"They're not getting the same quality of education. It's not even close to their counterparts, 'city kids' although they are city kids," he said.

Without education and opportunities, many children of migrants end up doing the same work as their parents. This continuous cycle has spanned almost four generations, Bandurski said.

"I think in the last 15 to 20 years, it's not a socially mobile society," he said.

And there are signs of unrest. Thousands of workers rioted in Guangdong province early this year after reports that police officers had beaten a migrant teenager in June, according to both Chinese and Western media reports. Tensions also spilled over into violence in the city of Xintang last year when migrant workers clashed with locals after reports that officials had beaten a pregnant migrant worker and her husband.

Some families pin their hopes on their kids to break the cycle by gaining admission into a university.

The chances of that, Bandurski said, are "very very slim."

Guo insists that he wants his son to go to school.

"We villagers don't have many ambitious hopes about our kids, as long as he goes to school and studies hard. Otherwise, we don't have any plans for our kids... I just hope he doesn't do what we are doing."