Quotable

"I love ships. I have been working as a crew member for more than 20 years. I have gotten used to this dreary life. A crew member gets 2,000 to 3,000 yuan ($327 to $490) a month and eats meat only once or twice a week. Young people won't come if they have any other options."

CHEN SHAOYUAN, captain of the Yangtze River cargo ship An Xiang, explaining why he has not quit the job despite the low pay on the ship, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The undesirable nature of the job, resulting in a shortage of river workers, presents a grave challenge for China's ambition to develop a new economic belt along the Yangtze River by further exploiting the "golden waterway", the report said.