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Updated: 2007-06-21 11:14

Zhang Yongchun would have left to make a living in another city if he hadn't found a job in Wanzhou. The farmer used to own a field covering 70 square meters in rural Wanzhou. In 1996, the field was reclaimed by the local government to begin building residential houses for migrants. In compensation, the 37-year-old man received a three-bedroom apartment.

Because of the location's modernized facilities, Zhang no longer walks miles to pick up firewood for daily use, nor must he retrieve buckets of water from a distant well.

More importantly, the new migrant residential area provided him with a job as a security guard. His wife Jiang Qiong works as a sales assistant at a small market nearby.

Zhang, along with more than 30,000 migrants, now live along Bai'anba Street, in Wuqiao District, of Wanzhou, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Bai'anba is one of the three migrant-development zones in Wanzhou - the others being Longbao and Tiancheng.

While modern buildings are sprouting up throughout this vast expanse of wildness, the development zone remains surprisingly peaceful and calm.

Since 1992, the government has given migrants 10.6 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) in compensation, according to the Wanzhou District Immigration Bureau (WDIB).

"Wanzhou has developed rapidly during the emigration process," said Zhang Huisheng, director of the general office at WDIB.

The total output value of Wanzhou in 2006 reached 15.2 billion yuan ($1.9 billion), doubling the output level of 2000. The city center has expanded from 14 square kilometers in 1992 to 43 square kilometers, while the urban population has reached 573,000 from 430,000.

Also, the area has developed transportation infrastructure, constructing an airport, the Yangtze No 2 Bridge, a highway between Chongqing and Wangzhou and several other roadways.

However, while the economy booms, people have become concerned about shrinking local industry.

There were 370 industrial and mining enterprises in 1992. Over time, the majority of these enterprises closed or went bankrupt because of emigration.

Only 20 of them have reopened and now collectively employ less than 3,000 people, leaving nearly one-fifth of the population unemployed. Since 2003, WDIB has shifted its focus from moving immigrates out to helping them settle.

One way to reduce the high unemployment rate is to export labor to coastal areas such as Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces. Cities such as Tianjin, Xiamen and Nanjing also have brought projects to Wanzhou, with investment totaling 10.36 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) by the end of 2006.

Wanzhou has taken advantage of its abundant resources, developing the salt and natural gas industries to generate more job opportunities.

To better protect the Yangtze River, the local government has forbidden the operation of industries with high levels of energy consumption, Zhang said.

More than 27,000 people found jobs with average incomes ranging from 600 yuan to 700 yuan ($75-87.5) per month with the help of the local government. Most of them are engaged in the service industry.

On the other hand, many migrants - especially farmers - find that their poor educational backgrounds have made it difficult for them to find jobs.

Many of those aged between 40 and 50 having little schooling, while many from the younger generation - aged around 30 - have only received education up to the middle school level. So, they have limited job options and often become cleaners, waiters and shoes polishers, said Feng Shouwu, director of the immigration office of Bai'anba Street. "It is essential to train migrants to sharpen their competitive edge," he added.

That is part of the reason Wuqiao is also designed to be an educational base, according to the immigration office of Bai'anba Street. A wide range of schools, such as Bai'an Migrant School and Three Gorges High Medical College, are being constructed to meet local needs.

But even those such as Zhang Yongchun, who found a job, are worried about the lack of social welfare and medical insurance.

"What I am afraid of most is, if I fell ill seriously, I could not afford to see a doctor," Zhang said.

He said that the compensation for an occupied migrant was 11,500 yuan ($1,440) per adult in 2001, while the amount was half of that for a child.

After spending more than 30,000 yuan ($3,750) on interior decoration and basic electrical appliances, Zhang doesn't have much left in his savings make his family's life secure without social welfare and medical insurance.