Over the last decade, the demand for domestic workers has grown fast in Chinese cities, which also hosts a large number of job seekers from rural areas. The Ministry of Commerce in 2017 launched a poverty alleviation project called "100 cities and 10,000 villages" to place hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the domestic work sector.

Nineteen-year-old Luo Yan is from southwest China's Yunnan Province. She works in food service and housekeeping in a Shanghai guesthouse. Luo came to the city and found the job last year, thanks to a poverty alleviation project that places rural laborers in the domestic work sector. But she's dreaming bigger than just making money here.

"I want to learn skills and gain experience in running restaurants and homestays, and I hope to run my own guesthouse in my hometown after a few years," said Lou, a housekeeper with Yue-life, a domestic services company in Shanghai that recruits rural laborers.

Shanghai plans to recruit 10,000 rural workers from 10 companies within three years through this project. The firms do not just offer them jobs, but also provide them with professional training and career planning.

"Many of these workers will return to their hometowns in the future, and they will be very skilled talents by then. With their savings and knowledge earned in the cities, they can help to boost local development. Only by doing so can an entire area grow out of poverty," said Li Wei, the founder of Yue-life.

With a population of over 24 million, the demand for housekeeping and home care services in Shanghai is growing and becoming more specialized. The growing demand means life-saving opportunities for some.

Shu Jilan is from the southwestern province of Guizhou. Her husband has been ill for a long time, and her family was heavily in debt before she became a home care worker in Shanghai in 2017. She's now earning about 8,000 yuan, or 1,130 U.S. dollars, a month – a figure unimaginable if she had stayed in her hometown.

"I have almost paid my debts off, and my income can cover my husband's medical bills and my family's living costs. I want to change my life and bring good income and luck to my family," said Shu Jilan, who works as a home care worker at another domestic services company in Shanghai, Fuyu Nursing Station.

There are many others like Luo Yan and Shu Jilan. They may have different stories, but it's safe to say they share one dream – to build a better future for themselves and their families.

(Cover Image: Nineteen-year-old Luo Yan works in food service and housekeeping in Shanghai. She hopes to run her own guesthouse in her hometown in southwest China's Yunnan one day. /CGTN Photo)