Wanderarbeiter in China

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Mr. Li, 60, and Mr. Chen, 63, migrant rural workers from Anhui Province, on a construction site in Shanghai's Pudong district. With the 88-story Jin Mao Tower (right), and the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, the tallest structure in mainland China. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Two migrant rural workers at night in the "special economic zone" of Shenzhen. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Twenty years ago, Dongguan - now an important industrial city with a population of around seven million inhabitants did not even exist. The air is indeed so thick even the dull knife of the worn proverb can cut it. A woman migrant rural worker collects pieces of reinforcing steel from the rubble in order to sell them. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Mrs. Xu, 29, with her six months old daughter. Just a few days ago she moved from the northern part of Guangdong province to Guangzhou city where her husband works in a restaurant. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Migrant rural workers from Sichuan Province slogging away at a brick factory. In June 2007 the media reported that 31 dirty and disoriented workers had been rescued from a brickwork factory where they had been held as virtual slaves. Eight workers were so traumatized by their experiences that they were only able to remember their names. The brick factory was owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

The parents, migrant rural workers from Sichuan Province, toil at a brick factory and have no time to look after their children during the day. Estimates suggest that children now represent between 5% and 10% of the migrant population in the cities. Lacking proper care and a secure upbringing, children of migrant rural workers have encountered a range of problems adapting, hampering their well-being. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Mr. Xian, 50, migrant rural worker from Sichuan province, works on one of the many construction sites in the city of Chongqing. Just as they were a hundred years ago, the houses are often demolished without the aid of machines, simply with sledge-hammers and muscle power. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

According to the World Bank, sixteen of the planet's twenty dirtiest cities are in China, and Chongqing is one of the worst. Every year, the chocking atmosphere is responsible for thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Simple, temporary tin huts of migrant rural workers who work on a highway construc-tion site in the northern part of Guangzhou city. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Inside a simple, temporary tin hut of migrant rural workers. Curtains in front of the individual sleeping places offer the only chance of a little privacy. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

All over China, more than 150 million people travel home over Chinese New Year, the majority being migrant rural workers. Scene in front of Guangzhou's main station. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

The vast majority of migrant rural workers going home are packing Chinas trains in journeys that can easily last two days and more. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Shortly before departure. A young man has struck it lucky: he's sitting by one of the few windows that are not broken an so can be opened. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

A group of men and women leaving Anhui Province. They have nothing to do here, so are traveling to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, where they will work until June. The bus journey will take then hours. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

At the Anyuan Coal Mine Mr. Liang, 42, on his way to the shower. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

A man looking for firewood early morning in the wide open spaces of the steppes. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

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"From Somewhere to Nowhere"

Der Schweizer Fotograf Andreas Seibert dokumentiert seit 2002 die Lebensbedingungen chinesischer Wanderarbeiter. Seine eindrücklichen Bilder zeigen den Preis des Wachstums. Die Kluft zwischen arm und reich nimmt zu, die soziale Absicherung fehlt und die Umwelt leidet. Der Bildband ist bei Lars Müller Publishers erschienen.