Migrant worker taps subway station’s free Wi-fi daily to keep in touch with family
Devoted husband and thrifty father of two makes daily trip to local metro to use Wi-fi connection
A Chinese migrant worker has become the latest fleeting social media star after being photographed taking advantage of the free Wi-fi at a subway station in Shanghai to make a daily video call home to his wife and family.
Like almost all of China’s army of migrant workers, Ge Yuanzheng, who hails from central Henan province, has to get by on a tight budget. He moved to the eastern China metropolis in October and has been working in the construction sector, earning 200-300 yuan (US$30-45) a day, The Beijing News reported on Monday.
Ge lives in a dormitory with his workmates and has little in the way of luxuries. He was quoted as saying that in the three months he had been in Shanghai he had yet to visit any of its famous tourist attractions for fear of wasting his hard-earned cash.
Far more important, he said, was staying in touch with his loved ones back home. Though, even on that score, there was no reason to throw money away, he said, especially when there was a perfectly good and, more importantly, free, internet connection available at the local subway station.
“I don’t want to spend money, but I miss home and want to talk to my family,” he said.