For many Chinese migrants, the lure of the city is fading

Wenzhou, China

AFTER two decades trying to make a life in China's entrepreneurial city of Wenzhou, Ji Shouquan and his brother Shoufang are ready to head home. They say they have no hope of stepping onto the city's housing ladder and it is getting more difficult to earn a decent wage.

China is relying on millions of internal migrants taking up jobs in cities to boost the urban population and consumption. It hopes this will fuel more sustainable long-term economic growth and reduce the country's reliance on big industry and exports that powered the country's rise in the last three decades.

But migration is slowing down and workers are more reluctant to travel across the country to find jobs, trends that could undermine these efforts. "It's really tough to make money," said Shouquan, who earns about 5,000 yuan (S$1,050) a month as a sound technician in a karaoke lounge. "Of the s…