Southern China is a region of highly developed industrial agglomerations that play a significant role in the country’s economy. This area is a hub for innovative developments in major sectors of Chinese industry and hosts the largest number of foreign specialists. For international importers, Southeast China (specifically the Pearl River Delta) is of tremendous interest, as these territories are known as the “world’s factory,” producing everything from solar panels to simple slippers. Here, foreign importers find the perfect balance between quality and price.
One of the largest and economically vital provinces in the south is Guangdong, which ranks first in the People’s Republic of China in terms of population. Over 126 million people live on its 179,800 square kilometers.
Guangdong is home to the headquarters of many well-known Chinese companies, along with countless factories, varying widely in size and production scale — from what might be called “garage” workshops to industrial giants occupying vast areas.
Several factors explain Guangdong’s rapid economic development: firstly, this coastal province in the south hosts two major port cities—Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Secondly, it borders Hong Kong, an economy deeply tied to international trade and finance, providing Guangdong with ample opportunities. Thirdly, in recent decades, the manufacturing sector in this southern region has been actively developed with strategic government support.
Guangdong has many well-established industries, including automotive manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, electronics, specialized equipment, construction materials, and textiles.
Shenzhen, for example, is known as China’s Silicon Valley, as it is home to leading electronics manufacturers. Here, headquarters for companies like Huawei, DJI, Foxconn, Tencent, Baidu, ZTE, BYD, and many others are located.
Satellite image. The Pearl River Delta in the 1970s and in 2003. Today, almost no natural landscapes remain in the region (apart from designated park areas) — everything is built up with factories.
Foshan, the third-largest industrial center in the province after Guangzhou and Shenzhen, is renowned for its furniture and ceramics production, although it also manufactures a wide variety of other products: household appliances, children’s toys, cars, packaging materials, and much more.
Dongguan, located in the heart of the province and a member of the «Trillion-Yuan Club» (a prestigious group of Chinese cities with a GDP exceeding one trillion yuan), is notable for having the highest number of factories.
Dongguan is a quintessential manufacturing city in China. On various occasions, we took business trips from Shenzhen, where our company headquarters is located, to Dongguan factories — a distance of only 85 kilometers, reachable by train or car. Now, reflecting on these trips, we decided to give you an inside look at what life is like in an average Chinese factory, using Dongguan as an example.
What can one see in Dongguan?
To begin with, Dongguan is an endless expanse of factory districts; on its 2,460 square kilometers, a vast number of production facilities are concentrated. Here, you’ll find enterprises producing smartphones, electronic parts and components, specialty fabrics with nano-coatings, robots, industrial equipment, home electronics, packaging equipment, new energy vehicles, clothing, shoes, plastics, and much more. In short, it’s an entire planet of factories.
A typical factory is a closed-off area that includes production and administrative buildings and, often, dormitories for factory workers
Factory Environment
A decent Chinese factory (and here we are talking about “mid-sized” factories, which are the majority) resembles a small “town” behind factory walls, where around 700 people live and work. These factories are equipped with clean production floors, uniforms for workers, and a large research and development department (R&D is an area that any self-respecting Chinese manufacturer prioritizes heavily).
The enclosed space of the factory is designed not only for work but also for employees’ accommodation. That’s right—most factory workers actually live on factory grounds in special dormitory buildings.
Why is this the case?
In economically advanced southern provinces, where both population density and income levels are high, the practice of “living close to the workplace” is quite common. People from nearby villages (where a typical southern Chinese village is comparable to a mid-sized Russian town in both population and area) come to industrial cities to “make good money” working at factories.
In return, factories provide them with reasonably adequate living conditions within the work environment: a bed, free meals in the factory cafeteria as stipulated by regulations, a salary, and the opportunity to earn more through overtime work (which is a significant source of income for Chinese factory workers).
This hiring model is prevalent in Guangdong, as well as in the Beijing and Shanghai metropolitan areas. With the high cost of local labor, employers prefer to hire workers from distant regions, providing for their basic needs on-site.
Factory Layout
How extensive can the factory grounds be? It depends on the industry and production scale. Some “giants” cover dozens of hectares, while smaller factories have more compact premises. However, the typical Chinese factory layout is divided into several zones:
— Production floors
— Administrative office buildings
— R&D department
— Worker dormitories
— Warehouse area
While alternative layouts exist, the zoning principles are similar. For example, the automated packaging equipment factory we visited in Dongguan a few months ago was a large seven-story building, with the R&D department on the top floor, administration on the sixth, and other floors allocated to production, employee living quarters, and storage.
The Most Secretive Department in a Chinese Factory
That would be the R&D department. In a growth-oriented factory, the R&D team is usually sizable: of the 700 employees in an organization, typically 200 work in the technology development department.
R&D areas are always off-limits to outsiders. This is where innovations take place, and entry is strictly prohibited—even for valued clients. Factories rigorously safeguard their know-how.
Working Conditions
On the one hand, Chinese employers generally follow labor laws. On the other, China is where the “996” term originated (working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week).
Yes, any employee is entitled to a five-day work week with a standard eight-hour shift. Factory management cannot exploit workers without limits. However, people often choose to work extra hours, as overtime pay is legally mandated and can be substantial. It’s common practice for workers to work six days a week on twelve-hour shifts, with bonuses for weekends, holidays, and all overtime, which forms a significant part of their income.
Management benefits from this arrangement and encourages overtime. Technically, one can decline extra hours, but the work environment (often the psychological atmosphere) makes overtime the norm.
Does this affect workers’ happiness? Likely, this type of labor does not lead to high satisfaction. But this is precisely the key to Chinese factories’ remarkable productivity. There is rarely productivity without a touch of hardship.
Chinese workers excel at consistently performing routine tasks day in and day out, almost like automatons.
And besides, they come to Dongguan for the “big money” and often take the opportunity to maximize their earnings.
The Factory as a Social Elevator
On average, a basic salary for a factory worker in southern China is modest—2,000–3,000 yuan per month (without overtime). But firstly, they don’t worry about housing (they live in the factory dormitory, albeit not ideally, sharing a room with six or seven others, but they have a bed). Secondly, food is taken care of (many factories provide free breakfasts, lunches, and dinners).
No, their working and living conditions aren’t super comfortable. Life on a factory is essentially an endless cycle, much like *Groundhog Day*. But here’s the crucial part: the very opportunity to work at a factory in an industrial metropolis serves as a form of social mobility for a young person from a remote province in China.
The income of an ordinary Chinese worker is not high, but the factory provides housing and meals, as well as the opportunity to earn a good salary through overtime work.
And a young person from rural China has this opportunity. The factory can serve as a kind of springboard into life. At first, they earn a wage as a regular worker, but in the future, they might start building a career within the factory. For particularly valuable employees who move up the career ladder and become, for example, engineers, the factory can offer significantly better conditions. Alternatively, this young person might set out for new horizons, as the southern industrial megapolis with its vast opportunities is right in front of them.
In short, just as in life in general (no matter the country or conditions), there’s no black or white on a Chinese factory floor. There are shades of gray, there is good, there is bad, and most importantly—there are opportunities. The key is to recognize them.
Opportunities are everywhere. Especially in China.