The nightmare lives revealed of the workers who build your laptops in Chinese ‘cyberpunk' megacity

Daily Mail​

06-05-2025

Residents of China 's largest megacity - known for producing half of the world's laptops - have revealed what its really like to live in the dystopian metropolis.
Chongqing in the south west of the country has a population of 32 million and covers an area the size of Austria.
Filled with giant buildings, multi-level highways and a metro system that barrels through residential buildings - the sky-high futuristic city has sparked online intrigue in recent years.
Chongqing emerged as a major hub for laptop manufacturing after computer hardware company HP set up its production base there in 2009.
Other information companies have since followed suit, with firms like Foxconn, Quanta Computer, Lenovo and Asus, setting up successful operations in the Chinese megacity.
Despite Chongqing's technical boom bringing in jobs for the city's inhabitants, locals have offered a grim insight into what its like working in China's 'cyberpunk city '.
Scores of content creators have offered glimpses into their mundane lives working in factories, where they produce laptops and mobile phones, among other gadgets.
One video shared on TikTok shows a young factory worker as he gets ready for one of his shifts.
'Cyberpunk city': Chongqing has also emerged as a major hub for laptop production and the overall electronic information industry
Smog clouds: Chongqing is one of the world's most polluted cities
Waking up in a bunk bed in a dark, crammed dorm room, the man films himself washing his face and brushing his teeth, before he trudges out to work.
Just before starting his shift, he is given a sludgy meal to eat in a massive canteen, which is flooded with thousands of other fellow factory workers.
After he finishes his meal he films from inside a locker room, where he is forced to leave his phone before getting to work.
Because of this, he is unable to film what working in the factory actually looks like.
Upon his return to his locker after finishing work, he appears deflated - offering an insight into the strenuous and glum conditions the city's factory workers are exposed to.
Another content creator recorded his 12-hour night shift in an electronic factory in the city of Chongqing.
Starting his shift just before 8pm, the young worker shows himself getting his gear on.
Due to filming not being allowed inside the factory, the video then pans to a few hours later, in which he is seen silently scoffing down a meal of rice, chicken and soup during his dinner break.
Cramped: The production worker shares a bunk with roommates and shows his TikTok followers how he starts the working day
Cameras: The futuristic Chinese city of Chongqing is one of the most surveilled in the world
The TikToker also records his colleagues, who are all seen quietly slumped on chairs as they try to rest before getting back to work.
Others are seen helping themselves to food from the dining hall.
Chinese factory workers have historically been known to endure demanding labour environments, where they are forced to work long hours often on low wages - with the videos shared on social media offering a glimpse of the lives they lead.
Conditions in Chongqing's factories have often caused discontent amongst workers.
Last year, the city saw violent protests after workers clashed with police during a demonstration involving hundreds of people working at a factory that produced Covid-19 tests.
But hellish conditions are also seen elsewhere in Chongqing.
The city is considered to be one of the most surveilled places in the world, with CCTV cameras dotted across the metropolis.
Videos posted to social media show how facial recognition is being used to monitor people getting in and out of neighbourhood, while license plate readers track the movements of its citizens.
Earlier this year, authorities installed 27,900 surveillance cameras and 245 sensors as part of a comprehensive 'grid' surveillance plan to keep tabs on its residents, according to Radio Free Asia.
The city is part of the 'Sharp Eyes' pilot scheme to tackle crime, with the city's surveillance system closely monitoring every aspect of its inhabitants' in an attempt to minimise dissent.
Neighbourhood committees tasked with monitoring the activities of Chongqing's locals have been likened to some of the world's most significant intelligence networks.
Critics have long warned that such widespread surveillance in the Chinese megacity violates citizens' rights to privacy.
A separate clip shared on social media platform TikTok filmed just how many surveillance cameras can be spotted while out and about in Chongqing.
And if setting up facial recognition systems wasn't enough for the Chinese government to keep tabs on Chongqing's population, the city has also introduced the use of inspection robots.
The bots are used in Chongqing's factories to independently patrol the premises, inspect key equipment and notify staff of any issues.
A video circulating on TikTok shows white inspection robots whizzing through a railway power station in Chongqing.
But the bots are not the only futuristic element the city has to offer.
Locals have shared videos of themselves riding around Chongqing in driverless taxis.
The vehicles offer an alternative to traditional taxi services, as passengers are able to hitch a ride with a robot.
The self-driving cars use advanced technologies like radar, lidar, and cameras to navigate and respond to various road conditions.
The city's rapid industrialization has also meant that Chongqing has become known as one of the world's most polluted cities.
At the time of writing, Chongqing has an Air Quality Index of 89 - making it the most polluted city in the world currently.
While it is important to note that AQI's fluctuate, a national environmental analysis report released by Tsinghua University and the Asian Development Bank in 2013 revealed that Chongqing was among the top 10 most polluted cities worldwide.
Air pollution can cause severe health issues, including respiratory problems, cardiovascular issues, and cancer.
Images and videos have captured how thick clouds of smog and smoke fill the city's skies, often leaving its residents in darkness.
One clip shared on X shows dark fumes billowing out of coal-fired power plants in Chongqing.
Another video shows a black mushroom-shaped cloud of pollution towering over the city's factories.
Such is the level of pollution that the city is enshrouded by a thick layer of fog for over 100 days of the year.
'Sunlight is a luxury', local influencer Jackson Lu explained in a TikTok video.
The city's gloominess is exacerbated by the fact that the entirety of Chongqing is built on multiple levels, often depriving residents who live in lower floors of natural light.
Chongqing's architectural lay-out is another feature that makes the city uniquely dystopian - with trains that whizz through apartment blocks and makeshift towns located inside towering skyscrapers.
'In Chongqing, we never know which floor we're on,' said TikToker Hugh Chongqing in a video that has amassed a staggering 3.2 million likes.
'It looks like I'm on normal square: the street is over there. But if we go there [to the edge] now we're on the 22nd floor.
'But if we use the elevator on the square, it says we're on the 12th floor. Then we take the elevator to the eighth floor, walk through this garage, and then we will be on the street. Go inside the building on the right, it says we're on the 13th floor.'
The video shows just how confusing it can be to visit Chongqing, and highlights how map apps will take you to where you're going - only for you to realise you're ten storeys too low or high.
The massive tower blocks in which the city's residents lived have been dubbed 'coffins' due to their crammed conditions.
In 2021, the population of Chongqing protested against being confined to the cramped apartment buildings after the city went into lockdown during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Citizens were filmed chanting 'We want freedom' outside their windows.