Abstract: In the recent 20 or so years, “peasant workers” have been a significant part in China’s rural and urban economic activities, having become a social phenomenon. Millions of peasants entering cities to work and live there have not only powerfully promoted the development of urban economy but also helped balance the age structure of city populations, progressed urbanization in China, and greatly raised the incomes of peasant families. With China’s institutional reform continuously going deeper and her economy being on the rise, the volume and quality of such “peasant workers” will certainly improve in the future. Naturally, investigation of this “peasant workers” phenomenon has attracted the academic attention in China. However, most studies have been directed toward the “immigrating” locations at the macrolevel; relatively few studies are focused on the “migrating” locations. Based on the data from the field questionnaire survey of the households in 26 villages in Inner Mongolia, this paper analyzes the basic demographic characteristics of those who left home for external employment, their structural properties, and their contributions to their local households’ incomes. This study may help
us acquire a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the phenomenon of leaving home for external employment in the rural areas and its impact on the local peasants’ lives.