Though headway has been made in bridging the gap between people from urban and rural areas, great disparities remain on all levels, including the ability to engage in a healthy cultural life.

One member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference standing committee said that living in a city at least allows access to a social security system, something that hardly exists in rural areas.

Chen Wanzhi continued, "Gaps like this and the inequality they bring can also impact on people's cultural lives," before suggesting that more investment is needed, as well as a trade union to organize migrant workers.

The recent blockbuster A World Without Thieves is based on the experiences of a young migrant worker carrying 60,000 yuan (US$7,228) on a train packed with thieves.

While the image of a warmhearted but somewhat naive migrant worker may have entertained film fans, it's likely that most migrant workers are yet to see it.

"Forty yuan (US$4.90) a ticket? I can't afford it," said Shen Jie, a migrant worker at a construction site in Dongzhimen, east Beijing.

Shen found it hard to recall when he last watched a film, or what it was about. "It must be ten years ago," he said.

Though they are the builders of the nation's theaters and cinemas, a limited cultural life is common among China's 120 million migrant workers.

Shen arrived from the eastern province of Zhejiang in 1991. He says life was better then, and that money seemed to come more easily. "Now, as more and more workers are rushing to the capital, it's hard to earn money, and none of us consider watching films."

For many like Shen, the dream is earning enough to pay for their children's education so they can find jobs in the cities and bid farewell to the hardships of rural life forever. This drives them to work hard and save as much as possible.

With a monthly salary of less than 500 yuan (US$60), Shen sends as much as he can home. In his small dormitory, which he shares with seven co-workers, there is one well-thumbed copy of a magazine published in 1998. Reading newspapers and taking a stroll in Beijing's streets provide an evening's entertainment.

A survey last year by local media found that 80 percent of migrant workers spent their spare time sleeping and chatting because of fatigue and a lack of disposable income. 47 percent had to work more than 10 hours a day, with less than 10 percent working the standard eight hours.

Around 40 percent did not even possess a book, and nearly 60 percent said they were dissatisfied with their cultural life.

Pan Zhonghua works on a construction site near Xidan, a commercial district of Beijing. He said he once went to a big bookstore with colleagues. "When we went there we put on good, clean clothes, but people know you are a migrant worker at first glance." The reception they got discouraged them from going again.

There are other more pressing matters dogging the lives of migrant workers, such as salary arrears, and it is not unusual to hear reports of people not getting paid after a year of hard toil.

But some government departments are recognizing that migrant worker's cultural lives are also important by, for example, holding free screenings of films for them.

(China Daily March 11, 2005)