Hanging in the balance: A Chongqing bangbang's story

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While its glossy skyscrapers talk of a modern metropolis, the city of Chongqing is also known as a stronghold of one very traditional aspect of Chinese culture: the bangbang.

Bangbang refers to the manual laborers who still operate in the city to this day, helping to deliver heavy loads without the assistance of vehicles or technology. The name means stick in Chinese and refers to the tool that these men (and some few women) use to transport packages.

Ran Guanghui, 49, has been doing the job for 20 years. He came from Dianjiang County, a two-hour drive out into the countryside surrounding Chongqing, in search of employment opportunities that were better paid than those in his hometown. He followed his wife, who was the first member of the family to move to Chongqing.

Ran's situation is not uncommon. Many of the bangbang are migrant laborers from the poor rural areas surrounding Chongqing. They became a veritable army in the 19th century when Chongqing opened, became an important major port city and desperately needed the manual labor the bangbang provided.

At the height of their time in the 1990s, there were about 200,000-300,000 bangbang in Chongqing. But over the past 30 years, there's been a steep drop in that figure. Today there are only a few thousands doing this backbreaking work. What's more, these are the same migrant workers that came here three decades ago in search of work, as young people are unwilling to enter this robust industry.

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Ran Guanghui is a living example of the physical demands of the job. Dragging 150kg of deliveries up multiple flights of stairs is a regular Tuesday at the office for the man, who at almost 50 years has more strength than most men half his age.

The reason he keeps on going is his family. His hard work has enabled him to purchase a flat in Chongqing's city center. After realizing the dream of home ownership in the big city, he is trying to offer his son, the youngest of three children, better opportunities in life.

"I said to him that as long as he is willing to study, I would fully support him," Ran explained.

"To be honest, it is very hard being a bangbang. If you're well educated, whichever the factory you work in, it is much easier than being a bangbang. You don't expose yourself to the sun or rain. He said that his wish is to be a policeman in the future. Whether it will come true or not, I don't know, but he needs to work hard," he added.

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