A relentless campaign by Beijing to present a sanitised, modern city to millions of Olympic Games visitors has led to a government shut down of scores of garbage recycling centres that provide these migrant workers with an income.
As the Olympic Games approach, the number of garbage pickers has visibly dropped across Beijing including at Qianbajia, a recycling station where about 200 households live among towering piles of plastic, building materials and scrap metals.
Almost half of the tenants have left for home provinces. Yang and his young family are still hoping to stay in the dank room next to reeking piles of trash where they have made a home.