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1/1/1995 - Sunan: Where the Rural Industrial Revolution Changes China’s Sunan: Where the Rural Industrial Revolution Changes China’s Model of China’s Urbanization by Cheng Li

NOT FOR UBLICATION WITHOUTWRITER SCONSENT CL INSTITUTEOFCURRENTWORLDAFFAIRS SU N RE THERURAL INDUSTRIAL RE LUTI N C GES CHINA S SCAPE Part III Zhangjiagang ANewbornCity AModelofChina Urbanization Shanghai China January Mr PeterBirdMartin Executive Director InstituteofCurrentWorldAffairs 4WestWheelock Street Hanover NH03755 U S A DearPeter Inhis classicworkonthedevelopmentofAmericancivilization The Ageof Reform FromBryan F D R RichardHofstadter afamoushistorian hadthe followingopeningremark TheUnitedStateswasborninthecountryandhasmoved tothe ThehistoryoftheUnitedStates inaway isahistoryofurbanization ThelevelofurbanizationintheU S thepercentageofurbanpopulationinthetotal populationofthecountry increasedgreatlyoverthepasttwocenturies from5 in1790to77 in1990 By1970 theUnitedStatesalreadyhad4 653cities therewere6 cities square Urbanizationisaprocessofeconomicchange Itisusuallydefinedasa transformationfromruralres identstourbanresidents Aspeoplemovetheir ChengLi aanICWAfellow studying political economy ofthe coastofChina Since1925theInstituteofCurrentWorldAffairs theCrane RogersFoundation hasprovidedlong termfellowshipsto enable outstanding young adults outside United States write about international areas issues Endowed bythelateCharlesR Crane theInstituteisalsosupportedbycontributionsfromlike mindedindividualsand foundations residencesfromrural tourban areas alsochange their occupations traditional agriculturalsector first sector tothemodernindustrialandservice sectors second andthe tertiary sectors Americahas experiencedtwobroadmovementsintheurbanizationprocess itsmorerecenthistory shiftofemphasisfrom metropolis small andmedium sizedcities fromtheeastcoastandmid westtothewestcoastandthesouth One certnlycouldfindproblemsanddrawlessonsfromthelandscapechanges inthe UnitedStatesoverthepasttwocenturies Butingeneral priortoWorldWarTwo theurbanizationoftheU S paralleledandcontributedtotheAmericanindustrial revolution Inthepost warera Americanurbanizationhascorrespondedtothe structural transformationofthe U S economyandled rapiddevelopmentof tertiary sector China sUrba__nization AReview China urbanization bycontrast hashad afarmore troublingexperience Intheendof1989 Chinahadaltogether467cities therewere 49cities per10 000squarekm Thepercentageoftheurbanpopulationinthe total population ofthecountrywas whichwas about average level urbanizationintheworldin andwasmuchlowerthan52 theworld average level There aremanyreasons forthe ofChina urbanization Historically Chinahadanagrarianeconomy Asthemostpopulouscountryinthe world tomaintain agrictfltural sufficiencyhas alwaysbeenthemost tmportant concernamongtheChinesepeople DuringtheMaoera thePRCgovernmenthada negative attitudetowards urbanizationofthecountryandsentcitydwellers torural inthenameofreducingtheeconomicgapbetweenurbanandrural areas AsaChinese scholar noted theMaoistgovernmenthadthree misconceptions First intheviewofthegovernment urbandevelopmentwouldbe antagonistictoruraldevelopment Theauthoritiesthereforetriedtoconstrainthe formerinordertoensurethelatter Second thegovernmentconceivedthat industrializationandurbanizationwereexactlythesamething Theauthoritiesonly attentiontoindustrialdevelopment butignoredthedevelopmentofurban infrastructureandtheservicesector Asaresult China surbanizationlaggedbehind theprocessofindustrializationofthecountry Thestagnancyofurbanization return alsorestrictindustrialdevelopment Andthird thegovernmentfailedto understandthaturbanization notonlythe resultofeconomicgrowth butcan cause ofeconomicgrowth AccordingtoGuShengzu awell knownscholarfromthe Instituteof DemographyatWuhanUniversity China levelofurbanizationactuallydeclinedin the1960s Thehouseholdregistrationsystem whichwasadoptedbytheChi governmentin