Reform and opening up reshapes Chinese labor (2)

Du's team designed a heat radiator that serves as a crucial component for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), which was carried into space by the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011 to detect cosmic rays.

Although Li's parents remain in their hometown in Shandong, working as farmers, Li himself has big plans for the future.

"I'd like to continue being a volunteer while working a regular job. I like dancing, but I also want to learn how to sing and play the guitar. I always feel like there's not enough time," he said.

"Moving from the countryside to urban areas, migrant workers are the links and bridges between the two world, and are a driving force for China's social progress," reads an introductory message at the Art and Cultural Museum of Migrant Workers at the Migrant Workers' Home in Picun.

Official data indicates that China's migrant worker population totaled 263 million by the end of 2012.