... The new generation of migrant workers, those born in the 1980s and 1990s, have far more options than their parents - the original generation of rural migrant workers who fuelled China's extraordinary economic growth over the last two decades. While their parents moved from the countryside to the city out of economic necessity, those born the 1990s, in particular, have always enjoyed a higher standard of living, are better educated, and better understand the reality of life in the big city. Many were born in or grew up in the city, and consider themselves to be more urban than rural. As 19 year-old migrant worker Chen Changzheng told a reporter the Dongguan Times: "Exactly what part of me do you think looks like a peasant?"

The younger generation of workers are both more aware of their rights and more self-confident and assertive. They will not accept indefinitely the appalling working conditions their parents put up with. Many will only work for a few months before moving on to another factory or a new town. They are highly mobile and think nothing of jumping on a train or bus to cross the country if the mood takes them.

More choices for younger migrant workers

And it is this increased mobility that has put the Pearl River Delta at a disadvantage. The delta is no longer the only show in town for factory workers, there are jobs everywhere from Chongqing to Jiangsu and increasingly closer to home for rural families. The wages may not be as high as in the delta but the lower cost of living and proximity to their friends and family make staying closer to home an increasingly attractive option.

Younger workers can also afford not work if they choose to. Very often their parents have made enough money to live on and don't need their children to support them. However, very few young workers are living off their parents. They money they do earn, they spend on themselves and their friends. As one teenager said, "I don't need to support my family but neither do I want to be a burden." ...