Yan Na, a worker at a silk carpet factory in Tianshui, China. Photo by Christine Vargas.

By Christine Vargas

Yan Na looked a lot younger than her co-workers at the Tianshui Xintian Silk Carpet Company. The ruggedness of her hands and face made her look older than her 21 years. Her fingers were spotted with blisters and sores.

She picked up the shuttle tool with her small right hand, her face concentrating on the blueprint of the carpet she was weaving. Her hands jabbed into the loom. The noise of the factory drowned out the sound of Yan Na’s batten procedure.

"When I started working here my hands used to hurt and my nails used to break constantly," she said. "But now I am used to it."

Her hands kept moving.

Her outfit was pieced together: a cerulean shirt and khaki Bermuda shorts, with white and black stripes by the knee. Her long black hair was up.

Yan Na, a native of Tianshui in China’s Gansu province, never had the opportunity to attend college or high school. She began working shortly after she finished junior high.

It’s been a year since she started working at the silk carpet factory. Depending on how many carpets she finishes, she said she can earn from 200 to 400 RMB a month (between 30 to 60 U.S. dollars). These days, Yan Na said she makes 100 RMB (about 15 U.S. dollars) in an average month, due to a lack of demand.

"Workers work hard," said Wang Xiau Chun, who is in charge of the factory’s finances and is one of its five shareholders. She has been in the weaving business since 1980 and has worked for the company for 10 years.

Most of the carpets made in the factory are kneeling carpets, for Muslim prayer. There is not an obvious type of buyer for these carpets in the community. Gansu’s population does not consist of many Muslims. Chinese government officials buy rugs and give them to their overseas Muslim business partners.

Yan Na said she works from 8:00 a.m. to noon. before she gets a chance to take a lunch break until 2:00 p.m. Many of the workers prefer not to go home for their break. Instead, they take a quick lunch and continue working.

"The ladies just earn a little wage for the labor, but the corporation earns a lot of money," Wang said. "The more you work the more you earn." 

After the lunch break, the workers return to their work-station and often work until midnight.

"I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of job," Wang said.

At the age of 21, Yan Na spends most of her days in the factory sitting by her station, second to last by the wall.

When asked if she could do anything in the world she replied, "Working in the field of service for restaurants," her previous job.

"I liked doing it more then this because I got to talk to more people," Yan Na said. "I was happier."