Villages of the People's Republic of China

Village or Village level divisions in China serves as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal like in the West, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area). In 2000, China's densely populated villages (>100 persons/ha) had a population greater than 500 million and covered more than 2 million square kilometers, or more than 20% of China's total area (Ellis 2004).

In general, urban areas are organized into neighborhood committees (simplified Chinese: 居民委员会; traditional Chinese: 居民委員會; pinyin: jūmínwěiyuánhuì), while rural areas are organized into village committees (simplified Chinese: 村民委员会; traditional Chinese: 村民委員會; pinyin: cūnmínwěiyuánhuì) or villager groups (simplified Chinese: 村民小组; traditional Chinese: 村民小組; pinyin: cūnmínxiǎozǔ). A "village" in this case can either be a natural village (Chinese: 自然村; pinyin: zìráncūn), one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village (Chinese: 行政村; pinyin: xíngzhèngcūn), which is a bureaucratic entity.

Instead of neighborhood committees and sub-districts, a city could have:

• neighborhood (simplified Chinese: 居民区; traditional Chinese: 居民區; pinyin: jūmínqū)
• community (simplified Chinese: 社区; traditional Chinese: 社區; pinyin: shèqū)

See also

• Urban village (China)
• Organic Law of Village Committees

References

• Ellis, E.C. 2004. Long-term ecological changes in the densely populated rural landscapes of China. Pages 303-320 in R. S. DeFries, G. P. Asner, and R. A. Houghton, editors. Ecosystems and Land Use Change. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. download the paper

External links

• Chinese Village Government Information Network
• Photo-essay on Scenic Chinese Villages
• Two Chinese Villages, Two Views of Rural Poverty
• Long-term changes in China's village landscapes are changing the world