Hu Anyan's memoir, originally a blog before becoming a bestseller in China with nearly 2 million copies sold, offers a stark look at the gig economy. Over 20 years, Hu worked 19 jobs across six cities, including as a security guard, hotel waiter, delivery driver, and warehouse worker, often under terrible conditions with low pay and no career progression.
Hu is among China's 300 million internal migrants, moving from place to place in search of work. His experiences highlight the dehumanising reality of long shifts, minimal sleep, and frequent hunger. Many new recruits fail to complete unpaid three-day trials, underscoring the precariousness of such employment.
Translated by Jack Hargreaves, the book is narrated by Winson Ting in an austere style that suits Hu's clinical prose. It lays bare the exhaustion, loneliness, and frustration of workers who depend on every minute of their time for meagre earnings, often directed at customers who cause delays.
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing serves as a grim indictment of a system that prioritises convenience at a terrible human cost, offering a sobering perspective on the gig economy in China.
