Wang Zhishan is a 63-year-old bachelor from a small village to the south of the city of Changchun, in Jilin province, who, for the past several years has lived like a bird, going back and forth, collecting waste paper in Changchun then going back home for farm work from time to time.

In the big city, Wang rents a single bed in a crowded, rundown apartment, sharing a room with two others for 6 yuan a night. When night falls, he takes his pile of paper and cardboard from the day to a waste recycling station to weigh it and get paid in cash. In his spare time, after a day's work, he likes to practice handwriting and says, "I can write a few lines of verses and have dozens of pieces."

Wang Zhishan taking a pile of scrap paper to a waste recycling station to get paid. [Photo/365jilin.com]