of workers emerged from the alleys. They live in daily or monthly rental rooms, most of which are small and narrow, only providing space for sleeping. A woman waiting for a job to come up mentioned that most people choose daily rental rooms here, costing as little as tens of yuan and possibly up to over sixty yuan.
Before 5 am, about twenty or so people gathered at the intersection of Kuoma Road in Tongzhou District and Xinghua Middle Street. The age group of the people gathered was estimated to be around 35 to 65 years old, with mostly men present. When asked what kind of work they were looking for, most workers replied, “Anything, whatever work is available, we’ll do it.”
As the crowd grew larger, more job recruiters appeared, offering daily wages ranging from 150 yuan to 180 yuan, then increasing to 210 yuan. Some intermediaries even mentioned a workshop job that includes meals and pays 200 yuan per day for construction work. A tile worker stated that they would only take jobs that pay between 400 to 500 yuan per day.
As daylight broke, intermediary shops around the intersection started operating, with various job advertisements posted on the walls. Most of the jobs were located near Ma Juqiao and Yizhuang, involving tasks like producing car seats and working on electronic assembly lines, with wages ranging from about 18 yuan to 21 yuan per hour.