China Freaks Out! Emergency Ban in China — No One Can Watch This Video

Under growing financial pressure, many delivery workers in China are becoming physically and emotionally exhausted. On May 9th, a courier in Zhejiang broke down in tears while delivering food. One video showed a customer who did not provide a clear address would not answer phone calls, leaving the delivery worker searching for more than 20 minutes. After finally finding the location, the worker threw the food on the ground, and the two sides began arguing. One commenter wrote, Delivery workers today face all kinds of harassment and unreasonable treatment. It really can push someone to the brink at any moment. Another comment read, When these emotional breakdowns continue to build, eventually they can erupt like a volcano. On January 17th this year, a delivery worker in Guangxi was seen delivering food with his child during the winter. Many people watching online said they felt sympathy for him. Chinese authorities had earlier suppressed a documentary that exposed the reality faced by delivery workers. In April this year, Sanlian Life Lab released a 28-minute documentary titled The Life of China's Food Delivery Riders in 2026. After it sparked widespread discussion, authorities ordered it removed. The documentary focused on Yuxinzhuang Village near Beijing's North 6th Ring Road, a place known as Delivery Worker Village. Yuxinzhuang Village is often the first stop for many people who move to Beijing looking for work. The area has hundreds of apartment buildings and a maze of narrow roads. It's said that delivery fees have continued to fall, from more than 10 yuan per order in the early days to just 3 to 5 yuan now. At the same time, the number of riders has multiplied. Some workers asked why. As algorithms become smarter, the hours keep getting longer, or earning money becomes harder. More than half the delivery workers still working in Beijing are young people from rural areas around the capital, most of them from rural Hubei. For many, delivering food was not a choice they wanted to make, but the result of having no other options. Many of them repeated the same message. For young people from rural areas, there are very few paths forward. Many delivery workers spend the entire day staring at their phones waiting for orders. One worker said he was so anxious that even in his dreams, he was still delivering food. Food delivery is also dangerous work. The documentary included criticism from city residents over speeding, running red lights, and reckless driving by riders. But delivery workers said almost no riders avoid driving the wrong way at times. Some admitted that, when even getting enough food becomes difficult, life itself can begin to feel less important. Among riders, there is an unspoken understanding. You go out and work all day, and if you make it home, that's good for today. But whether you will make it home tomorrow, nobody can guarantee. Many also said the work had affected their emotions and communication skills, and that they had become used to swearing. One woman interviewed in the documentary had graduated from university and spent seven years as a full-time mother. After returning to the workforce at age 35, she found she could not get a job and began delivering food instead. People familiar with the industry said delivery work was once mostly done by men, but more women are now entering the field. The documentary was quickly removed under official orders. Still, reposted copies can occasionally be found online in China. On overseas social media platforms like X, the documentary continues to spread widely. One commenter said that after watching The Life of China's Food Delivery Riders in 2026 on YouTube, it felt like a true news documentary and showed the real value of journalism. X account Erica wrote, Another account, A Wild Grasp, wrote, Another X account, Qing He, wrote, In recent years, delivery workers have become one of the clearest symbols of China's lower-income population. Videos showing their daily struggles continue to spread online, especially scenes of riders delivering food while caring for children. In Guangdong, one person filmed a delivery worker who had no one to care for his child, so he placed a boy inside the insulated delivery box and took him along while making deliveries. His soaked pants, heavy delivery box, and sleeping child on his back showed the hardship of daily life in modern China. On April 3rd, a person in Guangxi recorded another widely shared scene. A delivery worker was seen making deliveries with children, one sitting in front of the scooter and the other carried on his back. On May 17th, 2025, a 22-year-old woman in Liaoning was delivering food with a 2-year-old child. During the trip, the child began crying, and the woman broke down emotionally. She placed the child on the ground and cried out, I'm only 22 years old, and I have to raise a child. People nearby stepped forward to comfort her. Late at night on March 10th, 2026 in Guangzhou, a female delivery worker carrying an infant was involved in a traffic accident while making deliveries. She and her electric scooter fell by the roadside, and the milk tea ordered by the customer spilled onto the ground. After injuring her leg, she sat on the roadside holding the child and crying. People nearby came forward to help. Some looked after the baby, while others tried to comfort her. At the same time, the customer called to complain about the delayed order, saying, Why hasn't my order arrived yet? It's already been an hour. The woman repeatedly apologized and said, I can't deliver this order anymore, I'm sorry. I'll pay for it. But the customer continued demanding that the order be delivered, saying he was very hungry. One man nearby took the phone and spoke on her behalf. He said, She injured her leg and arm and is still holding a child. I'll pay for the milk tea myself. Although several people urged her to go to the hospital first, the woman eventually limped back onto her electric scooter and left. On May 20th this year in Tianjin, a delivery worker said he was unable to