Most of the 25 million people of Shanghai rely on delivery riders to bring them food and supplies. 20,000 people face a lack of shelter and safety. Two delivery riders tell their stories.
I have been busy. Many people need supplies. When I make deliveries all day long, I look for a place to sleep.
I left my apartment on April 8 and haven't been back since. Delivery riders can leave and enter their residential compounds in the city. Most of the compounds don't allow riders to return to their own homes. Not many hotels are open to us.
There was a tent outdoors. Those blue ones were used for Covid testing. The compound managers offered me a blue tent to sleep in after asking me to help them buy supplies. I left everything in there.
The tent was gone one day. I was unable to find my stuff. The managers said it was not their business. The security guards did not know where my stuff was.
I had to find a new place to sleep. Sleeping under a bridge can block out the wind and rain. I fall asleep immediately after lying down.
I forgot to pay attention to the weather forecast. The space under the bridge had been taken by the rain. I found an ATM room to sleep in. No one else was around, it was a good place. My only hope was that the police would not kick me out.
The policemen on patrol saw me and chased me away. I was told to go to a homeless shelter. I have tried and it is not open. Nobody was there.
I was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 A group of delivery riders found a restaurant that opened secretly and now they go there to buy food. The police don't pay much attention to it. We need a place to eat. There are electrical sockets in some shops. We sneak in to charge our phones.
There was a story going around that a delivery rider died in a crash. I worry that will happen to me as well. I have been very careful. I go very slowly. It would be very dangerous if I got into an accident in a remote area. If your scooter breaks down, there is no place to get it fixed. You can not work anymore.
News reports said delivery riders can earn up to 10,000 yuan per day. Many people have asked how to become one. My advice is not to become a rider.
The pay we earn as riders is not bad. Most riders only make a small amount of money a day. I don't think anyone can cope with such hardship.
If we weren't doing this, we wouldn't have any income. That is a lot of stress.
I was born in 1999. I couldn't get into a good university when I graduated from high school. My family couldn't afford the tuition fees. I had no idea what to do when I was young. I was told by my mother to join my cousin in China. I would not be left without a place to sleep or food to eat.
I came to China to work with my cousin. It lasted about two years. I started looking for a new job when business went down. I didn't have a place to live back then. I found a rental with another person. It seemed like he was making a lot of money. I asked my brother if he could help me become a rider as well.
People told me that the city of Shanghai is better than my hometown. My family wants me to go home. They all know about the situation here. It is unimaginable that people can not eat in Shanghai.
It is not like I am starving or anything. When I was a child, I slept in a cowshed. I will be fine.
I used to make an average of 4.5 yuan per order. I don't take these orders anymore because they are too low. I take orders from my clients through chat groups. I can make 1,000 yuan a day.
Smaller compounds with a few residents have nothing, while larger compounds with many residents have nothing. It is hard to order supplies in the first place because it is hard to get people to deliver things. Many elderly people do not know how to buy things together.
Delivery of small quantities of food is not possible now. Fruit shops no longer sell individual pieces of fruit, you have to buy in bulk now. If someone wants 20 yuan worth of vegetables, I will spend half a day looking for them and get nothing, as only bulk vegetable packages are available and each costs over 100 yuan.
We don't have food or water, and we sleep on the streets. I have the same situation as 40 riders. Delivery riders work for companies that give them hotel rooms. The local government has done nothing to help us find a place to stay because those who take online orders like us.
My compound won't let me back in because they think I'll bring the virus back. Even if I test negative for Covid, I cannot go home. I go to hospitals to be tested every day. All the riders are afraid of Covid.
I found a place to sleep outside. You can smell my feet from a distance. I will shower after the lockdown lifts.
What is the point of resting at home? I only got two cabbages during the first week of the lockdown. I only received a box of medicine the second week. Who can survive that? What do I eat? I can still find some food outside.
It's better to deliver food than to work in a factory. I have worked in a few in Shenzhen, earning 200 yuan per day, and working 12 hours a day. Delivery riders have more freedom. How much you make depends on how much effort you put in.
My family wants me to come back. How can I leave? People were chased back into the city after they drove out to the highway.
I am waiting for the lockdown to be lifted. I will leave after that. I don't know how long I can hold on.
I am done with Shanghai. I will never come back once I leave.
Interviews edited by a woman.
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