The City's Fringe

The story unfolds between the summer solstice of 2016 and the spring of 2017, when smartphones were widespread but surveillance systems remained underdeveloped. Xin'an Town has a mixed landscape of industrial zones, urban villages, and newly built commercial complexes. Its social structure is divided among local landlords living off rental income, migrant workers, and people involved in gray-market businesses. Factory owners are swept up in the shift to e-commerce, P2P finance reaches the townships, and livestreaming is just beginning to take shape.