International Workers' Day: Migrant workers gaining respect in big cities

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China's migrant workers make great contributions to the nation's infrastructure and development. In recent years, the big cities where they work have shown more respect and hospitality to them. A few days before International Labor Day, a construction site in Henan Province held a wedding ceremony for 15 migrant worker couples. Xia Ruixue reports.

49-year-old Zou Lingdong comes from a rural area of Nanyang in Central China's Henan Province.

23 years ago, he left his hometown and has worked in many cities across China. Now, he is working in a construction site to build a museum outside Zhengzhou, the provincial capital.

ZOU LINGDONG MIGRANT WORKER "I remember when I got my first job in a big city, I worked day and night. 20 people slept on the same bed. The food was bad. It was not a life."

With the coming of International Labor Day, Zou got a surprise. The company decided to hold 15 couples INCLUDING HIM AND HIS WIFE, a group wedding ceremony on the construction site. Last Friday, it was the first time for Zou to see his wife in a wedding dress.

ZHANG YUPEI ZOU LINGDONG'S WIFE "I'm so happy. This has been my dream for many years. He once promised me to shoot wedding photos, but we never got a chance."

In China, migrant workers can make up half of the country's urban workforce. But they used to be the most socially marginalized group of people. But things have been changing in recent years.

ZOU LINGDONG MIGRANT WORKER "Now I don't have to worry about the safety when working on the construction site. We have a helmet and different kinds of protection. The company even buys us insurance. I get paid on time. Now, I feel I get more and more love and understandings today."

ZHANG HONGXING MIGRANT WORKER "We migrant workers help build the cities. But we used to suffer prejudice and discrimination. Now I feel more and more city residents are showing their hospitality to us."

China continues to relax restrictions on hukou, the country's household registration system. It hopes that more than 100 million migrant workers will obtain their hukou in second and third-tier cities. And, more public services will continue to be improved for migrant workers.

Xia Ruixue, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan Province.