Portraits of Chinese Workers

Peng Qunxia, 21, from Hunan
Like tens of millions of other young Chinese women, Peng migrated from the interior for a job in a manufacturing hub on the country's coast. But while her colleagues who arrived in the region a decade earlier tell stories of suffering and sacrifice, to Peng the experience is much more entertaining. She left home at 17, following her elder sister. "Where we are from, most people leave for work," she says. "I was young, and I thought it'd be fun to come here." So far, that's proved true. While the job can be taxing — she works six days a week, with only Sunday off — it's far from the rigors endured by earlier generations. "I get tired, but that's O.K.," she says. "There is work to do."

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