China’s first generation of migrant workers played an integral role in the country's transformation from an impoverished nation to an economic powerhouse.

As China’s population ages, so are its migrant workers. About 85 million were over 50 in 2022, the latest year for which data is available, accounting for 29% of all migrant workers and up from 15% a decade earlier. With limited or no pensions and health insurance, they need to keep working.

Migrant workers can get subsidized health care in their hometowns, but they have little or no coverage elsewhere. If they need to go to hospital in Beijing, they have to pay out of pocket.

Older workers are being hit by a double whammy. Jobs have dried up in construction due to a downturn in the real estate market and in factories because of automation and the slowing economy. Age discrimination is common, so jobs tend to go to younger people.