Left behind by the robot drive

Workers looking for day labour gigs in Beijing in July last year. There are about 40 million gig workers in China’s manufacturing sector alone, according to Zhang Dandan, a professor at Peking University. — Qilai Shen/The New York Times

THE park was in the centre of China’s richest county. Willow trees clustered around a well-manicured pond. Joggers circled shiny new playgrounds filled with children.

But in a quieter part of the park, Hu Xinbing was resting after another day of trying, unsuccessfully, to win his share of the local prosperity.