restrictedtheflow ofpopulationfromruralvillages tourban townsandcities Thetotalnumberofpeoplewholivedintowns forexample decreasedfrom46millionin1959to41millionin1963 Thetownpopulationin1971 lower of1959 DuringtheCulturalRevolution 7millionurbanhighschoolgraduateswere senttothecountryside furtherreducingtheurbanpopulation Manyurban factoriesmovedtoruralareas Doctors engineers teachers andmanyotherswere senttothecountryside eitherpermanentlyortemporarily Thepercentageofthe urbanpopulationinthe totalpopulationofthecountrydecreasedfrom China economicreform whichstartedin hasreversedthe directionof internalmigration Thecountryhasenteredtheerainwhichurbanizationgrowsthe fastestiteverhas inChinesehistory TableIshowstherapidincreaseofChinese citiesandtownsfrom1978to1992 Inthepasttwoyears 106newcitieshave comeintoexistenceinthecountry ThetotalnumberofChinesecitiesisnow620 threetimes thenumberofcities gisteredin Thenumberoftownshasincreasedevenfaster InWenzhou Zhejiang province forexample thenumberoftowns increasedfrom About2 4millionpeoplehaveleftruralvillagesandsettleddowninthesetowns Over ofrural laborers changed their occupations peasants workers inthe industrialorthetertiarysectors Intheentirecountry thepercentageoftheurban populationinthetotalpopulationincreasedfrom17 in1978to28 in1990 It estimatedthatthe figure reach35 bytheyearof2000 double inabout decades Table TheUrbanDevelopmentofChinaduringtheReformEra Number Increase Rate Prefecture level cities dishi County level cities xianjishi times Townsinwhichtownshipadministrations 14500 times SOurce Sha ngcankao Mr seerene N 19941p Sixfactorshavecontributed rapiddevelopmentofChina urbanization Theyare economicgrowthoftheco untry therapiddevelopmentofruraland localindustries themobilityofsurplus rurallaborersandmoreflexiblegovernment policytowards internalmigration largeState constructionprojects incities increaseofforeigninvestment thegrowthofsatellite cities ofmetropolises UrbanizationinSunan Oneofthe fastestgrowingregions inChina surbanizationisSunan southern Jiangsu thevastareaunderthejurisdictionofthreeprefecture level cities Wuxi Suzhou andChhou AstheprevioustwopartsoftheseriesonSunanshowed rural industrial revolutionhasbroughtaboutafascinatingeconomicboomto region theso called theGoldenDelta ThevastruralareaoftheSunanregion hasrapidlyindustrialized Atpresentagricultureaccountsforonly8 ofthetotal industrialandagriculturaloutputvalueinSunan andindustryaccountsfor92 Thisruralindustrialrevolutionhas significantlychangedthelabor structure theregion Table2showsthatthepercentageofnon agriculturalemploymentinthe rural areaofJiangsuprovince 1989was39 rankedNo allprovinces municipalities directlyunderthecentralgovernment afteronlyShanghai Beijing andTianjin Jiangsu sannualincreaseofnon agriculturallaborersfrom1978to1989 was13 rankedNo aironlyZhejiangandGuangdong Accordingtoanother study by1990 percentage ofnon agricultural laborers inthe ruralareaofSunan hadalreadyreached76 Table ThePercentageofNon AgriculturalEmploymentinRuralAreasanditsAnnual Increase AnnualIncrease Rank Rank Wholecountry Shanghai Beijing Tianjin Jiangsu Zhejiang Guangdong Source Nankai vaniiu Nanjaieconomicresearch No Theruralindustrialrevolutionhasledtotheurbanizationoftheregion A mayorofaSunancitywhomIinterviewedusedthreetermstocharacterizethe change ofthedevelopment strategyoftheSunanregion Inthe1970sweemphasizedTarmlanddevelopment inthe 1980sweplacedour priorityon factorydevelopment themayortoldme No winthe 1990swehavemadegreatadvances citydevelopment I_ Boththelocalgovernmentsandentrepreneurs inSunanhaveindeedinvested alargeamountofmoneyintheurbandevelopmentoftheregion InWuxiancounty forexample theannualinvestmentoncityinfrastructure increasedfrom million yuaninthelate1980sto95millionin1991and250millionin1992 Newly boomingcitiesandtownshavemushroomedinSunan ThemostimpressivenewborncityinSunanisundoubtedlyZhangjiagang pronouncedchang Duringthepasthalfyear Ivisited Zhangiiagangthreetimes EachtimeIwentwithagroupoffriendswhohadnever beentothe citybefore firstwas agroup ofbusiness peoplefromtheUnited States second agroup ofsocial scientistsfromEngland andthethirdmyformer schoolmatesfromShanghai Eachtimemyfriendstoldmethattheyweretruly impressedbythisemergingmoderncity IfthereisanycitythatcanmakeChinaproudofitsurbandevelopment Britishsinologistcommented Zhangiiagangshouldbetheone Zhang iagang anewbornmoderncityinSunan Mostu rbanareasof Zhangjiagangwerefarmlandorcoveredwithreeds justafewyearsago Rome wasnotbuiltinaday butZhang iaganghasbeen aresideminZhangfiagangused Westernsaying todescribe therapidriseofZhangjiagang Chinesecitiesare presentlynotoriousforthe lackofgreen trees andlittlegrass In addition mostChinese citieshavenarrowstreets whichhavemadetraffic jamsafamiliarscenefor urbandwellers But these streetscenes Zhang iagangshowthat exceptional Treesandgrassareplanted everywhere Zhang iaganghasmany newly built streets which usuallyover50meters Atpresent Chinese cities generallynotorious forthe lackofgreen trees andlittlegrass Withafewexceptions suchas China capital Beijingandthe former capital Nanjing mostChinese citieshavenarrow streets whichhavemade trafficjams afamiliarscene forurbandwellers ButwhatwesawinZhangjiagangwasanunusualurbanscene inChina trees andgrassareplantedeverywhereinthecity Smokingisprohibited inpublicplaces andstreets inthe WewerenotsurprisedwhenweweretoldthatZhangjiagang citywonthetitleofationalSanitationalCity inboth1993and1994 Zhangjiagangcountycoversanareaof999 sqkilometers including221 kilometers ofwaterareaand778 sqkilometers ofland Alocal official journalists thatthe cityhas recentlybuilt 19new boulevards planted850 trees 2millionsquare metregreenareas Thesenewly builtstreetsareusually over50meterswide HighwayZhangyangandHighwayYanjiang tworoadsthat leaddirectlytothedowntownareaofZhangjiagang areechover 100meterswide Yingkou Beijing dandong Zhangjiagang locatedonthesouthern anjin Yantai bankofthe lowerreaches qindao ofthe Yangtze River theonlyinlandriverFree Lianyungang Nantong TradeZoneamongallthe Wuhan L Jiujiang zonesapproved Shanghai bytheChinesecentral governmentsofar Nanjin Ningbo Zhangjiagang Wenzhou Fuzhou JilOng Xiamen Guangzhou aoxiong Beihai Zhanjian Shantou HongKong Jk Haikou Basuo Therapideconomicgrowthis easilyobservedonstreets ofZhangjiagang Jointventure factories fancycommercial centers andelegantoffice andapartment buildings standonboth sides ofspacious boulevards Oncommercial streets small businessesareflourishing Entertainmentclubs restaurants andkaraokebarsare filledwithwell dressedentrepreneursusingcellularphones RomewasnotBuiltinaDay butZhangjiaganghasbeen All thesedevelopments however achievedduringthepastfew years Mosturbanareas ofZhangiagangwerefarmlandorcoveredwithreedsjustafew yearsago ZhangjiagangwasnotevenonthecitymapofChinainthemid 1980s becauseitwasthenacounty CalledShazhouCounty itwasabackwardcountyin Sunan Evenintheearly1970s amajorityofthepeasantsinthecountywere almostaspooraspeasantsinSubei northernJiangsu Thesiteinwhichdowntown Zhangiiagangisnowlocatedwas asmalltowncalledYangshe oneofthousands towns inthe country Zhangjiagangdidn thave status county level cityuntiltheendof1986 Only didthe State Council approval establishmentofthe ZhangjiagangFreeTradeZone MostofZhangiiagang surbanconstructionprojects tookplace withinthe pasttwoyears Romewasnotbuiltinaday butZhangiiaganghasbeen acivilengineer whomImetinZhangjiagangsaidtome HeusedthisWesternsayingtodescribethe rapidriseofZhangjiagang TheengineeroriginallyworkedinShanghaibuthasnow settledinZhangjiagangwherehehasbeeninvolvedinanumberofconstruction projects Zhangjiagangsurelybenefitsfromanideallocation Thecityisonthesouthern bankofthe fertilelowerreaches oftheYangtze River withShanghaionits Suzhouon south WuxiandChangzhouonitswestandNantongontheother oftheYangtzeRiver With26industrialsatellitetownsunderitsjurisdiction ZhangjiagangCountyhasatotalurbanandruralpopulationof840 Among about200 inZhangjiagang City Zhangiiagang Cityisnamedairits internationalopenport ZhangjiagangPort whichissituatednorthwestofthecity Theportpossessesa favorablegeographical siteanditneversiltsupandfreezesover Cargosvesselscan besteeredclosetoshorebecauseofitsdeepwater Shipslessthan100 toncan anchordirectlytothewharfs Theporthasalreadyopened11internationalroutes andsixcontainerizedinternationalshippinglines Ithas22scheduledvoyagesevery month Theporthasafreighttransportbusinesswithover100internationalportsin morethan140countries In1993 theannualhandlingcapacityoftheport reached15milliontons Zhangiiagangporthandlesabout46 ofthegoods transportedoverseas inthewholeJiangsuprovince Zhangjiagangporthasopened11 internationalroutesandsixcontainer internationalshipping lines Theporthasafreighttransportbusiness withover 1O0imernationalportsofmorethan140countries Zhangjiagangporthandles about46 ofthegoodstransportedoverseasinthewholeJiangsuprovince It hasplayedan important theeconomicboomofSunan In Zhangjiagangwasranked 7thamongthe economicallystrongest countiesinthecountry In1993 itspositioninthesesupercountiesroseto4th In total industrialandagriculturaloutputvaluereached36billionyuan higherthanthatofsomeinlandprovincesinChina Atpresent ninemajorbranches ofindustryhavebeensetupinthecity Theyare metallurgy electronic components construction materials lightindustry textiles chemicalsandmedicines woolweaving knitwear andartsandcrafts Interms ofattractingforeigninvestmentandpromotingforeigntrade ZhangjiagangwasrankedfirstinJiangsuprovincein 1993whenits foreigntrade exportpurchasingvaluereached72billionyuan Atpresent foreignfundspledgedto contracts total Over billionUS Thecitynotonlyhasover1 000jointventures including 379foreign manufacturingenterprises about foreign investmententerprises butalso established80enterprises abroad setupbyenterpriseshere inZhangiiagang Exportproductstotalmorethan360items soldto80countriesintheworld All 47province levelmajorcorporationsareexport orientedenterprises QinZhenhua PartySecretaryofZhangjiagang recentlytoldChinesejournalists thatallnew productioninthe cityshouldtargetforeignmarkets TheInternationalTrade CenterinZhang iagang The citywas rankedthefirst Jiangsuprovince 1993in termsofattractingforeign investmentandpromoting foreign trade By foreigfundpledgedto contractsareover Obillion ThelivingstandardofthepeopleofZhangjiagang especiallythosewhowere formerlypeasants greatlyimproved In1991 theaverageincomeofpeopleinthe ruralareawas2 140yuan 24timestheaverageincomein1962 Over70 peasantshavemovedintonewtwo orthree storyhousessince1978 Theaverage housingspaceperpersonwas square meters From Zhangjiaganghadanaverage annualGNPgrowthof Thetotalindustrialandagriculturaloutputvalueincreased24 annually onaverage In1992 Zhangiiagangcounty sGNPincreased87 overtheprevious AgroupofstudentsinahighschoolofZhangjiagang Theyareallchildren offormerpeasants Theyareamazedatthedramaticchangestakingplaceinthe areaandtheyknowthatthey willhaveacompletely different lifef thatof theirparents Theyinheritsomecharacteristicsoftheirpeasantparentssuchas honestyanddiligence buttheyaremoreconfidentabouttheirfuture Someof themwillentertheShazhouInstituteofEngineering inZhangjiagang thefirst county college country ChinahashadthefastestgrowingGNPintheworldinthepastfewyears In China Zhangjiaganghasthe fastestgrowingGNP anofficial inthemunicipal governmentofZhangjiagangsaidtome Idaretosaythatnoothercounty inChina orelsewhere achievedashigharate ofGNPgrowthasZhangiiaganghas Ibelieveyou Ireplied Howcouldonesurpassan87 ofGNPriseinGNP inoneyear WhenItoldafriendofmineintheUnitedStates abouttheGNPgrowthrate Zhangiiagang shecommented WeintheUnited Stateswouldbethrilled ifourGNP achievedonlyone tenthofZhangiiagang sgrowthrate Whathas toZhanKiiagang sEconomicBoom HowcouldZhangjiagangachievedallthisandtransformitselffromasmall townand fishermen wharf amodernportcityinChinain sucha shorttime Geographicallocation especially theport certainlyhashelped Duringour visits inZhangiiagang manypeople there toldus thesame storyabouthowthe mayorandpartysecretaryofthe citywentto Beijing campaign forthe status FreeTradeZone theybroughtmanyyounggirlstoBeijingwiththemandgavethese girlstoofficialsofthecentralgoverrmaentasmaidsorhousekeepers Theseofficials TheheadquartersofthemunicipalgovernmentofZhangfiagang Thelocal governmenthasplayedan importantrole theeconomicboomofthe tevenneedtopaythewagesofthese girlsbecause themunicipalgovernmentof Zhangiiagangtookcareofit AlltheofficialsinBeijingneededtodowassimplygive approval forthe establishmentoftheZhangjiagangFreeTrade Zone IntheU S nominees forthe cabinetor othertopgovernmentposts inbig trouble iftheyonlyonce topaytaxes forthemaids workingin theirhouses Americanbusinessmanaskedalocalofficialwhotoldusthestory DotheChinese leaders feelawkwardaboutfailingtopaythewagestotheirmaids Awkwd thelocalofficialsaid Noonefeltawkward Everyoneg otwhat theywanted theleadersofthecentralgovernmentgotmaidsforfree themaids foundtheconnectionsinBeijing andZhangiiagangCitygotapproval Whyfeel awkwardifwecouldgetthingsdone Welocalofficialsshouldworkveryhardtowin favorablepoliciesfrombigmeninBeijin_g Yougreasedthewheel tomakeitrun theAmericanbusinessmanusedan Englishexpression Bytheway thelocalofficial continued ifyourAmericancompanydecides investin Zhangjiagang wecanexporta lotofmaids toserveyourCEOsand trustees Howabout TheAmericanbusinessmanlaughed IsthisChinesegentlemanserious askedmeinEnglish rmnotsure Ireplied ButthestorythatZhangiagangofficialssentmaids totheirbossesinBeijingiswell knowninSunan TheZhangjiagangofficialsshouldbepraisedfortheir localinitiative andtheir creativityinestablishinga Yeciprocal relationship withthe centralgovernment Americanbusinessman I agree Itmaybeanethicalissuetojudgethe maidsdiplomacf baomu waijiao pursuedbythe localleaders ofZhangjiagang butthe blishmentof theFreeTradeZone baoshuiqu hasdirectlycontributedtotheeconomic boominthecity ZhangjiagangFreeTradeZoneistheonlyinlandriverFreeTrade Zoneamongall dutyfree zones approvedbythe Chinese central governmentso ThespecialpoliciescarriedoutinZhangiagang accordingtolocal officials evenmoreflexibleandfavorablethanthOse exercised inanyother existing special zonesoreconomicdevelopmentzones TheZhangjiagangFreeTradeZonehas attractedmanydomesticandforeignenterprises andagentswhich areengagedin internationaltrade exportoriented storage transportationpackaging entrepotand transittrade andexportprocessing Therapid economicgrowth easilyobservedon streets Everycornerholdsa newconstructionsite andjointventures aboundin factories In iagang county sGNPhad increased87 thepreviousyear Geographical location local leadership andfavorable policyinthe trade relevantto rapiddevelopmentthere LinJiangong ofessor SuzhouUniversitysaid Butthemostimportantfactorbehindtheeconomicboom ofthecityistheroleoftownshipandvillageenterprises TVEs TVEsarethe drivingforceofthe riseofZhangjiagang Professor Lin interpretation supportedbythe statistics In example total industrial agricultural outputvalueofthe citywas billion ofwhichtheoutputofTVEs accountedfor billionyuan ofthe total In totalindustrialand agriculturaloutputvaluereached billionyuan anincreaseof18timesthatof1978and89timesthatof1962 Thepercentageof TVEsin total outputvalue ofZhanjiagangwas AmongChina 500TVEsin Zhangiaganghas Township villageenterprisesare thedrivingforceof riseofZhang jiagang The percemageofTVEs totaloutput valueofZhang jiagangwasashigh Among China TVEs Zhangjiaganghas47 Themodernfactory inthepictur isone ofthese TVEs Foreigninvestmenthas certainlyplayedanimpotrole inthe rapid economic growthandurban developmentthere butthemain source ofcapitalthus farhascomefromZhangjiagangitself thefunds accumulatedbyTVEsin previousyears TherateofaccumulationinZhangiiagangwas68 in1991 higherthan thatofSuzhouanddouble thatofthe total COtlntry ZhangjiagangasaModelforChlna sUrbanDevelopment Whatsets Zhangiiagang apartfrommostothercounties inwhichTVEshave developedrapidlyisthatZhantiagangismorewillingtoinvestmoneyin infrastructxtmandurbandevelopment AlthoughTVEsinZhangiiagangachievedahighgrowthrate inthe 1980s topofficialinZhangiiagangwhodidnotwanttobeidentifiedsaid wehadfourmajor problemsbytheendofthe1980s First TVEswerescatteredhereandtherein villagesandtowns Theyoverlappedwitheachotherintermsoftheirproducts Second Zhangiiaganglackednatural resources mostrawmaterialscamefrom other regions Third transportationandinfrastructurelaggedfarbehindtheeconomic growthoftheregion ThemainmeansoftransportationinZhangiiaganghadbeen water whichaccountedfor80 whileroadtransportationaccountedforonly20 Wehaven tbuiltarailwayyet therailwaybetweenZhangiiagangandWuxiisnow underconstruction Andfinally allothercountiesinSunan wehadashortageof capital asweplannedtofurtheroureconomicdevelopment Wedesperatelyneeded moreforeign capital ThelocalgovernmentofZhang iaganghaspaidgreatdealofattentiontocity planningandinfrastructuredevelopment Zhangjiagangservesasarolemodel fortheurbandevelopmemofsmallandmedium sizedcities inChina CL Werealizedthatthekeyto solve theseproblems official continued wastoaccelerateurbanizationandinvestmoreintransportation Bydoingso could attractTVEsto cityandwouldhave abetterenvironmentfor foreign investors IfTVEshavemovedto cities doyoustill callthemtownship andvillage enterprises I asked No theofficialanswered theTVEwasaproductoftheChineserural industrialrevolution Thisrevolutionhastwotasks toindustrializep artofChina vastruralareaandtoachieverapidurbandevelopment Theruralindustrial revolutionmaynot achieve thesetwotasks simultaneousl buturbanization should closelyfollowindustrialization DoyoumeanthattheTVEswill hflfill theirhistoricaltaskandtransforminto urbanenterprises I asked Yes people inTVEsuse expression leavethefarmlandbutremainin ruralvillages enterfactoriesbutnot cities J characterizethechangein theiroccupationbutthe continuation oftheirrural identity Thisphenomenonwillnolongercontinue Theyeitherremaininruralareas peasants cities ortowns agricultural workers WillChinahavea shortageofgrainifmillions ofpeasants leavethefarmland andmostofthecountryurbanizes Iwantedhimtoreplytothis bigquestion Ashortage ofgrain countryis oftencausedbymanyfactors domestic politicsandinternationaleconomicenvironment officialcommented IntheMaoera especiallyduringtheearly 1960s millions ofChinese diedof starvation Butover85percentofChi spopulationthenlivedinruralareas ChinawillremainapoorthirdworldcountryforeverifChinadoesnottransformitself fromanagrarianeconomytoanindustrializednation WeofficialsinZhangjiagangwerecriticizedbymanypeopleelsewhere includingyoupeopleinShanghai pullingtoomanypeasants intourbanareas abusingrurallandforurbanconstruction theofficialcontinued Theyforgotthat Chinahasover200millionsurplusrurallaborers Zhangjiaganghasactually absorbedagreatnumberofmigrantsfromother regions Theofficialwasquiteright Insomeeconomicallyadvancedmarkettownsin Zhangjiagangaswellas inothercounties inSunan thenumberofnon locallaborers hasevensurpassed local residents PeopleinShanghaicriticizedusforbuildingtoomanyroads toomanywide roads theofficialexplained IconfirmedthatIhave alsoreadthis accusationinajournalpublishedin Shanghaiandfoundtheauthor sviewnarrow minded Thesenarrow mindedpeopleseemedtoo familiarwiththenarrowstreets Shanghaitounderstandinthelongruntherewillbeagreatneedtobuildbroad roads officialadded Themostimpo rtantthing thatZhangjiaganghas contributed toSunanandto entirenation theofficial neitherit87 oftleGNPgrowthrate export orientedeconomy butitsrolemodelforChina surbandevelopment Thisdoes notmeanthattheurbandevelopmenthere perfect butZhangjiagang serves modelforothersmallandmediumsizedcitiesinthecountry Doyouunderstand Imean Ididundedwhattheofficialtriedtosay Therolemodelofurban developmentisindeedveryimportanttoChina Since1978 theChinesegovernment adopteda strategyforurbandevelopmentwhichhas three parts To strictly controlthegrowthofmetropolitancities torationallydevelopmedium sizedcities andtovigorouslypromote small sizedcities Butthis strategyhas ineffectivebecause small sized cities lacked capitaltodevelopwhilemillionsofjoblesspeasantshaverushedintomjorcities Post MaoChinahas therefore confrontedtwo seeminglycontradictorymajor problemsinitsurbandevelopment Oneisthelagofurbanizationincontrastt deterioration oftheurbanenvironmentofChina metropolises orwhatsome TheLagofUrbanization Sincetheeconomicreformstartedin1978 China restructuredits economic sectors andpromotedthedevelopmentofthe industrial sector AsPartIIofthisserieshasshown themostsalientfeatureofChina industrializationinthereformeraistheruralindustrialrevolution Likemany populous agricultural countries Chinahas longbeenbesetbyits surplus rural laborers ItisestimatthatChinahasover200millionsurplusrurallaborers Urbanindustries abilitytoabsorbsurplusrurallaborers however islimited Underthese circumstances Chinahas chosen theroadofdevelopmentwhich Tho andvillageenterprisesoverthepastdecadehasreflectedthisdevelopment TVEs absorbedmillions ofsurplus rural laborersandcontributedtothegrowthofthe Chineseeconomy Thisroadofdevelopmentoimedtoavoidthe massiveexodus whichoccurredincountries likeMexico wherenotonlydidmillions ofjoblesspeasants leavethe country theyalso rushedto metropolitan cities intheirowncountries Approximatelyone fourthofthepopulationinMexico forexample lives inMexico Cityalone Yet theChinesewayofdevelopmenthasitsowncostandproblems An overwhelmingmajorityofruralenterprises scatteredhereandthereinthe countrysideirrationally Asshowninthepreviouspartofthisseries thetotal21 millionTVEsinthe countryduring only1 ofthemwereinthetownswhere countygovernmentswere located xiancheng Wereintowns andan overwhelminglymajorityofTVEs scattered inthe countryside Althoughthedevelopment ofrural enterpriseshas contributed totheformation townships thesetownsareusuallytoosmalltosupporturbanfunctions According studyoftowns onthe coastofChina towns inwhichcountygovernments locatedhave peopleon average towns inwhichtownship administrations located jianzhizhen J people average markettowns jizhen onlyaas residents onaverage O Thedispersionoftownshipandvillageenterprises inChina strural hasnotonlymadetheinfrastructure waterandelectricsupply transportation androad construction anddisposalofwaste there efficient alsomadethe formationofcitiesmoredifficult Consequently urbanizationhaslaggedbehindthe processofindustrializationofthecountry Accordingtoarecentstudy theratio betweennon agriculturalizationandm banizationinChinain1990was1 This meansthat52 ofnon agriculturalizationtookplace outside citiesandtowns inthe cottlltry Thelagofurbanizationhas ledtoamore seriousconsequence thestagnancy ofthetertiarysectoroftheChineseeconomy Characteristically thedevelopmentof tertiarysectortakes place inurbanareas ormoreprecisely reliesonthe densityofthepopulationincities Businessessuchascommerce information advertisement telecommunication entertainment hotels andrestaurants usually developmostquicklyinurbanareas Thedispersionofruralindustrialenterprises hasgenerallyfailedtostimulatethegrowthofthetertiarysector Therefore tertiarysecto whichcanpotentiallyabsorb millions ofsurplus rural laborers isnot welldevelopedinChina In1991 thepercentageofthepopulationthatworkedinthe tertiarysectorin China total populationwas while figure ofadvanced industrializedcountrieswasabout60 China CitySyndrome Thesecondmajorproblemintheurban developmentduringthepost Maoerawasthe deteriorationofthe urbanenvironment ofChina metropolises aresultofboththe natural growth ofthe populationin citiesandtheinternalmigrationofthecountry Housing transportation andother infrastructure facilities waterandelectricitysupplyin China majorcities cannotmeetthebasicneeds ofthe increasingnumberofurbandwellers ThedensityofpopulationinShanghaiduringthe1980s forexample 900persquarekm whichwasmuchhigherthanthe figures