GUANGZHOU -- The containers were stacked sky high atop a cargo ship docked at a port in Shenzhen, the city that has long served as an economic dynamo for China. Cranes whirred and whizzed, unloading the crates to trucks waiting on the ground but there were few workers to be seen among the bustle.
Not that long ago, unloading a ship of that size and scale would be an undertaking requiring a number of crew members, many of whom would have to risk dangerous situations to get the job done. But during a recent visit to Mawan port, there were only a handful of workers at the scene, mostly overseeing the tall task and securing the containers when necessary.
