More than a car, plane or train tick, the “Hukou” (the residential permit system) is the key to mobility in China.
I can still remember what my junior high English teacher said to my classmates and I, “I really worry about you guys; if you don’t study hard, not only will you not be able to get a job, you will probably have nowhere to stay, while the kids from the countryside; at least they will have some land to grow plants on and a house to live in!” (In my junior high school, all of my classmates had an urban hukou.) Looking back, I can’t help but admire my teacher’s far-reaching vision.
I remember about two decades ago, my relatives from the countryside spent a fortune to get their kids an urban hukou. At that time, the “value” of one’s hukou was measured by the rank and scale of that city/town. As one can imagine, hukou for major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou are more “expensive” than my hometown Yangzhou.
However, in the past couple years the trend has reversed, especially in the suburban areas of some cities. With the massive real estate development here in China, many lucky “farmers” with rural hukou have received enormous relocation compensation packages, which translate into millions of yuan and several brand new apartments.
Yet despite these changes, the hukou system creates enormous boundaries for us.
For someone like me, having a Yangzhou hukou and living in Nanjing, I have to go back to my hometown when I apply for a visa or any documentation related to my hukou. My future offspring will have to pay special fees and higher tuition to be admitted by the local schools. Even when I go to pay my internet bill, I have to pay a year in advance instead of monthly payments just because I do not have a local hukou. Still, I am fairly lucky because Yangzhou and Nanjing are in the same province. People holding a hukou belonging to another province have to overcome even greater difficulties and inconveniences, to say at the least.
However, do not take it for granted that citizens who have a hukou for the big cities have it made. In Shanghai for example, the local government requires private car owners to pay 40,000 yuan for their license in order to limit the number of automobiles on the roads. Recently, one of my friends who has a Shanghai hukou bought a car in Nanjing, and he could not get a license for his car because the Nanjing authorities worried that he would secure a Nanjing license and actually drive his car in Shanghai in order to avoid paying the 40,000 yuan that the Shanghai municipality requires. He did eventually get his license by proving he is currently working and living in Nanjing and, of course, by pulling some important strings. This is rather ironic when looking back at how people valued a hukou several decades ago.
The shifts in the value of a hokou parallels another interesting shift: many migrant workers are returning to their hometowns much earlier. In the previous years, migrant workers would usually return home right before Lunar Chinese New Year, which typically falls in February, but a large number of them have started to return home in December this year.
The driving factor behind this change is that the cost of living in the cities has risen so dramatically over the past few years, and the money migrant workers earn barely covers their living costs. So rather than struggle through the holiday season, more and more are deciding to go home early and enjoy the time with their families. If these workers can secure work in the countryside, then the big cities could suddenly be facing a significant shortage of cheap labor as the Chinese New Year approaches.
Although China’s urbanization will likely continue, the patterns might increasingly be to smaller cities and towns. In this sense, China’s development may, sooner than any expected, begin to take on the dispersion pattern that has occurred in the Western countries for more than a half century.
Lisa Gu is a 26-year old Chinese national. She grew up in Yangzhou (Jiangsu) and lives and works in Nanjing (Jiangsu).
Photo: South Gate, Nanjing
Comments
22 responses to “Is China About to Decentralize?”
Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking.
energy comparison
very interesting post.this is my first time visit here.i found so mmany interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion..thanks for the post!
yoko whitening cream
Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative. I can’t wait to read lots of your posts.
perfect female body shape measurements
This is highly informatics, crisp and clear. I think that everything has been described in systematic manner so that reader could get maximum information and learn many things.
voyance internet
Thanks for the nice blog. It was very useful for me. I’m happy I found this blog. Thank you for sharing with us,I too always learn something new from your post.
http://www.memyfriends.com/
Great post, you have pointed out some fantastic points , I likewise think this s a very wonderful website.
información
I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.
klick mich
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
world series online stream free
What a fantabulous post this has been. Never seen this kind of useful post. I am grateful to you and expect more number of posts like these. Thank you very much.
michael fiore’s capture his heart download
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post.
Taable Note
I am happy to find this post very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content and this thing I found in you post. Thanks for sharing.
https://www.rebelmouse.com
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Check here
Awesome blog structure! How long have you been running a blog for? you made blogging look easy. The total look of your site is wonderful, let alone the content material!
charter private flight
Your website is really cool and this is a great inspiring article. Thank you so much.
Arbeitsschuhe
I found that site very usefull and this survey is very cirious, I ‘ ve never seen a blog that demand a survey for this actions, very curious…
girlfriend activation system online free
Thank you for such a well written article. It’s full of insightful information and entertaining descriptions. Your point of view is the best among many.
Victorino Noval Philanthropist
Its a great pleasure reading your post.Its full of information I am looking for and I love to post a comment that “The content of your post is awesome” Great work.
http://knoe.membercenter.worldnow.com/
That is really nice to hear. thank you for the update and good luck.
reddit girlfriend activation system
Very interesting blog. Alot of blogs I see these days don’t really provide anything that I’m interested in, but I’m most definately interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know.
social media page
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
rebelmouse.com
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to start my own BlogEngine blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is a fine example of it.
http://numerologyreview.com
Great post I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this interesting and knowledgeable article.
Rebelmouse com