They are two of some 2.8 million migrant workers, most of whom have left rural areas to seek a fortune in economically booming Beijing. Up to 130 million economic migrants are currently descending on China's cities, mainly along its prosperous eastern seaboard.

Some of these migrants have found success beyond their wildest dreams. Others however remain in the grip of grinding poverty.

"It has been really hard to make money here, we're lucky if we can make 500 yuan (60 dollars) a month between us," Qing, who hails from rural Guizhou province, one of China's poorest regions, told AFP.

The two share a small apartment with several other migrant workers and enjoy no social or health benefits from the government.

"We have to pay 200 yuan for rent every month and then we need to eat, so it is hard to send any money home," Qing said. "We rarely buy clothes."

According to a report on China's poverty published last month by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Qing and Chen are a part of a growing army of migrants on the brink of urban poverty, a phenomenon that is likely to get worse before it gets better due to the huge influx of people into cities.

Although China has had resounding success in reducing poverty among its 750 million rural residents since it began economic reforms in 1978, in recent years poverty, especially in urban areas, has grown, the report said.

"China's success in reducing poverty reflects sustained rapid economic growth, the mainstreaming of poverty reduction efforts, and significant budget allocations for poverty reduction," David Sobel, one of the authors of the report, told AFP.

But "there are no official national figures on urban poverty as urban poverty is handled at the local level ... so our report makes the best estimates of given data."