China’s vulnerable outdoor workers face extreme heat

China’s vulnerable outdoor workers face extreme heat

The afternoon sun blazed down in Beijing on 28 May, with breezes blowing waves of heat as the mercury climbed past 32C. Food delivery driver Zhang Ye, 28, sat cross-legged on his electric bike in a sweat-drenched short-sleeved shirt, scrolling through Douyin (Chinese TikTok). Nearby, a food court and bank are both air-conditioned, but he sits by the roadside in the shade of a tree, awaiting his next order. In Beijing alone there are over 50,000 …