They cannot go to school and spend all day


Down a dirty track, huddled on a pile of filthy second-hand duvets and surrounded by huge mounds of rubbish, a family pull their ripped clothes around them for warmth.

Yang Shongshi looks for his crutch as he clutches his leg in pain. The 50-year-old broke it last year and cannot afford to pay a doctor.

His four children – aged between 11 and two – surround him after spending all day scavenging. They are unable to go to school because they were not registered at birth, People's Daily Online reported.

Chinese father Yang Shongshi (centre) has been forced to live on a rubbish dump with his family for 20 years because he couldn't find a job. The government has no official identification records for them

In fact the whole family is 'invisible'. Mr Shongshi has been living on a dump in Xinzhou, China, for 20 years and the government has no official records he - or his wife and children - ever existed.

A series of shocking photos has now revealed what life is really like for the family.

Mr Shongshi, who cannot read and write, moved 330 miles away from his home in the Shandong province in 1995 in the hope he would find work.

But he found no one to employ him and had to move on to a 600 square metre patch of land covered in junk.

He even married his 45-year-old wife Li Runling, who has learning disabilities, on the dump. Their only form of shelter is a shack.

Eldest daughter Yuanyuan, 11, helps with chores while her father scavenges. She went to school for two years but was removed after they discovered she had no records.

A series of shocking photos has now revealed what life is really like for the family, who have hardly any shelter and sleep on second-hand duvets

Two of the 50-year-old's children – aged between 11 and two – help him plaster dirt around the sides of a metal object after spending all day scavenging

A rope has been tied together to make a swing for the children. It is Manman's (above) happiest place and he plays on it for hours

When she has nothing to do she looks at the books her father found in the rubbish - but does not understand any of the words.

'I actually really want to go to school,' she said.

Mr Shongshi said life is very difficult.

He said: 'My wife isn't able to help as she has problems and so I am the only one who can feed our children.

A tiny shack made out of bricks roughly pushed together is the only shelter the family have. A washing line hangs between a wooden pole and their door to keep their clothes off the ground

Yuanyuan and her brother happily climb on their father's back (right) while their mother Li Runling, 45, feeds her youngest son (left)

Despite living on a dump the children are happy to stick with their parents and find their own entertainment, somersaulting over the rubbish

'But because we don't have an official address, I can't register the kids as residents and therefore they can't go to school.

'I can't read or write so I can't help them and nor can my wife. My dream is to make a better life for our children. Anything has to be better than this.'

The photos have been sent to officials who are investigating.

A spokesman for the council said: 'We are aware of the family's predicament and are looking into what can be done.