60477142012-02-24 14:39:00.0[2012・The Happiness I Want] Cultural loneliness of the new generation of migrant workers: leisure = sleeping + idle chatting. Migrant worker groups, cultural subject, cultural system transformation, cultural activity rooms, leisure environment, cultural construction, cultural needs, cultural services, new generation 14127转动快讯/enpproperty--> The "post-80s" and "post-90s" new generation of migrant workers are the fresh blood flowing in cities. However, most of them, like their predecessors, create urban material prosperity with hard work while enduring the cultural loneliness brought by city life. Working during the day and sleeping at night has become the daily routine for many rural migrants working in cities. Although their cultural lives have become more enriched compared to the past, there is still a significant gap between this reality and their actual needs. According to surveys, 80% of rural migrants spend their free time either "sleeping" or "idly chatting."
Among the new generation of migrant workers, there has emerged a "high demand" for leisure culture, but real-life conditions often pour cold water on these aspirations. Experts point out that time and purchasing power are only part of the reason for the lack of spiritual and cultural life among migrant workers. The real obstacle lies in the cultural divide between urban and rural areas.
Currently, China's total number of migrant workers reaches 242 million. In this massive group, a considerable portion consists of "post-80s" or even "post-90s" new-generation migrant workers. They are the fresh blood surging through cities, yet most of them endure the same cultural loneliness as their predecessors while creating urban material prosperity through hard work. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee emphasized quickly integrating migrant workers into the urban public cultural service system so they can generally enjoy free or discounted basic public cultural services. At a recent special consultation meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on "deepening cultural system reform and promoting the development of cultural undertakings and industries," some national CPPCC members called for effectively safeguarding and protecting the cultural rights of migrant workers to meet the cultural needs of this group.
Young people from rural areas who leave their hometowns to work at Foxconn may live amidst bustling, crowded factories, but spiritually they feel "lonely, isolated, and desolate." Heavy work pressure, meager wages, monotonous lives, bleak futures, emotional entanglements, and family burdens fill their hearts with distress and torment.
More than 70% of the new generation of migrant workers find their leisure lives monotonous, spending time watching TV to pass the time. More than 70% of the new generation of migrant workers consider their leisure activities "not very rich" or "very dull." Among these, 79.12% choose to watch TV or sleep after work, while only 17% engage in learning or training during their free time. Less than 5% visit libraries, cultural centers, museums, or memorials. Most of the new generation of migrant workers' spiritual and cultural lives focus on simple entertainment activities such as playing poker or surfing the internet, with fewer actively participating in learning-oriented activities.
"The new generation of migrant workers' desire for spiritual and cultural life is stronger than that of the older generation." There are significant differences between the new generation and the older generation of migrant workers in terms of employment concepts and lifestyle choices. After entering the city, the traces of rural society change somewhat in the new generation of migrant workers. Their clothing and appearance resemble those of urban youth, and their thoughts and value orientations are more diversified. They have strong individual awareness, and modern information tools like television, mobile phones, and the internet broaden their horizons. Their demand levels rise accordingly, shifting from survival-based needs to developmental ones.
The absence of leisure is the most concerning issue—"not really relaxing" and "how to relax." Working during the day and sleeping at night is the current lifestyle for many rural migrants working in cities. Survey data shows that although migrant workers' cultural lives have become richer compared to the past, there is still a significant gap between this reality and their actual needs. According to surveys, 80% of rural migrants spend their leisure time "sleeping" or "idly chatting." Besides "sleeping" and "chatting," going online and watching TV remain the mainstream activities for the new generation of migrant workers, with many being in a state of "not really relaxing." If they were to enrich their leisure cultural lives, they would face economic, psychological, and other pressures, making "how to relax" another hidden pain for the new generation of migrant workers.
Li Hua, from a rural area in Heze, Shandong, works as a security guard at a company in Beijing. At 19 years old, he has been on the job for nearly a year. "Apart from going online or watching TV, I go back to my dormitory to sleep," Li Hua said, summarizing his leisure cultural life. "Activities like watching movies or traveling are both expensive and unappealing. Using the company computer or my phone to surf the web feels good enough. I've never really thought about going out shopping." Li Hua added that his biggest monthly expense, aside from living costs, is usually the internet data fee.
