I Deliver Parcels in Beijing: Difference between revisions

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==References==

==References==

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[[Category:2023 non-fiction books]]

[[:Category:2023 non-fiction books]]

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[[:Category:Chinese memoirs]]

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[[:Category:Books about China]]

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[[:Category:Works about economic inequality]]

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2023 memoir by Hu Anyan

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing is a 2023 nonfiction memoir by Chinese writer Hu Anyan. Expanded from a blog about his work as an internal migrant labourer, the book documents two decades of low-paid jobs within China’s gig economy. An English translation by Jack Hargreaves was published by Allen Lane in 2025.^[1]

Background

Hu worked nineteen jobs in six cities after leaving school, including roles in warehouses, convenience stores, and courier companies.^[2] A 2020 online essay about his experiences in a Foshan logistics centre attracted editors and led to the creation of a book-length memoir. Published in China in 2023, it became a bestseller with nearly two million copies sold.^[2]

Synopsis

The memoir details the demanding conditions of courier and warehouse labour. Hu describes twelve-hour night shifts, unpaid trial periods, extreme heat, surveillance, and the economic pressure to complete a delivery every four minutes to remain profitable.^[1]

He recounts deteriorating health, insomnia, and emotional strain, reflecting on the ways platform capitalism shapes workers’ identities and behaviour. The book interweaves brief philosophical remarks on freedom, aspiration, and the thin boundary between life and labour for China’s internal migrants.^[3]

Themes

Critics note the book’s portrayal of the precarity of gig-economy work, internal migration and limited social protections, algorithmic discipline, and psychological alienation under contemporary capitalism.^[4]

Reception

In China, the memoir was widely read and received positive coverage, including a favourable notice in the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily.^[2]

International reviews have been generally positive. The Guardian praised the book’s detail but described the prose as “flat”.^[1] The Financial Times called it “a fascinating insight into China’s gig economy”,^[5] while Asia Times highlighted its “intimate” tone.^[4] The New Statesman emphasised its analysis of contemporary labour systems,^[6] and The Sunday Times noted its portrayal of limited mobility and dehumanising working conditions.^[3]

References