PHOTOS: A Day in the Life of a Professional Beggar in China
Posted: 09/15/2014 12:28 pm
There are a multitude of beggars in China. Some are children, while some are crippled by debilitating injuries, diseases, or deformities. Some beggars need to beg in order to survive. And then there’s another kind of beggar: the professional. This is the person that begs as a career to make enough money to live.
QQ sent reporter Cui Guanghua out to take these incredibly thorough set of pictures of a group of professional beggars in Zhengzhou, Henan. The photos follow the group from morning to dusk and shows what a day of work for a professional beggar is like:
During the morning rush hour at the northwest corner of Huayuan Road and Weiwu Road, an old man lies on the ground covered with a sheet while a middle-aged woman repeatedly kowtows beside him (above).
Half an hour later, a middle-aged man comes over to join the group. He looks
into the bucket, counts the money, puts it into his pocket. All three, including the man lying prone on the ground, get engaged in a light-hearted conversation.
According to the QQ report, the middle-aged man that just joined the group is named Zhang; the man on the ground is Zhang’s cousin, while the middle-aged woman is Ye,
Zhang’s other cousin.
The group is from from Qiaoxi, Anhui Province, and has been in Henan for three years. Their assimilation into the local culture is so complete that Zhang and He can both fluently speak the Henan dialect.
At 11:30am, the trio pack up their belongings and take the bus to go to another location.
Twenty minutes later, the group arrives at Renmin Road, near “Danny’s” shopping center. It is now noon, and there are lots of pedestrians in the area. People drop money into the group’s cup.
In the afternoon the members of the group enjoy popsicles while counting their earnings.
Beer is used to fill up a water bottle that acts as a substitute for “medicine”.
The group produces a sizable amount of garbage from consuming food and other products that a street cleaner sweeps away for them.
At around 2:30pm there is less pedestrian traffic, so the group meets up with another beggar who happens to have the the same gear as they do.
Zhang is seen counting the money again.
The group then heads for a late lunch of fried chicken and beer.
After eating, the group begs during the evening rush hour.
Half an hour later, the group is forced to relocate next to a parking garage because of mall staff.
After half an hour, they switch positions.
A day of work finally concludes at 10pm when the group has dinner at a restaurant.
Dinner is paid for in small bills.
At one point Ye took offense to being photographed by the reporter.
To top it off, at some point Zhang was seen browsing at a Cartier jewelry store.
Photos: QQ, Shenzhen Evening Report
