Wu Shuhua sells flowers from the back of her bicycle in the pleasant, tree-lined streets of Shanghai’s Xuhui district. Originally from a village in neighbouring Jiangsu province, Wu came to the wealthy eastern city for its abundant economic opportunities. But it isn’t easy to make it big in Shanghai without education or connections. There are many flower sellers in the city – two other regulars work the same street – and most days Wu positions her bike on a strategic corner and waits patiently for customers. She is one of almost 10 million rural migrants in Shanghai, part of the world’s most rapid urbanisation, moving almost 500 million rural Chinese people into cities over the last 35 years. China now has more than 600 cities, many of which were small towns just a few decades ago. Read more
