While at the ECS factory I was unable to interview any of the girls because they’re not allowed to talk to “VIPs.” In other words, low class is not allowed to talk to high class. There is a huge class system in China. Yes there is a class system everywhere but it’s taken to extremes in China. When I was walking around the ECS grounds, security saluted me when I walked by and other employees stop and bow their heads.

While in the city this class system runs rampant. People are divided into high class, middle class and no class. Female “greeters” are used at the doors of a business to show what kind of establishment it is. A business with six greeters at the door means locals can’t afford to buy there, unless that local is middle to high class.

There is a huge gap in pay between middle and no class. A person with an education and who can speak English can easily land a job that pays him $35,000US a year plus housing expenses. That’s almost 30 times more than the average factory worker. And it is for this reason that many Chinese who studied in America choose to go back to China to work. There is no way one can make 30X the wage of a US factory worker in a middle manager’s job. But that is the reality in China.

Many North Americans choose to work in China for this reason. You can make $35,000 here and be barely above the poverty line. However, make that much in China and you’ll be living large.