bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

KrASIA

Law school graduate John Li knows the latest developments in China’s autonomous driving industry – sort of.
Li, a 24-year-old Hui Muslim from southwest China’s Guizhou province – a mountainous inland region that is being developed into the country’s next big data hub – has been working on data labelling tasks for autonomous vehicles for nearly two years. Li said he has witnessed the sensor technology for these driverless cars evolve from webcams and then laser radars to using a combination of both at present.
While he has not yet seen a driverless car, Li said he takes great pride in his work and the team of about 100 “taggers” he manages. This team’s job mainly involves drawing boxes on pictures and video frames captured by cameras installed on driverless cars across the country, and then adding annotations to the cars, bikes, pedestrians and various traffic signs on those still photos and videos.
The processed data goes into different data sets that are used to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed by China’s technology giants, including Alibaba Group Holding and Baidu. E-commerce giant Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
“My work is to prepare clean data for autonomous driving, and I am making a small contribution to the technology’s advancement,” said Li. This is what he would often explain to friends and family who are intrigued by data labelling, an enterprise that found a home in Guizhou just a few years ago.




Other than make annotations, Li and his colleagues sometimes handle other tasks, including transcribing speeches in Chinese dialects (“I have heard dialects from every province and region”), annotating human and animal faces, and making TikTok videos of themselves dancing to music (the dance routines are choreographed ahead of time by unknown parties, so there are no freestyle surprises).
Li works in a big data company tucked away in a small town surrounded by hills and mountains in Guizhou, which is thousands of kilometres away from the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) research and development hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
The data labelling work in Guizhou borrows from the Qiandian Houchang model – literally, “front shop, back factory” – a template adopted by the manufacturing sector. In the late 1970s, companies in Hong Kong began to migrate their basic production and processing en masse to neighbouring Guangdong province. That move helped what was at the time a poor, backward agricultural and fishing region to be transformed into the world’s factory years later. In 1978, Guangdong’s gross domestic product was less than US$13.5 billion. Last year, that number reached US$1.47 trillion. By comparison, Australia’s GDP in 2018 was US$1.32 trillion.
Guangdong’s success has appealed to many inland provinces with an abundant labour force and limited industrialisation. They see the potential of data labelling – which is clean, labour-intensive and supports hi-tech industries – in generating tax revenue, providing stable employment and enabling poverty alleviation.
Can China’s poorest province achieve its dream of becoming the next big data hub?
Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces in China, is now hoping to cash in on the rapid development of the country’s AI industry, as companies look for relatively cheap and stable labour supply. The provincial government has set up a dedicated department to oversee the development of its big data industry. It has made the promotion of a number of services, including data labelling, collection and processing, as one of the priority tasks this year.
The local government of the Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, where Li’s company is based, established a 30 million yuan (US$4.2 million) fund last year that is focused on the promotion of big data enterprises. Registered companies are entitled to various government subsidies for rent, broadband connection and electricity for three years, as well as generous tax breaks for five years.
Xia Bingqing, a scholar on China’s digital economy at Shanghai’s East China Normal University, said Guizhou has provided plenty of support for data labelling as part of its policy to alleviate poverty in the province.
Another landlocked province, Shaanxi, has followed Guizhou’s lead to promote data labelling enterprises. Shanxi, known for its coal, natural gas and crude oil resources, wants to bring in more than 100 data labelling companies and train more than 10,000 workers by 2022. The province aims to be a leader in China’s big data market and develop an industry worth 5 billion yuan by 2025.




As those two provinces offer lower production costs, generous incentives and cheap labour, the AI industry has responded by helping local governments provide stable employment and improved standard of living.
The Alipay Foundation and Alibaba’s AI Labs recently launched the “A-Idol Initiative”, which provides free training courses on data labelling and curating data for women in the country’s vast underdeveloped areas. The initiative, which began in Guizhou’s Tongren city, where more than 580,000 people live below the poverty line, will cover 10 poverty-stricken counties across China. Alibaba AI Labs also committed at least 10 million yuan in annual data processing orders to ensure the sustainability of the initiative.
To be sure, data labelling initiatives backed by major hi-tech players and guaranteed orders remain few in China, according to industry insiders. Many data labelling enterprises in developed areas are already facing sustainability issues because of the advances being made in machine learning, which means fewer contracts for labour-intensive service providers.
“For our industry, expertise is very important,” said Du Lin, chief executive of Beijing-based data processing start-up Basic Finder. “Those so-called data villages don’t have the expertise. They think they can handle data as long as they can use computers, but they will find their [data labelling] tasks getting more and more difficult.”
Although data labelling, like other outsourced business processes, is labour-intensive, the current push for lower labour costs is taking the industry in the wrong direction, Du said.
Tencent builds giant bomb shelter in remote Chinese province Guizhou to house WeChat data
Unlike other hi-tech companies, Basic Finder has moved to locate its own data centres in and around Beijing rather than built them in rural areas where labour costs are cheaper. “Though that would mean higher costs, we think in the long run we can train our staff and have an edge in our core competitiveness,” Du said.
Basic Finder has turned down invitations from local governments to establish operations in rural areas. “If we were to set up cooperation with the local governments, we must make sure there are enough tasks for those local industries,” Du said. “But at the moment, we find that most of our demands could be solved by crowdsourcing because it’s more efficient. There’s no need for a dedicated workforce [in the rural areas].”
A data industry insider known by the pseudonym “Seven”, who once managed a nearly 8,000-member freelance data labelling online collaboration team, agreed with Du’s reluctance to shift data labelling jobs to less developed regions. “Unless big companies support them and keep feeding them orders, or state-owned enterprises take over and look after the staff, they will find themselves unable to support their operation because of the declining orders,” the insider said.
Big data to ‘put big pressure on China’s clean energy goals’
Changes in the data labelling market are happening so fast that it has gone through several stages of the industry life cycle – introduction and growth – which took decades for other enterprises. At the peak of demand for speech data labelling in 2017 (partly because of the proliferation of smart speakers), sometimes three to four thousand people from insider Seven’s team would work on the same task together. But since the second half of last year, those tasks have been disappearing from major crowdsourcing platforms. “Once a mature product is out, there won’t be much need for speech data labelling tasks,” the insider said. “It’s like digging our own graves.”
Seven has disbanded his group of freelancers, as did many other smaller data labelling teams scattered in China’s low-tier cities and rural areas. Li, the law school graduate who manages a data labelling team, said he plans to pursue other endeavours in the next few years.
Basic Finder’s Du, however, sees a silver lining in the industry shake-up, as it weeds out the weak players and enable those who remain to become stronger. “It’s unavoidable, and it’s a good trend,” he said. “This forces the industry to become more professional.”

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



Data labelling jobs are coming to China’s underdeveloped regions, but are they sustainable?

Local governments in China’s underdeveloped provinces aim to cultivate the growth of data labelling enterprises, which would help foster stable employment and ease poverty. Photo: Shutterstock

Tech

Big Tech

Innovation

Business

China Business


Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces in China, is morphing into a big data hub for major hi-tech companies



Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces in China, is morphing into a big data hub for major hi-tech companies.


China technology

Self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles

Artificial intelligence

China economy