His lanky frame and poor eyesight probably made Liu Xiaoxiao, 55, the worst bangbang in Chongqing, but now he's known as the "general of the bangbang army".

In the local dialect, bangbang refers to rural porters who sling freight on bamboo poles, which they hoist on their shoulders. They are a distinctive group known for helping residents carry heavy items in the mountainous port city, which sits on the Yangtze River.

Liu has been running a moving company for 20 years, giving jobs to hundreds of bangbang and providing services that range from helping families relocate to moving cargo.

The company's name incorporates the phrase bangbang jun－army of porters.

Liu, a small, slender man with a pair of thick eyeglasses perched on his nose, looks too weak to carry any weight on his shoulders.

Born into a poor farmer's family in Zigong, Sichuan province, he struggled to make a living as a rural substitute teacher and a farmer. He lived with his parents and four brothers in a shabby, three-room, thatched house.

"The food was never enough," Liu said. "Almost all the young people in the village left to work in cities after the launch of reform and opening-up in 1978."

In 1992, Liu decided to go to Shanghai, where relatives could help him get a job at a construction site. After the Spring Festival, he borrowed 200 yuan and planned to take a train to Shanghai from Chongqing.

But he could not get a train ticket to Shanghai despite lining up for three days at the railway station. With little money left, he abandoned his plan and stayed in Chongqing.

With the help of a cousin who worked in Chongqing, Liu found a place to live and worked as a porter. But lacking a strong build, he would often fail to make a cent for days on end.

"I looked so weak that many clients refused to hire me," he said. "I might be one of the worst bangbang."

During that hard time, Liu, who has always had a passion for literature, started to write about the lives of porters and some of his stories got published in local newspapers.

From 1994 to 1998, he had over 100 stories and poems published, with his works drawing public attention to the special group in the city.

Having witnessed and experienced the difficult life of a porter, Liu was determined to change their situation.

"When I was a bangbang man, I got the idea to set up a company for my peers," Liu said. "Only by working as an organized group can we have a decent life."

In 1998, Liu and his friends borrowed 100,000 yuan to establish a small company with just five employees. Two decades later, the company has become one of the largest moving companies in Chongqing, with 15 vans and two large offices in the downtown area.

The company now has about 50 long-term employees who earn about 6,000 yuan ($870) a month and enjoy free accommodation.

"We provide them with a stable salary and social security, much better than working as an individual bangbang," he said.

The "army of porters" is estimated to have been half a million strong in years past, when rural residents flocked to the city for work, but the number has been shrinking quickly due to economic development and urbanization, according to the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences.

To cope with the changes, Liu is planning to modernize the company and upgrade its services.

"People now need better porter services and there is still a large market there," he said. "Our bangbang army will get stronger."