enter a residential complex because outside riders were not allowed inside, while the customer also refused to answer phone calls. In the end, the platform ruled that the rider was fully responsible. He was fined 14.2 yuan and lost 14 service points. The rider said he later filed a complaint through the government hotline, but was told, You do not have a labor contract, so this does not fall under our jurisdiction. The delivery rider said he has now filed a lawsuit against the platform. He said gig delivery workers have no labor contracts, no social insurance or housing benefits, and often face platform penalties and deductions without a proper way to appeal. One video showed a 32-year-old delivery worker finishing work after midnight and buying himself a duck leg to celebrate his birthday, something he normally could not afford. He said, For three years, I did not dare to take a single day off. I saved 290,000 yuan and finally paid off my debts. On May 22, delivery riders in Wuhan posted complaints in online rider groups. One wrote, Why does it feel like there are more and more riders? Shouldn't there be fewer by now? Is every other industry even harder than food delivery? Another wrote, A 3.5 yuan order at Jindi Plaza has 70 riders competing for it. Others complained that the platform kept assigning unreasonable orders, Competition in the delivery industry has become intense, and many riders pushed themselves to the limit. Cases of sudden death are reported from time to time. In October 2024, a delivery worker in Guangzhou collapsed while making deliveries. On May 15, a supermarket delivery worker in Beijing was seen struggling to walk while carrying more than a dozen bags of groceries. Reports said he earned only about 5 yuan for the order. People online responded by saying, Wasn't food delivery supposed to be a job where you can enjoy the scenery along the way? One delivery worker in Beijing said the industry is no longer as profitable as before. He said riders once earned more than 10,000 yuan a month, but now many earn only 6,000 to 7,000 yuan. He also said the number of delivery workers in Beijing has tripled, with many recent university graduates joining the industry and making competition even fiercer. On May 22, a delivery worker surnamed Zhu in Guangdong accepted an order covering 16.6 km. The restaurant paid 31 yuan, and a customer added another 10 yuan, for a total of 41 yuan. But Zhu received only 26 yuan. He said food delivery is becoming more expensive for customers, while life is becoming harder and harder for riders. As China's economy slows and unemployment rises, more middle-aged people facing financial hardship are turning to delivery work. Official figures released in 2023 said China has about 12 million registered platform delivery workers nationwide, though authorities have not updated the data since then. The documentary, The Life of China's Food Delivery Riders in 2026, produced in April by Sanlian Life Lab, estimated the number had exceeded 13 million. Some outside observers believe the real figure could be even higher. Stories about the hardships faced by delivery workers continue to appear online, but Chinese state media rarely report on them. Instead, last year state media highlighted that China's online food delivery market had reached 545 million users, accounting for about half of all internet users in the country. The report said China has become the world's largest food delivery market. State media also said China now handles more than 80 million food delivery orders each day. One report highlighted a rider who's about 30 years old in Xiamen, Fujian Province, named Songmen, describing him as a delivery king who completed 53 orders in one day and earned 326 yuan in delivery fees. At the end of November 2025, China Central Television and Meituan released a short promotional video featuring delivery riders speaking about their work. One rider described food delivery as a job where you can enjoy the scenery along the way at any time. The video quickly sparked controversy online, with many accusing state media of romanticizing hardship while ignoring the struggles faced by riders. The video was later removed. On November 30th last year, in Guangdong District, Kunming, Yunnan Province, a delivery worker was filmed eating in a restaurant while carrying his child between deliveries. After the video spread online, many people compared the scene with a happy delivery worker image promoted in a CCTV video, pointing to the sharp contrast between the two. The Chinese Communist Party has also expanded its control over groups including delivery workers. On April 27th this year, authorities issued a document titled Opinions on Strengthening Services and Management for New Employment Groups, calling for stronger party leadership over these workers and urging them to listen to the party and follow the party. In China, the term New Employment Groups mainly refers to people working through internet platforms in flexible or loosely structured jobs. This includes couriers, delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, e-commerce workers, and live-stream hosts. Most are people born in the 1980s and 1990s. They come from different backgrounds, often face heavy workloads and unstable employment, but can enter the industry with relatively low barriers. According to official figures released in 2023, the number of people in these New Employment Groups had already reached 84 million nationwide. China affairs analyst Wang He said the authorities have introduced grid-style management, high-tech surveillance, and new social management systems to bring these 84 million workers under tighter control. He said the demand for these groups to listen to the party and follow the party reflects a political effort to strengthen control. He also said that throughout Chinese history, large floating populations have often been difficult to control. On July 21st, 2024 in Shanghai, two traffic police officers stopped a delivery worker wearing his work uniform. They first took his phone and then removed the key from his electric scooter, reportedly