Peng waits for a bus to transport him to a dancing club. "I'm fond of dancing. It's not for making money. A migrant construction worker like me should have a hobby like everyone else," he said.

Peng texts his dancing friends after work in his dorm, a refabricated container on the construction site. The room has only bunk beds. There is no wardrobe nor television set.

Peng chats with his dancing partner at the dancing club. Peng's dancing partner is a teacher and is unaware that Peng works as a migrant construction worker.

"I'm fond of dancing. It's not for making money. A migrant construction worker like me should have a hobby like everyone else," he said.

Peng practices dancing for one hour every day after work. But the daily commuting time he spends on the road to the dancing club takes two hours.

He has mastered more than a dozen varieties of dances including waltz, tango, cha-cha and rumba. His favorite is waltz.

Through dancing, Peng makes many friends. Among them are a civil servant, a university professor and a private business owner.

"No matter your social status, the only thing that matters at the ballroom is your dancing skills," he said.

His present dancing partner is a teacher. She does not know Peng is a migrant construction worker.

Peng's home is in a small village of Yichun, Jiangxi province, where only his parents live. His wife works as a migrant worker in Liuyang, Hunan province. His son is also a migrant worker in Dongguan, Guangdong province.

"Many people think migrant workers are rough people. But I dance waltz and can dance very well," he said.

Not all 240 million farmers-turned-migrant-workers nationwide spend their leisure time meaningfully like Peng. Most of them while away their time playing poker or strolling on streets.

 

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