January 20th was the Lunar New Year's Eve. At about 7 pm that night, a K8500 special train carrying more than 1,200 migrant workers departed from Ningbo, Zhejiang, and headed for Fuyang, Anhui, thousands of miles away.

This was the first time that Fuyang, a major labor export city, took migrant workers home for the New Year in the form of a special train, hoping to attract them to stay in their hometowns for employment and entrepreneurship by warming their way home. At the same time, as a major labor importing city, Ningbo also provides benefits and warmth to migrant workers, hoping to keep skilled workers in local companies.

The hometown special train picks people up, and the work place warmly retains people, behind which is the competition for talents in different places. Gu Hui, an associate researcher at the Anhui Academy of Social Sciences, said: "Migrant workers will vote with their feet. The city that can provide enough opportunities for them to integrate into the city as soon as possible will be able to seize the initiative in the competition for human resources."

The two generations of migrant workers are very different

Young people prefer to wait for the train in Internet cafes, and even refuse the free seat tickets

In the carriage of the K8500 train, older migrant workers sat in a circle playing cards, while young people mostly watched computers and played with their mobile phones quietly.

The reporter found a series of clothing design drawings in the computer of a young migrant worker. His name is Tao Lei, 20 years old, from Tao Laoxiang, Linquan County, Fuyang. He not only designs clothes but also works part-time as a Taobao model. He casually called up a few works on his laptop and introduced them enthusiastically: "These styles of coats are very popular online recently."

Guo Xuanyang, a young boy from Funan County, Fuyang City, is studying the crane operation guide on his mobile phone. He worked at a construction site and was unwilling to be a laborer, so he learned crane technology at his own expense. "After learning the skills, my income will double immediately." Guo Xuanyang is full of hope for the future.

When the two generations of migrant workers were waiting for the train at the railway station square, two scenes appeared: the older generation of migrant workers mostly stood in the sheltered area of the square to wait, while the new generation of migrant workers were more willing to wait in leisure places such as Internet cafes or tea bars around the square.

"When the train tickets were given away this time, the older migrant workers were very excited to receive the tickets. But the younger ones were different. One young man immediately refused when he heard that it was a seat ticket. He didn't want to sit all night to go home." Zhang Lei, a staff member of the Wangdian Town Government of Yingzhou District, Fuyang City, told reporters.

"Most of the migrant workers who would rather stand all the way home are older. Young people have requirements for travel, and they buy hard sleeper or soft sleeper, or at least have a seat." According to Zhao Xiaoguo, the conductor of the K8500 train of the Hangzhou Passenger Transportation Section, older migrant workers mostly eat instant noodles and steamed buns on the train, or even starve all the way, while the younger generation will not only buy boxed lunches on the train, but also buy some drinks and snacks.

"The dream of young migrant workers is not to go out to "earn a living", but to "realize the value of life", and they have requirements far higher than "filling their stomachs." Cheng Xiaoxing, secretary of the Communist Youth League of Fuyang Municipal Committee, said that making money to make a living is no longer the only goal of young migrant workers going to work in the city. They hope to compete with their peers in the city and tear off the label of "cheap"; they are very motivated and are willing to attend training courses at their own expense to learn technology; they chat online, are willing to buy high-end mobile phones, care about the stock market and property prices, and are unwilling to work overtime.

Hometowns and places of employment are "snatching people"

Fuyang wants to keep people by chartering cars and picking them up at the station; Ningbo also wants to keep people by giving money and booking tickets

At about 8 a.m. on January 21, the K8500 special train for migrant workers arrived in Fuyang and was warmly welcomed by local authorities.

As soon as Zhang Qingfang, a steelworker, walked out of Fuyang Railway Station, volunteers took the package in his hand and sent him on the bus back home.

"Train tickets are free. Instant noodles and sausages are free. Even the bus back home is free." Zhang Qingfang said that he never dared to think of such treatment before.

Fuyang organizes a special train for migrant workers to pick up wanderers and return home, which is a microcosm of the changes in the fate of countless migrant workers. While showing care for migrant workers, this move also contains the following message: Fuyang urgently needs the technology, funds, and advanced ideas brought by returning migrant workers to promote economic upgrading and development, while solving many social problems such as left-behind children and hollow villages.

"Whether in the coastal areas or inland areas, enterprises are increasingly paying attention to human resources." Li Haichuan, director of the Fuyang Investment Promotion Bureau, said that even with a population of tens of millions, Fuyang is also facing a certain degree of "difficulty in recruiting workers" because many of the labor force are working outside the city. In various industrial parks in Fuyang, some types of work such as skilled workers and technicians are sometimes in short supply.

"Our development strategy has changed from "exporting one person to enrich a family" to "returning home to start a business and driving the development of one area." Chen Jun, member of the Standing Committee of the Fuyang Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, introduced that there are more than 3 million migrant workers in Fuyang, and many of them have gradually grown from ordinary farmers to skilled workers, senior managers and even small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, with technology and funds. Fuyang hopes to attract migrant workers to return to their hometowns to invest and start businesses, and turn the advantages of human resources into development advantages. To this end, Fuyang has warmed the way back home on the one hand, and introduced various support policies on the other hand, looking forward to the return of migrant workers to participate in the construction of their hometowns.

