Sawt Falasteen - Mind the wage gap: China's subway farmers highlight inequality

As the economy took centre stage at a key political meeting in the capital Beijing thousands of kilometres away, the pensioners went about their daily rush into the city centre to sell chives, lettuce and goose eggs for meagre earnings.

Despite a persistent property sector crisis, weak consumer demand and geopolitical turmoil, China's leaders announced a growth target for this year of around five percent on Wednesday.

But the incongruous image of farmers hauling their wares on foot past Chongqing's futuristic skyscrapers is a reminder that for many -- especially rural residents and the elderly -- making a living is still a struggle in the world's number two economy.

Wu Baixing, a 71-year-old villager from the city's outskirts, told AFP she often walks for an hour to the nearest subway station in order to sell vegetables in the city centre.

"I believe that God sees everything we do," Wu, a devout Christian, said of the physically strenuous task of dragging dozens of kilograms of vegetables on and off public transport.

Wu's trips into the city supplement her monthly pension of under 200 yuan ($27.53) -- a typical amount for someone classified as a rural resident, and much lower than that received by urban retirees under the country's two-tier household registration system.

But selling vegetables has been far from lucrative, she said, because "there are a lot of vegetables and a lot of farmers selling them".

Braving persistent drizzle, a group of farmers began waiting at Shichuan station in northeast Chongqing more than two hours before the first train at 6:30am on Wednesday.

While many carried woven baskets on their backs or pushed them on carts, others balanced two baskets on bamboo yokes on their shoulders.

As the sleek subway train made its way from the farmland to the city's densely populated urban core, dozens of farmers took over the carriages, their produce filling up the aisles.

- 'Nobody wants us' -

Those aged 65 or over ride for free on the subway, making it an affordable alternative to hiring or owning a car.

However, trips to market often involve changing between lines and can be up to two hours long.

Xiong, a 69-year-old farmer, was part of a group who took three different trains on Wednesday to reach Minsheng Market in central Chongqing.

The group squeezed through station crowds as their journey stretched into rush hour, running between escalators to make connecting trains.

After arriving at their destination, they wove through traffic to reach the indoor market, where Xiong quickly laid out his harvest of Chinese lettuce.

Liu Guiwen, 72, told AFP she makes only around 30 yuan a day selling produce in the city.

"When I was young I didn't grow vegetables, when I was young I worked," she said.

In the work report released at Wednesday's Two Sessions political meeting, China's leaders pledged to "take solid steps to advance rural reform and development" and "provide multi-tiered, categorized assistance for low-income rural residents".

Urbanisation has been increasing, but rural residents still made up 33 percent of China's population last year, according to the government.

Liu Lu'an, 63, said he was glad his children had escaped their farming background, and now worked in factories in the city.

"Young people nowadays wouldn't want to come back to work as farmers. They have jobs with benefits," Liu said.

He used to make more doing odd jobs, but "now I'm over 60, and no one wants to hire us for labour anymore".

Liu and his wife lugged about 40 kilograms of vegetables to market that day.

"I just do it as long as I don't owe any debts and there is food to eat," he said.

"I don't want to get rich from work."

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST