Internal migration in China went through three main phases: phase 1 saw the implementation of the Hukou system in 1958 to strictly control rural-urban migration; phase 2 from 1980 encouraged short-distance migration for small businesses but long-distance migration still occurred, creating a "floating population" of 100 million by 1990; and phase 3 introduced temporary residence permits in the late 1980s to fuel industrialization and allow massive migration surges to major eastern cities while still withholding full Hukou rights.

1. Internal Migration

2. Internal Migration
• A movement between regions within the
same country and over relatively short
distances
• Does not alter the total population of a
country but will change population density
and population distribution patterns within
the country

3. Types of internal migration
• Rural to urban
• Urban to rural
• Inter-urban
• Intra-urban
• Rural to rural
• transmigration

4. Rural – Urban Migration
• People moving from countryside to cities
• Usually repelled by the push factors in the rural areas
• attracted by the pull factors in the urban areas
• This type of migration increased rapidly in the
developing countries in the second half of the 20th
century causing rapid urbanisation
• Caused growth of cities in Europe during the industrial
revolution

5. Rural-urban Migration
the possible factors that may contribute to this movement
Declining rural areas
-Loss of most vigorous workforce as many young people leave
Urban overpopulation
-Loss of agricultural productivity
-Overpopulation results as carrying capacity diminishes
-Cities lack resources
-Little or no investment
to meet needs of
increased population
-Food shortages force
increased imports Growing City Other Settlements
- Act as a magnet - Loss of smaller towns
-Rapid growth attracting people from which are encroached by
encourages urban all over the country growing cities
investment
programmes
Unemployment High rate of natural
- Many seek work in increase
informal sector - Large families
Urban housing
shortages
-Slums increase Crime
-Shanty towns develop poverty
Social problems

6. How do government response to rural-urban migration
1. Investment in rural development projects
2. Land redistribution – under traditional inherotance
laws, land are fragmented into smaller pieces but
3. Prohibiting migrants from becoming urban residents.
E.g. Hukou System in China
4. Redirect migration to other reception areas. E.g.
Indonesia transmigration
5. Encourage emigration instead of internal migration
Bangladesh – governemnt actively promotes emigration
to reduce the problems of overpopulation

9. Harbin

14. Shanghai

16. X’ian

19. Chongqing – “vertical City”

21. Great mosque – X’ian

25. Rural – urban migration
Case Study: Migration in China
Phase 1-
• The communist government in China has tried to keep a
firm control an internal migration. In 1958, it introduced
the household registration scheme known as the Hukou
system. A household and the individuals within it, were
registered in a particular settlement or district. This gave
them prove of identity (an ID card), housing, welfare,
education rights but it also controlled their movements.
The primary aim of this policy was to restrict rural-urban
migration people moved, they lost their Hukou rights and
entitlements.

26. Phase 2-
From 1980, China began to introduce a market economy.
Capitalist system needs mobile supplies of labour. So in
order to bring economic diversification and to reduce rural
overpopulation, people were allowed to leave the land but
not their district. This short distance migrants were
encouraged to set up small businesses in villages and
towns. However, during the 1980s, millions of people did
move longer distances from the smaller towns to larger
cities. They became known as ‘the floating population’ as
they were migrants without registration rights. By 1990,
the floating population had reached at least 100 millions.

27. Phase 3-
In the late 1980s, to encourage rapid
industrialisation, a scheme of temporary
residence permits was introduced. This
allows people to move to cities but does
not give them full Hokou rights. Since then
there have been huge migratory surges to
the east coast cities such as
Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

28. Question
• Summarise the stages of Chinese Migration