As China's economy slows and optimism fades, aging workers who've spent decades of their lives building up Chinese cities find themselves in a difficult position. They're facing mandated retirement, but have little to show for years of backbreaking work.

In this episode of The Sunday Story, NPR correspondent Emily Feng tells the story of migrant workers in China, and brings us the voices of two construction workers who labored in hopes of achieving the Chinese dream, but found it out of reach. Now they wonder: how will they survive in old age?

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