Despite the rapid growth of the Chinese economy in the last decade, more than 482 million people in China – 36% of the population – live on less than $2 a day. In total 85% of China’s poor live in rural areas and extreme poverty forces many of them to leave the countryside in search of employment in urban areas. Often referred to as the factory of the world, China’s industry-oriented economy relies on these migrant workers who make up the majority of the workforce.