China's hukou system divides citizens into rural and urban residents, restricting government services to the region each is registered. The hukou acts as an internal passport, recording personal details. While China's economy and urban populations have boomed, rural populations have declined. Urban incomes are nearly triple rural incomes. The government plans hukou reforms but has not acted due to fears of mass urban migration, developing infrastructure first.

1. China’s Hukou(户口)System
Dichotomy:
Rural vs. Urban

2. • Summary of hukou system in China
• Discussion of benefits of hukou
• Discussion of the downside of hukou
• Discussion of the future of the hukou system in China
Agenda

3. • China’s hukou system acts as an internal passport. The population is
divided into rural and urban residents and people can only receive
government services in the region in which they are registered.
• The hukou, a small red passbook, provides details on citizens, including
marriages, divorces, births, and deaths, in addition to the area to which
each person belongs.
Background Information

4. • China’s economic boom has
mostly taken place in urban
areas
• The graph shows the growth
of urban populations in
China and the decrease in
the rural population
• In 2011, China’s urban
population surpassed its
rural population for the first
time in its history
Rural vs. Urban Growth

5. Evolution of Hukou

6. Urban vs. Rural Income
• Urban disposable income is nearly 3x higher than rural areas

7. • Still in place but few foreigners are aware about it
• For example, 1/3 of Beijing’s 20M population are migrants
• Government has vowed to reform the system to encourage more people
to move to urban areas
• There were 3.4bn trips home during the 2013 lunar new years as workers
return home to visit families
Hukou Today

8. • The government is planning to
reform hukou but has not done
so yet out of fear that there
would be a mass migration to the
cities
• To prepare for the reform, the
government is building up
infrastructure in urban areas such
as sewage and heating systems
• Government will reform the land
management law to give farmers
better compensation but farmers
will still need to lease land from
the government
Hukou Reforms

9. Architecture