Editor’s note: Chinese netizens were shocked to discover that many of the poor have taken to living in Beijing’s sewers as a way to cope with being homeless.

In this Chinese translated article, the people that live in these cramped and uncomfortable places reveal the reasons for them living in a Beijing sewer as well as sharing the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. However, it is important to note that this article fails to inform readers that these living quarters were sealed up with concrete by the city.

Source: Jamiecat *

The news surrounding an underground makeshift home in Beijing has caught the attention of many netizens. This reporter for the Beijing Times went to a location nearby the southern entrance to Lido Plaza in Chaoyang District whereby many underground sewers were discovered. In these crude and spartan spaces, most not exceeding 3 square meters, lived people both old and young, who go out during the day to make a living, and return to live underground at night. Of the people this reporter met, there was a man who was working at a local car wash and a number of elderly people who collected and recycled garbage during the day.

Turning the bottom of manholes into makeshift underground homes

Recently, some city residents have made it known that there are people living underground in a well located spot next to a grassy area at the west side of the southern entrance to the Lido Plaza in Chaoyang District. Having opened up eight manholes this reporter found that four of them had clear signs someone was living there; one of them had been submerged by dirty water, while others had daily household products left behind in them.

Going down into one of the manholes this reporter found a space measuring no more than 3 square meters. The interior was much warmer than the temperature outside. There was a mattress and beds, as well as daily household products. It wasn’t much but clearly at least one person lived there.

People have been living in these places for years

“They have been living in the sewers now for a number of years,” said the nearby security guards and parking lot attendants. No of them considered these living situations to be strange.

Mr Wang, a security guard, said that he had encountered this group of people when he first started working here in 2007, “At all hours of the day they come up from the sewers; there are all kinds of people - men, women, old, young. The oldest I’ve seen is 70, and the youngest I’ve seen is about four years old.”

“These people that live underground in the sewers look more or less like beggars; they will often go to the underground area of restaurants in order to gather warmth and drink water,” described Mr Wang. Among the long-term residents that have been living underground are an old couple and a person that works at the roadside car wash.

A main disadvantage is leaking water

Xiao Wang, a parking lot attendant, used to be one of Beijing’s sewer dwellers. He said that he had lived in the sewers for two years. Xiao Wang describes living in the sewers as having warm winters and cool summers. Because the underground sewer is dark, most carry flashlights as they crawl in and out of the well. According to Xiao Wang a main disadvantage to living in the sewers was that it leaked water whenever it rained, “Last July 21, my makeshift home got submerged in water, and I wasn’t ever able to live there again.”

As Xiao Wang describes it, he earns 2000 RMB a month and pays 400 RMB a month in rent, “By living at the bottom of a well in a sewer, I am able to save on this expense, and it is very cost-effective.”

One of the sewer dwellers has lived this life for 20 years

At around 21:00, an elderly woman, with a clear limp, walked towards the sewer opening by the grass lawn. She wore a scarf over her head and held empty bottles in her hand. As she approached the well entrance, she was surprised by our presence, “What did you do at the bottom of the well?”

Quan Youzhi, is 66 years old and comes from Shanqiu, Henan Province. The first year she came to Beijing, she decided to live in the sewer and turn to recycling garbage to make a living. It has now been 20 years. As Quan describes it, she has two sons living back in her hometown, she was routinely harassed by her husband and eldest son, and so was forced to leave. Quan said that two years ago her husband came from Hunan to come live with her in the sewer, but they do not live together now. “I don’t want to see him, and neither do I want to return back home because I’m afraid they will beat me.”

Despite her age, Quan remains very nimble as she moves around the sewers. When she gets home, she lights a candle and recounts the money she earned from the recycled garbage she sold that day. Twenty years of living like this and the most money she has been able to earn in a year was 900 RMB.

While living in a sewer is convenient, she said that she often has to hide. “The consequences will be severe if the chengguan discover me, they have sealed off the entrance to the sewer many times. All I can do is to move to a new sewer.” Quan has “homes” located in Sanlitun as well as throughout other areas of Beijing.

At 23:30, three more garbage recyclers dropped by. One of them Quan called “little sister”; the two of them share a well together. The other two live in a sewer nearby.

Source: iFeng

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Keywords: homeless in Beijing sewer dwellers Living in Beijing’s sewers living underground