RE-UNITING FAMILY AMONG RURAL MIGRANTS IN BEIJING

Abstract

Self-employed migrants who have worked in Beijing for two decades have settled in an intersecting area between rural and urban areas. Based on extensive field research and in-depth interviews, this article examines the workers’ attempts to define their urban living space and resist discrimination. The research shows that veteran migrants re-unite with their children and wives in an outlying, “sub-urban” area of the city, where cheap accommodations, public education, and an informal economy are present. The area is where migrants make claims on citizenship through asserting their parental responsibility and identity.