On 310 Yuan a Day, She Builds China’s Towers — and Streams the Struggle

A morning on the scaffolding

In the predawn cold of Xi’an, Liu Yan — a 24-year-old rodbuster — pushes up her glasses, ties rebar and moves through an unfinished high‑rise site while wind whistles through the concrete skeleton. She is severely nearsighted and works with dust‑stained hands. It has been reported that she earns about 310 yuan a day for the job. She also streams parts of her shift to online audiences, broadcasting the labor behind China’s urban skylines to viewers who rarely see construction workers up close.

Livestreaming between paychecks

Why stream from a construction site? For many Chinese frontline workers, livestreaming is both a source of extra income and a way to be seen. Platforms such as Douyin (抖音) and Kuaishou (快手) have popularized real‑time feeds that can turn modest donations into meaningful supplements to wages. It has been reported that Liu’s broadcasts attract attention and occasional tips — but streaming also exposes workers to surveillance, precarious schedules, and the platforms’ opaque rules. Is this new visibility empowerment or another form of gig‑economy precarity?

Bigger picture: labor, gender and urbanization

Liu’s story sits at the intersection of China’s rapid urbanization, reliance on migrant labor and changing digital economy. Construction remains a backbone industry built largely by internal migrants; women like Liu are less common in heavy trades, making her presence notable. Her streams offer Western audiences a rare close‑up of the physical labor behind China’s towers, and they raise questions about pay, safety and social protection for those who build the country’s cities. Reportedly, such grassroots visibility can fuel sympathy and donations — but it does not resolve structural issues like low wages and limited labor protections.