Migrant workers in China

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Mr Li, 60 and Mr Chen, 63, migrant rural workers from Anhui Province, on a construction site in Shanghai's Pudong district. In the background are the 88-story Jin Mao Tower (right), and the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, the tallest structure in mainland China. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Two migrant rural workers at night in the "special economic zone" of Shenzhen. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Twenty years ago, Dongguan - now an important industrial city with a population of around seven million inhabitants - did not even exist. The air is so thick here you could cut it with a knife. A woman migrant rural worker collects pieces of reinforcing steel from the rubble in order to sell them. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Mrs Xu, 29, with her six-month-old daughter. Just a few days ago she moved from the northern part of Guangdong province to Guangzhou city where her husband works in a restaurant. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Migrant rural workers from Sichuan province slogging away at a brick factory. In June 2007 the media reported that 31 dirty and disoriented workers had been rescued from a brickwork factory where they had been held as virtual slaves. Eight workers were so traumatized by their experiences that they were only able to remember their names. The brick factory was owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Migrant rural workers from Sichuan province working at a brick factory have no time to look after their children during the day. Estimates suggest that children now represent between 5% and 10% of the migrant population in the cities. Lacking proper care and a secure upbringing, children of migrant rural workers have encountered a range of problems in adapting, affecting their well-being. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Mr Xian, 50, migrant rural worker from Sichuan province, works on one of the many construction sites in the city of Chongqing. Just as a hundred years ago, the houses are often demolished without the aid of machines, simply with sledge-hammers and muscle power. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

According to the World Bank, sixteen of the planet's twenty dirtiest cities are in China, and Chongqing is one of the worst. Every year, the choking atmosphere is responsible for thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Simple, temporary tin huts for migrant rural workers working on a highway construction site in the northern part of Guangzhou city. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Inside a simple, temporary tin hut used by migrant rural workers. Curtains in front of the individual sleeping places offer the only chance of a little privacy. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

All over China, more than 150 million people travel home over Chinese New Year, the majority being migrant rural workers. Scene in front of Guangzhou's main station. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

The vast majority of migrant rural workers returning home pack China's trains, in journeys that can easily last two days and more. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

Shortly before departure. A young man has struck it lucky: he's sitting by one of the few windows that are not broken and so can be opened. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

A group of men and women leaving Anhui province. They have nothing to do here, so are travelling to Ningbo in Zhejiang province, where they will work until June. The bus journey will take hours. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

At the Anyuan coal mine Mr Liang, 42, on his way to the shower. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

A man looking for firewood early morning in the wide open spaces of the steppes. (Andreas Seibert/LookatOnline)

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From Somewhere to Nowhere, an exhibition and a book.

Swiss photographer Andreas Seibert has been documenting the living conditions of Chinese migrant workers since 2002. His pictures eloquently document the cost of growth: the gap between rich and poor is widening, there is inadequate social provision and the environment is suffering. The pictures are on show at the CoalMine photo gallery in Winterthur. The English-language book of photographs is produced by Lars Müller Publishers.