Fuyang, a labor exporting city, has taken many measures to encourage migrant workers to "return home", while Ningbo, a labor importing city, has used various cares to look forward to the return of migrant workers after the holiday.

Ningbo has millions of migrant workers, and the local care for migrant workers is not far behind.

Master Wang, who works in the home decoration industry in Ningbo, said that old employees can get a reward of 200 yuan for each new employee they bring back, and 500 yuan for each skilled worker they bring back. Liu Wei, the head of a mold company, said that every year during the Spring Festival, he helps workers buy return train tickets, which is an effective measure for the company to retain employees.

Cai Zhexin, deputy stationmaster of Ningbo Railway Station, said that in order to retain workers, some companies in Ningbo will book round-trip sleeper berths. When the return train arrives, some companies will organize buses to the railway station to welcome workers to the factory.

Different ideas on whether to leave or stay

Young people want to venture out, while middle-aged and elderly people prefer to return home

After the Spring Festival, should they leave? Or stay?

The reporter found that older migrant workers are more homesick, and for many new generation migrant workers, the outside world is more exciting.

Niu Suling, 50, is working in Ningbo with her two children, Yan Huanhuan and Yan Wenlong. Niu Suling works as an injection molder in a factory, earning more than 4,000 yuan a month. Niu Suling said that her husband works as a construction worker in Linquan, Fuyang, his hometown, who not only has a high income but can also take care of his parents. If there is a suitable job at home, she is willing to go home even if she earns a few thousand yuan less a month.

The siblings next to her have different ideas.

Last year, Yan Huanhuan quit her high-paying job in her mother's eyes and took out all her savings to open a clothing store in Ningbo Xindaxin Shopping Mall. "I don't want to work for a lifetime, I want to start a business." She hopes to stay in Ningbo.

Yan Wenlong recently came to Ningbo to join his family. He used to work as a car repairman in his hometown. "The income is high, but I am greasy and girls don't want to date me." Yan Wenlong's expectation for his new job is that the salary can be slightly lower, but the dormitory conditions must be good, there must be two days off a week, and the factory should have a small playground.

Wang Yu, a member of the Party Leadership Group of Fuyang Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, is optimistic about attracting migrant workers to return to their hometowns for employment. Wang Yu said: "Although the income of migrant workers in the central region is about 15%-20% lower than that in the eastern region, the return of migrant workers is becoming more and more obvious because they are closer to home and convenient for taking care of parents and children, and the cost of living is also lower."

The data provided by Fuyang Railway Station also supports Wang Yu's statement. As an important source of migrant workers in China, Fuyang Railway Station is regarded as a barometer for observing the changes in the Spring Festival travel rush. Zhang Xiwang, secretary of the Party Committee of Fuyang Railway Station, said that since 2011, the number of people returning home during the Spring Festival travel rush in Fuyang has exceeded the number of people leaving for the first time, and has been increasing year by year. "During the Spring Festival in 2016, there were 40,000 to 50,000 more migrant workers returning than leaving."

However, the interviewees all admitted that the returning migrant workers were mainly older generation migrant workers. Liu Shenghong, general manager of Anhui Qixin Luggage Co., Ltd., said: "In recent years, most of the workers recruited are between 35 and 50 years old. Young people cannot be retained, and they all want to try their luck."

Hope to become a citizen with equal treatment

The effect of retaining people with feelings is limited, and integration into the city can last long

Gu Hui said that warming up the wanderers in the form of special trains and impressing them with the affection of their hometowns are indeed effective methods, but migrant workers need far more than that. More and more migrant workers have gone from pursuing wages to looking for a guaranteed life, such as career development planning and children's education.

Gu Hui suggested that all sectors of society should pay more attention to the citizen treatment that migrant workers can enjoy, whether in the developed eastern regions or the underdeveloped central regions, so that the majority of migrant workers can enjoy "citizen treatment."

The AUX Group in Ningbo has more than 20,000 workers from all over China. Zhang Luping, a staff member of the group's president's office, said that the group provides interest-free or low-interest loans based on the employees' years of service to help them buy homes, stay in Ningbo and integrate into the city.

"Only by warming the hearts of employees can we retain employees; only by integrating employees into the city can enterprises recruit workers without difficulty." Zhang Luping said that if enterprises treat migrant workers in the way of "recruiting when needed and firing when not needed", then the enterprises will never be able to retain workers and will have labor shortages from time to time.

"Migrant workers who can integrate into big cities are the best among the migrant workers. In fact, most people find it difficult to integrate into first- and second-tier cities, and they have a sense of drifting psychologically." Li Haichuan, director of the Fuyang Investment Promotion Bureau, introduced that Fuyang is promoting new urbanization to turn farmers into citizens. At the same time, the children of migrant workers can all attend urban schools and enjoy the same treatment as urban residents.

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