But at a building site in central Beijing on Monday it was clear that much nervousness remained. “I’ve been here for two months without registering,” said one migrant labourer from the central province of Sichuan during his lunch-break, “we’ll just lie low or go home for a week.” Others, like Jiang Chunyan, a mother and migrant worker who was at home between shifts looking after her rowdy three-year-old son, were happy to co-operate with the survey but sceptical of the government’s pledge that the information would be used to improve her lot.