Factory Visit
This factory visit, like my Huaqiangbei research, explores the ordinary labor that enables production. I hope to share some of my observations that emerged during my visit through photographs and notes.
Beyond Production
I was fortunate to visit a toy car factory this summer in China and speak with the company’s founder and owner. Although I am unable to share photographs of what I saw inside the main production facilities, seeing the scale of production in person—the number of people and machinery—was truly eye-opening. What resonated with me the most, however, was what surrounded the factory. Manufacturing and residential life seemed to exist within the same space.
The arrangement resembles something known as a danwei—a work unit—in which production, residence, and social facilities are integrated within a compound [Lu, Everyday Modernity↗]. Duanfang Lu argues that this arrangement is, indeed, “one of China’s secret recipes for rapid industrialization,” in part because the integration of work and everyday life produces a homogenized lifestyle among workers [p81, p83]. While workers perhaps earn lower wages in these work units developed under a centrally planned socialist economy, they have secure employment, comprehensive social welfare, receive significant access to non-monetary resources, and are able to develop an independent social community [p89]. As Elaine M. Bjorklund phrases it, “the workplace becomes the principal unit around which domestic and social activities are linked” [The Danwei, p21↗].
I invite you to consider the broader environment in which production takes place, and to reconsider what we typically understand as a “productive” environment. Look closely at the workers, living spaces, and everyday activities that surround and sustain the factory.
The Canteen
The first place I toured when I visited the complex was the canteen. It was about the size of a ballroom, and it served hundreds, if not thousands, of factory workers each meal. Lunch was divided into 3 waves, with workers from across the complex arriving in a steady stream for each one. A standard meal at the canteen cost just ¥6, equivalent to about 89 cents USD; "premium" meals or larger portions cost upwards of ¥16. A separate dining hall offered alternatives for those with dietary restrictions. Some workers chose to eat outside the complex altogether.
Social Spaces
Outside the canteen was a meticulously maintained park where workers rested. The space was filled with greenery and leisure facilities, including ping-pong tables and badminton courts. Some gathered to socialize, playing cards and sharing drinks. Others took naps, smoked, or simply sat looking at their phones.
The owner told me that the space was intentionally left open for workers to use however they wish. They could do whatever they wished, and he genuinely did not mind.
Residences
The complex included separate dormitories for men, women, and families. Individual residences were not necessarily small, but neither were they large. That is to be expected, as private functions such as bathrooms and kitchens were accommodated in “unit social facilities” [Lu, Everyday Modernity, 82↗]. Still, the spaces retained a distinctly domestic character. Factory uniforms hung outside to dry, adding an unmistakably domestic element to an otherwise industrial environment. Outside the dormitories, hundreds of motorcycles filled the parking areas, serving as the primary means for resident workers to travel in and out of the complex.
The distinction between workplace and residence became difficult to draw, as for many, if not most, workers, the factory was not only where they worked, but where they lived.
Necessities
A small supermarket operated downstairs, stocked with everyday necessities. The owner told me he wanted workers to be able to get everything they needed cheaply without having to leave the complex.
Children's Spaces
Playgrounds around the facility gave workers’ children a space of their own. It was one of the clearest reminders of how the factory accommodated more than just manufacturing—families were part of the community surrounding production.
Farms
The complex even maintained its own farms and produced much of the food consumed by the people who worked and lived there. In this sense, the factory seemed self-contained, in that all necessary systems for producing, feeding, housing, and entertaining its workforce all operated in the same space.
The Owner's Villa
Even the owner had his own villa within the complex, where he would stay for extended visits to the factory. And while this villa was considerably more refined than the standard dormitories for factory workers, its presence nonetheless blurred the boundaries between management, work, and everyday life in ways I had not expected. The entire process of production was rooted in community—hundreds of people, from factory workers to managers and even the owner, literally lived where they worked.
Rethinking the Factory
The visit challenged my conventional understanding of what a factory is. I had expected to see a place defined primarily by machinery and production, but instead found an entire community organized around it. From dormitories and farms to even the owner’s villa, the complex extended far beyond the production floor. Work, home, and everyday life were deeply intertwined; the owner even shared that the complex regularly hosted events and performances for its residents. It was an entire community—and culture—built around production.