Harsh life for pickers

Cotton pickers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region face the same problem as many seaweed collectors who take up the temporary positions: long working hours without any guarantee of labor benefits.

Yang Lanxiang, 44, from Zhoukou county, Henan province, has been to Xinjiang about six times to pick cotton.

"I take the train to Urumqi and every trip takes up to 40 hours," Yang said.