preparing to seize the vehicle. The delivery worker threw one of the officers to the ground, pinned him down, and shouted angrily, Are you forcing me to rebel? Are you forcing me? In August 2024, delivery riders in Hanzhou, Zhejiang province, staged protests after what they described as repeated harassment and fines from local police. The incident began after a security guard at the Greentown Xixi Sentry Center allegedly demanded that the delivery worker kneel down. The confrontation triggered protests involving hundreds of riders, and authorities later deployed large numbers of special police officers, leading to clashes at the scene. On December 22nd last year, hundreds and possibly thousands of delivery riders gathered in protest at the Heneng Puli residential complex in Changsha, Hunan province, after the complex banned riders from entering on electric scooters to make deliveries. That night, one rider wore a crown in a yellow robe printed with the words Why do you not kneel before your emperor? Standing on the back of another rider's bicycle, he circled through the crowd while nearby riders cheered. The protests gradually turned into what many described as a mock uprising, prompting authorities to deploy large numbers of police and special officers. From March 31st to April 3rd this year, delivery riders in Fengjie County, Chongqing, staged several days of strikes to protest what they described as relentless pressure from delivery platforms and falling delivery fees. China's prolonged economic slowdown is placing growing pressure on social stability, while delivery workers continue facing restrictions from different directions. Many riders have criticized authorities for using safety and compliance rules as reasons to confiscate electric scooters, which they depend on to survive. On April 12th, a delivery worker in Tangshan, Hebei province, said that after losing his job, he had no financial support, no stable place to live, and could not afford medical treatment when he became sick. To survive, he delivers food by electric scooter until 1 o'clock in the morning every day. He said pensions, education, and healthcare are all more important than electric scooters, yet authorities continue tightening restrictions on scooters. He added that while some people may see an electric scooter as insignificant, for him, it's a tool for survival. He said, The chance of being hit by a car may be 1 in 10,000, but without an electric scooter, the chance that I starve to death is 100%. On May 24th this year, a delivery worker in Jiangsu called for the creation of a union for delivery riders. He said, I want to organize a union as a delivery worker and negotiate with the platforms to improve our treatment. We really cannot keep waiting while the platforms control everything. I checked and this is legal. Tomorrow I plan to visit the local federation of trade unions to ask about the process. On May 25th, the video was removed from Douyin. China expert Wang He said delivery workers are generally younger, highly connected through the internet, and highly mobile, making them more likely to speak out than many other groups. He said this is one reason the authorities are concerned, because such groups can affect social stability. In 2023, the Chinese Communist Party established the Central Social Work Department to strengthen social management with branches across the country. The department oversees petitioners Its work covers industry associations, chambers of commerce, mixed ownership companies, private businesses, new economic organizations, new social organizations, new employment groups, and volunteer groups. Long-time observer of China's capital markets, Xu Zhen, said collective incidents involving delivery workers have increasingly become a source of social tension in recent years. He said the social work department has combined social control functions that were previously spread across civil affairs, labor unions, legal affairs, and propaganda departments. According to Xu, authorities are using party branches within platform companies and intervention in algorithms to pressure delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers into compliance. He said these measures may not succeed. Xu Zhen criticized the authorities, saying The Chinese Communist Party is stripping resources from the private economy while also suppressing ordinary workers. This may create even greater public anger and eventually there will be backlash. Business owners who voluntarily help delivery workers have also faced pressure from authorities. On May 25th this year, Wang Men said he invested hundreds of thousands of yuan to open an electric scooter shop in Beijing. He also provided free drinking water, free air pumps, and free vehicle washing services for delivery riders, couriers, and sanitation workers. However, he said the shop has recently faced repeated inspections, with officials showing up every few days. Even the landlord no longer wanted to rent the storefront to him. The man asked, Who exactly did I offend? I'm not making money from this. I paid for the refrigerators and water myself. I used to be a rider too. Now that I have made some money, is it wrong to give back to society? Some people online commented, In the eyes of authorities, even private disaster relief can be treated like rebellion. As drones become more widely used, many believe the future of delivery workers looks increasingly uncertain. One vlogger said in a video that Shenzhen has already been using drones for food delivery for quite some time, and questioned whether delivery workers will still be needed in the future. Democracy activist Xie Wanjun said in a video, Where are my childhood friends now? Women are live streaming while men deliver food. Delivery workers get tired and watch live streams, while live stream hosts get tired and order food delivery. All the suffering from the Chinese people come from the Chinese Communist Party and from Xi Jinping. If Chinese people want to end their suffering, they must overthrow the Chinese Communist Party and overthrow Xi Jinping. Thank you for watching.