Similar to Li Hua, several of his colleagues are around the same age, and their daily leisure activities mostly involve chatting online. They rarely visit parks or malls. Despite living in Beijing for quite some time, they are not very familiar with the geographical surroundings of their workplace. Once, when they needed to go to a nearby bank to open an account, it was arranged by the personnel department because "none of us knew how to get to that bank," Li Hua admitted helplessly.
"For our kind of work, we're pretty tired by the end of the day, leaving no time or energy to think about anything else," other security guards also believe that earning money here to sustain a living is sufficient. Ideally, they can send some money back home. As for so-called leisure culture, it seems too distant from their reality. Especially for those engaged in heavy physical labor, long hours of strenuous work leave them without the strength or spirit to pursue leisure activities, sometimes even causing them to rush home to wash up and sleep immediately after work.
Wang, who works at a hotel in Beijing and comes from a rural area in Hebei, has worked there for nearly two years. Wang believes that most of the young workers he encounters prefer not to interact with urban residents, choosing instead to stay within their small circles and rarely attempting to actively integrate into urban cultural life. This mindset stems largely from their dual identity as "semi-agricultural, semi-industrial" workers, which creates a sense of imbalance and inferiority. Influenced by these psychological factors, they tend to be more closed off and abandon any opportunities to experience leisure cultural activities.
On one hand, there are individuals like Li Hua who "don't really relax," while on the other hand, there are those constantly puzzled by "how to relax." Xu Lin, from a rural area in Zhoukou, Henan, came to Beijing a year ago to work in marketing. Her career goal is to be promoted to department supervisor after a few years. Xu Lin makes full use of her limited free time, studying relevant professional knowledge and continuously recharging herself. Additionally, she enjoys watching movies and traveling, embodying the "three highs" (high education level, high career expectations, high demands for material and spiritual enjoyment). Since she wants to study and improve herself, Xu Lin frequently visits large bookstores in Zhongguancun and Xidan. "Although I always manage to find a seat, I still feel there aren't enough, often having to go up and down several floors to find one, otherwise I'd have to stand," Xu Lin remarked.
"As for other leisure cultural activities, I basically rely on what the company organizes. Watching movies myself is too expensive, with tickets costing dozens to hundreds of yuan. With our income level, after deducting rent and living expenses, it's already good if we don't have to ask our parents for money every month. If I do have extra money, I'd rather use it to attend a training course or something," this is a common sentiment shared by many people in Xu Lin's situation.
Within the new generation of migrant workers, there has emerged a "high demand" for leisure cultural life, but real-life conditions often dampen these aspirations. When "high demand" meets "low reality," the stark disparity leaves them feeling as though they are stranded on a barren island of leisure cultural life. Experts point out that time and purchasing power are only part of the reasons for the lack of spiritual and cultural life among migrant workers. The real obstacle lies in the cultural divide between urban and rural areas.
Lonely hearts find solace in "creating an atmosphere" and "setting up an environment."
Unlike their predecessors who "carried snake-skin bags into the city," the new generation of migrant workers "drag rolling suitcases into the city," leaving behind their dreams of the countryside. They carry urban dreams, hoping to integrate into city life and become new citizens.
Gan Xiangwei, who works as a security guard at Peking University, is relatively fortunate. Gan comes from a small village in Guangshui City, Hubei Province, bringing the dream of continuing his studies to Peking University. In his own words, he came here chasing the prestige of Peking University. After arriving, Gan Xiangwei fully utilized the quality educational resources provided by Peking University, studying and attending lectures whenever he had free time. Eventually, he successfully passed the adult college entrance exam and was admitted to the Chinese Department of Peking University, fulfilling his dream of furthering his education. Now, he is engaged in literary creation, adding a colorful touch to his rich entertainment life. Reflecting on his choice, Gan Xiangwei said, "Being able to come to Peking University has been incredibly lucky. The humanistic environment and cultural facilities here form the essential foundation for achieving my dreams."
Zhang Kai, from Gu'an County, Langfang City, currently serves as the team leader of the security squad at Peking University and is studying at the Open University. With a resolute face often adorned with a friendly smile, Zhang Kai differs from Gan Xiangwei. Having graduated from junior high school, Zhang Kai initially came to Peking University purely for livelihood. "At that time, I just came out from the countryside and never thought about furthering my studies. I took this job purely for survival. But after coming here, I noticed that many colleagues around me love to study, and influenced by the strong humanistic atmosphere of Peking University, I naturally joined their ranks," Zhang Kai said. At Peking University, there are study rooms for self-study, libraries for reading, and the Hundred-Year Hall for watching movies... In short, all kinds of entertainment and cultural activities are available within the university. Since coming here, Zhang Kai hasn't left the campus much. Captain Wang Gui Ming of the Peking University Security Team said that the security team tries its best to create conditions for the development of its members, sincerely hoping that each young man not only earns a salary but also gives themselves a better chance to improve.
