Labor shortages, rising rents, falling sales

Nation's entrepreneurial hub finds it hard to adapt to changing business conditions

It's early afternoon. The weather is getting warmer. The dusty roads in the shoemaking capital of China are empty except for a few teenagers in bizarre hairstyles and gaudy attire that make them look more like punk rockers than, well, jobseekers.

They aren't looking for jobs at nightclubs. There are none in this neighborhood of factories and more factories making shoes by the million.