Life through the eyes of a Chinese worker

Jia is a member of Viola Lactiflora Drama Club, most members of which are domestic workers. She came to the club in the morning and talked with other members in the club in the morning though there was no rehearsal. [Photo by Hou Liqiang/China Daily]

An estimated 20.34 million people were working in the domestic service industry in China in 2014, up 13 percent from 2013, according to a report jointly launched by the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services and the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, both under the Ministry of Commerce, in June last year.

As the Chinese population continues to age and the life quality of many Chinese people improves, the country will produce an even larger group of domestic workers. Few, however, know their lives.

Most domestic workers are female and they could rest only for one day a week. China Daily followed a domestic worker from Shanxi province on August 20. These photos are showing you how Jia spent her one-day weekend.