Shunned in China, Hubei natives live in isolation

Discrimination against people from province leads to job losses and evictions

COCO LIU and NIKKI SUN, Nikkei staff writers

February 21, 2020 00:05 JST

HONG KONG -- When Zhang Yu'e walked into a luxury fashion store in the city of Chongqing in southwestern China last month, she was greeted by a cluster of friendly sales people. But as soon as Zhang filled out her membership card, the smiles faded and the staff stepped back.