China's urbanization faces challenges

Urbanization in China has increased rapidly in recent decades. By the end of 2011, the country had a total urban population of close to 700 million. This means over 50 percent of China's total population are now living in cities.

From today CCTV NEWS is bringing you a special series on China's urbanization. In today's programme, our reporter Guan Yang takes a closer look at the urban migration situation in China.

An early morning on the outskirts of Beijing. Ten years ago, you wouldn't have seen so many people and so much traffic. Just like many newly developed urban towns, they all seem to be built over night.

"When we first came here a couple of years ago, there was nothing much here really. It's changed a lot," said Wang Longqiang, resident in Changping District.

As traditional farming is replaced with modern machinery, mechanization in the argricultural sector has pushed rural labourers into the country's economic powerhouse - industrial production. And studies on modern civilization tell us that when the urban population reaches a certain point, towns become metropolises. In a country like China, the demographic trends have their own particular characteristics.

"Unlike the urbanization process experienced by the world's currently developed countries, people from rural areas in China don't seem to settle in cities. Most are here to earn a better living and save the money, then return to where they're from," said Zheng Zhenzhen, Professor with Inst. of Population and Labor Economics, CASS.

Just like the country's new bullet trains, urbanization in China is taking place at an unprecedented speed.

"What took western countries like the UK to complete their urbanization processes, China has managed to do it in just 20 years. And apart from this unprecedented time scale, the country has the most newly developed cities," said Prof Feng Changchun from Urban and Environ. Sciences, Peking University.

When change happens too quickly, certain aspects of development need to be tackled urgently.

Prof Feng said, "One main problem we're facing now is damage to the environment, at present over 90% of water resources in China's cities are polluted to some extent. We have to take great care with future planning."

China has just passed a remarkable milestone, with its city-dwellers now outnumbering its rural residents. The country's urbanization has helped transform the nation into the world's second-largest economy. However, it's now time to tackle pressing issues like social welfare reform, the need for infrastructure to keep apace of fast developments and raising awareness of environmental issues.