Leaving Liang Village
In *Leaving Liang Village*, author Liang Hong returns to her rural hometown in central China to document the quiet crises and unspoken struggles of its people. Through intimate interviews and on-the-ground observations, she follows Liang Village’s residents as they scatter across China’s cities—Xi’an, Beijing, Shenzhen, Qingdao—chasing jobs, money, and a shot at a better life. From underpaid rickshaw drivers enduring police harassment to factory workers breathing toxic fumes, from college-educated migrants stuck in dead-end jobs to left-behind villagers grappling with loss and apathy, each story lays bare the harsh realities of China’s migrant labor system. Hong doesn’t just highlight the physical toll of long hours and dangerous work; she captures the emotional weight of fractured families, lost identities, and the impossible choice between clinging to village roots and surviving in unforgiving cities. A raw, unflinching portrait of a community caught between tradition and modernity, this book gives voice to millions of invisible workers shaping China’s rise.