It is a family-owned textile factory in the city Nantong, China. I grew up in this factory until age seven.
In the summer of 2023, I embarked on a documentary photography project on female factory workers during my revisit. After visiting four different departments and interviewing six female workers, I felt compelled to use photography to narrate their life stories.
On major media platforms, these females are often portrayed as victims, who are deprived of their individuality and uniqueness. However, throughout the interviews, we glimpsed their distinct life philosophies and power in pursuing a better life. They are life changers, leaders, decision-makers, mothers, not to be simply generalized as “workers.”
Xin, Yue
From Xuzhou, Jiangsu
25 years old, 5 years of working experience
The group manager in quality inspection department
Mother of two children
欣悦
来自江苏徐州
25岁，5年工作经历
质检部门小组长
两个小孩的母亲
Jing, Ling
19 years old
Used to be a customer service personnel
A celibate
景灵
19岁
做过客服
不婚主义
Jia, Yi
From Shanxi
25 years old
Worked in a beauty salon, dessert shop, hotel front desk, and now work in a textile factory
佳怡
陕西人
25岁
干过美容院，甜品店，酒店前台，现在在纺织厂工作
An, Rou
From Jinsha, Jiangsu
37 years old
Started working at 19, has been doing embroidery work for 18 years
Married at 21
安柔
金沙人
今年37岁
19岁开始工作，已经做了18年绣花工作
21岁结婚
Danni
Started working at 18, has been working for twenty years
Self-taught in chemistry
丹妮
18岁开始工作，工作二十年
自学化学
Xiaoling
Started working in 2013, has been working for ten years
Specialized in electromechanics
晓玲
2013年开始工作，工作十年
机电专业
Danni
Started working at 18, has been working for twenty years
Self-taught in chemistry
丹妮
18岁开始工作，工作二十年
自学化学
Xiaoling
Started working in 2013, has been working for ten years
Specialized in electromechanics
晓玲
2013年开始工作，工作十年
机电专业
“As long as both of us work hard together, we can gain everything we want. After all, we won’t go hungry.”
“两个人只要努力有上进心，总归什么都会有的，总归饿不死”
Han: Why did you choose to come to Nantong to work?
Xinyue: My husband and I are both from Xuzhou. We came out together. His parents had been working here for over ten years as laborers. They've been doing this job for over a decade. When I first met my husband, we were quite young, around 16 or 17 years old. It seems like we engaged in early romance, early marriage, and early pregnancy. I'm 25 now, and my son is already 8 years old. With early marriage and early pregnancy, the reality is that once you have a child, and both of you don't have money, and his parents don't have much money, what can you do?
You have to come out to work and earn money. You can't just stay at home and rely on nothing. The crucial thing is that you don't have any money to feed yourself. So, we came here. At that time, as long as you were willing to work hard, it didn't matter that we didn't have much education; we had only graduated from junior high school. The job requirements here weren't very high. As long as you were willing to do physical labor and work hard, there was money to be earned. So, we chose to come to the job market, found a job, and thought it was pretty good.
“Just let it happen, it’s the path I’ve chosen for myself.”
“就那样吧，自己选择的路”
Han: How much can you generally earn?
Jingling: It depends on the number of sets you inspect and how many sets you can write down in a day. On average, you can earn around 200 to 500 or even more in a day. It all depends on how fast you work. Without working overtime, I can make around 200 in a day, but some of my coworkers make more.
The price for each set varies. For example, you see that table over there is priced at 1.4 RMB, and some sets may cost 1.5 or even 1.6 RMB.
Han: Have you thought about whether you'll continue doing this in the future?
Jingling: No, I won't. Maybe one day, I'll just leave. Because I don't want to do this anymore, so I'll leave. I find it too boring. Doing this every day, and I'm always so tired.
"If you haven’t studied well, you have to work hard, right?"
“没好好读书就得干活对吧？”
Han: Because you came here in the first place to earn money, have you ever thought about how to make more money?
Jiayi: Work. If you haven't studied well, you have to work, right?
Han: Are there many girls of your age group in the factory?
Jiayi: I don't think there are many girls of my age in the factory. Most of the people here are married, and both spouses work to earn a living. Young girls prefer not to come here because there are more exciting things to do outside. I think life in the factory is just too boring. When you work outside, like we used to, you have a more flexible schedule. You work from 8:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon, and after that, you can go out to eat and shop with your friends. But here, you can't do that. You're tired when you finish work, and you just want to rest. So, we used to go out. Every month, we would have some days off, and we would make plans to go out with friends, take photos, or visit places like the Night Market. We used to work near the Night Market, and during holidays and festivals, we would go to the North City and the Night Market, mainly for entertainment.
"Will you continue to do embroidery work in the future? I think so."
“未来也是一直做绣花吗？我想的是的。”
Han: You are the only one in this workshop. Don't you get bored sometimes?
An Rou: I've gotten used to it. I've always been by myself. When I'm bored, I browse through Douyin (TikTok) or watch TV dramas. When I'm working and busy, I listen to audiobooks or music.
Han: Will you continue to do embroidery work in the future?
An Rou: I think so. Some of my friends switched careers after doing this work, and some went into selling insurance or managing stores. It seems like those options aren't suitable for me. Embroidery is what I'm best at.
Han: Do you have any personal goals in this profession, like earning a specific amount of money?
An Rou: Not really. As long as I earn enough to cover my daily expenses, it's fine.
"Whether or not there’s a husband doesn’t matter, but having children is a must."
“有没有老公都无所谓，但是小孩是要生的。”
Han: How did you learn chemistry? Did you learn it on your own, or did someone teach you?
Danni: My mentor was my husband. I would learn a bit and remember a bit, learning while practicing. Because in chemistry, you often work with very precise and accurate measurements, like decimal points with several zeros, so it requires a high level of precision.
Han: What if those reagents pose a danger?
Danni: When you work with them, you have to be extremely careful. The prerequisite is that you have some knowledge of chemistry and understand what's hazardous and what's not. You need to have some knowledge about the situation. For example, when we're supplying sulfuric acid to the factory, it can be quite frightening. There's a saying that the acid should be poured into the water, not the other way around. If you pour water into sulfuric acid, though I've never done it, I believe the consequences would be severe. Because one time when I was working with sulfuric acid and poured it into the water, it bubbled up like boiling water, making a hissing sound continuously, and that feeling was quite scary. It's always a bit frightening when you prepare a fresh batch.
"Whether or not there’s a husband doesn’t matter, but having children is a must."
“有没有老公都无所谓，但是小孩是要生的。”
Han: How did you learn chemistry? Did you learn it on your own, or did someone teach you?
Danni: My mentor was my husband. I would learn a bit and remember a bit, learning while practicing. Because in chemistry, you often work with very precise and accurate measurements, like decimal points with several zeros, so it requires a high level of precision.
Han: What if those reagents pose a danger?
Danni: When you work with them, you have to be extremely careful. The prerequisite is that you have some knowledge of chemistry and understand what's hazardous and what's not. You need to have some knowledge about the situation. For example, when we're supplying sulfuric acid to the factory, it can be quite frightening. There's a saying that the acid should be poured into the water, not the other way around. If you pour water into sulfuric acid, though I've never done it, I believe the consequences would be severe. Because one time when I was working with sulfuric acid and poured it into the water, it bubbled up like boiling water, making a hissing sound continuously, and that feeling was quite scary. It's always a bit frightening when you prepare a fresh batch.
