According to the government the workers are being pushed out for their own good, after 19 people lost their lives in a deadly fire in a migrant settlement last month.
But the migrants, many from poorer provinces in China, believe they're being driven out in a bid to reduce the city's population.
Min Shu Guo is one of them. The convenience store owner is packing up, after a sign was posted on his door telling him to leave by the end of the week.
“I don't know why we have to leave. They're just driving us migrant workers out,” says Mr Min.
“Originally I thought it was only those businesses without proper licenses who had to be shut down. But turns out even if you do have the right certificate it’s no use,” he says.
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His village of Cuigezhuang on the outskirts of Beijing is just one of many targeted by the government for mass evictions.
Tens of thousands of migrant workers are being driven out of the capital, many given just days to pack their things. Power and water are cut to urge people along.
“If the government had any consideration for us they would give us more time, like one or two months, to allow the people to find new places to live,” says Luo Zheng, a worker from neighbouring Henan province.
The drive was sparked after 19 migrant workers were killed in a building fire in a migrant worker settlement last month. The tragedy prompted a 40-day campaign to rid the city of safety hazards in migrant worker neighbourhoods.
Buildings in some migrant villages have been demolished, leaving roads looking like warzones. Many migrant workers say it doesn't make sense.
Zhang Tianyi is a migrant worker who’s lived in Cuigezhung for 14 years.
Convenience store owner Min Shu Guo and his grandson are among those being told to leave. Source: SBS News
“It’s not fair,” she says. “If there's a fire in the apartment, just close down the apartment. What does it have to do with our people? We’re making our own living, we don’t steal, we’re not thieves. We never break the law.”
Online videos, showing authorities breaking down doors to force people out, have gone viral. The measures have sparked widespread criticism online.
Zhang Lifan is among a group of scholars who have signed an open letter urging the government to stop the evictions and provide migrants with temporary housing. He believes the crackdown could spark a social crisis.
“There's a contradiction between the government and the people, and also between the huge and quick accumulation of wealth and a seriously unfair income distribution,” says Mr Zhang.
Migrant workers were essential in constructing Beijing's modern metropolis in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics, but in order to ease pressure on resources the government has planned to reduce its population by 2020.
Last year it announced plans to cap the city’s population at 23 million, cutting the number of people in six main districts by 15 per cent.
But in Cuigezhuang, migrant worker Li Ming believes Beijing is mistreating the migrant worker population, who continue to serve the city as construction workers, cooks, delivery people and cleaners.
Last month a fire engulfed a worker settlement killing 19 people. Source: SBS World News
“In 2008 you welcomed us in the railway station and treated us like gods in order to construct the city. Now how do you treat us?”
Min Shu Guo is more resigned than his neighbours.
“Anger? What's the use of being angry?” he shrugs.
With their possessions packed in boxes, Min Shu Guo and his three year-old grandson will soon make their way to his hometown in Jiangxi province in the country's south, the only place he now feels welcome.