Peking University is such an example, and other places are no exception. The spiritual and cultural lives of migrant workers have drawn widespread attention from the government and society. Recently, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly issued "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Cultural Work for Migrant Workers," marking the first comprehensive arrangement for the cultural construction of migrant workers in China. As an important move to eliminate the gap between urban and rural dual structures and promote the equalization of public cultural services, this initiative demonstrates that the Party and the government are using cultural forces to build a solid bridge for over 200 million migrant workers to integrate into cities.
In addition, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance also issued opinions and notices on promoting the free opening of national art galleries, public libraries, and cultural centers (stations), clearly stating that by the end of this year, all national and provincial art galleries (stations) will be fully open to the public for free. All public libraries, cultural centers (stations) across the country will achieve barrier-free, zero-threshold entry, with all public space facilities fully open to the public for free. All basic service items provided will be free of charge. In this way, more migrant workers can directly enjoy the joy of cultural life "quenching thirst."
Culture is the bridge for migrant workers to integrate into cities.
Feng Gang (standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association): Under the background of generational changes among migrant workers where the new generation gradually becomes the main body, their demands for cultural life show many new characteristics and situations. Meanwhile, in ensuring the cultural rights of migrant workers and developing cultural work for migrant workers, there are still problems such as insufficient attention and lagging systematic research. It is imperative to take action to genuinely protect and effectively ensure the cultural rights of migrant workers. We need to actively guide migrant workers to use community cultural facilities, promoting their integration into urban life through cultural exchanges. At the same time, we should accelerate the formation of a "government-led, enterprise co-built, social participation" mechanism for migrant worker cultural work, giving full play to the backbone role of public welfare cultural units, continuously increasing the free opening of public cultural venues, attracting social forces to participate in migrant worker cultural construction, encouraging and guiding various forms of participation by non-governmental public welfare organizations in migrant worker cultural work, making them beneficial supplements to government public cultural services. Establish a supply mechanism for cultural service products guided by demand. Strengthen the investigation of migrant worker cultural needs, fully respecting the cultural subject status of migrant workers, encouraging and supporting the development of migrant worker cultural groups, guiding migrant workers to participate in healthy cultural activities. Additionally, establish a stable funding guarantee mechanism for migrant worker cultural work. Include the daily expenses for migrant worker cultural work in the overall budget of public cultural service funds in the place of residence, gradually establishing a funding guarantee mechanism for migrant worker cultural work mainly based on government investment with active social participation.
Bian Faji (National Committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of the Chinese Acrobatics Association): Culture is the bridge for migrant workers to integrate into cities. Through research, we understand that more and more new-generation migrant workers are flooding into cities, and their overall leisure cultural life is lacking, greatly constrained in participating in leisure cultural activities. They generally lack satisfaction and are in a state of cultural life deprivation. It is recommended to provide "spiritual sustenance" for the new generation of migrant workers, such as building migrant worker theme parks, providing fitness equipment, starting migrant worker clubs, increasing cultural and entertainment facilities, and reducing related fees through fiscal investment and subsidies, creating a good leisure environment for the new generation of migrant workers. At the same time, more community cultural activities suitable for the new generation of migrant workers should be organized, consciously expanding the diversity of leisure cultural life, stimulating the enthusiasm of the new generation of migrant workers to participate, and improving their leisure cultural life standards. Union departments should supervise and guide enterprises to incorporate migrant worker cultural construction into their management systems, regularly holding entertainment and sports activities, establishing cultural activity rooms and reading corners for the new generation of migrant workers. Truly make a batch of culturally strong, interesting, and entertaining activities accessible to the broad new generation of migrant workers. Related thematic articles: The culinary association of Jixi County brings master chefs to Huai for skill exchange. Civilized city agency report: United to win the battle against air pollution control - Xingtai Daily. Relying on the unique advantages of lake areas, vigorously develop ecological tourism - Sohu News. Creating an Eastern Morality City, Yifeng International builds the Yiwu International Trade Expo City in Datong.