ofmanyother overcrowded cities intheworldsuch asTokyo andNewDelhi duringthesameperiod Accordingtoanofficialreport 900fa_miliesin Shanghaihaveinsufficienthousing meanin gbelow4 squaremetersper person amongthem68 800familiessimplydon thaveroomforliving Butthe government priorityduringthepastdecadehasbeento constructoffice buildings fancyhotels andexpensive villas forforeignanddomesticbusiness people rather thantohelpthefamilieswithhousingproblems AnofficialfromtheMinistryofUrbanandRural Constructionrecentlytold Chinesejournalists theconditionsofabout8millionhouseholdsinChina metropolises shouldbeimprovedimmediately Appromately33millionsquare metersofdangerousdwellingsshouldbetoredown andnearly500millionsquare metersofdecrepithousingshouldberenovated Theinadequacyofurbantransportation another serioussymptom ofChina citysyndrome InShanghai thenumberofbuspassengersreached4 6billion annuallyinthe 1980s times thatof1949 butthenumberofbuses increased 4timesandtheroadspaceincreasedonly2times In1991 urbanShanghaihad 000cars butthreeyearslater thenumberdoubled Mostofthesecars however oftenstuckalongShanghai streets InChina metropolitancity Shanghaiyou sometimes cannotfindatinyplaceto yourbicycleon street The floodedwith bicycles Themunicipal governmenthasrecently enactedapolicythatone needs tosurrenderone bicycle inorderto Atrafficjamin Tianjin oneofthe largestcitiesinthe country Patient taxidriversgetout oftheir taxisand chatwitheach other InGuangzhou theGNPincreased times thenumber ofautomobiles increased times buturbanroad spaceincreased only2 times Notsurprisingly citytransportation system inmanymajor cities inChina Shanghaihasbeenontheedge ofparalysis Meanwhile theinfrastructureinChina smajorcitieshas laggedfarbehindthe rapidgrowthintheurbaneconomyandpopulation Ithasbeenacommonpracticein China smetropolisesthatelectricpowershutsdownbydistrictinturns Among China s479citiesin1991 over300citieshadwatershortages Thesituationhas notimproved butactuallydeteriorated inrecen tyears asmorecitydwellers installed airconditionersandshowersintheirresidences AlmostallmajorcitiesinChinaareseriouslypolluted Accordingtoarecent reportontheenvironmentalevaluationofworldmetropolises BeijingandShenyang arerankedamongthesevenmostpollutedcitiesontheglobe InChongqing third ofresidentshaverespiratoryproblems InahalfofChina scitiestapwateris polluted QuGeping ChairmanoftheEnvironmentProtectionCommitteeunderthe People Congress saidthatChinalost billion U S dollarseveryyear result ofenvironmentalpollution Thatisabout3 ofChina Table3 DistributionofUrbanPopulationbyCitySize CyPopan Number Number Number More Less Source LinYan Shanghainongchun chengshihuayanjiu Researchon urbanization ofShanghai ruralareas Shanghai ScienceandTechnologyPublishin gHouse Despite alltheseproblemscausedbyoverpoptflation bigcitieshaveincreased atahigherratethansmallandmedium sizedcitieshaveduringtherecentdecade Table shows thatthe percentage ofcities population ofover increasedfrom73 whilethatofcitieswithapopulation ofbelow500 000decreasedfrom26 in1981to19 in1990 Itseemsthatthe overpopulationinChina sbigcities willbecomeanincreasinglyseriousprobleminthe years ChallengesofUrbanizationandChlna sChoices Boththe excessive urbanization inChinese metropolises andthe lagof urbanizationinvastareas ofthecountrysuggestthe greatchallengesthatChina confrontsatpresent Meanwhile theseproblemsalsocontrastthesuccessofsmall andmedium sizedcitiesandhighlightthegreatimportanceofZhangjiagang smodel forChina surbandevelopment Onemayargue thatbecause ofits portandothergeographical advantages Zhangiiagangistoouniquetobeamodel Butoneshouldalsonoticethat ZhangiiagangwasapoorcountyinSunaninthe early anditdidn thavemany naturalresources ZhangiiagangcanbeamodelforChina surbanizationforvarious reasons itsurbansize itsenvironmentconduciveforthedevelopmentofTVEs effortstoavoidthedispersionofTVEsinruralareas itsemphasisoninfrastructure andtransportationinthe itsenvironmentalandecologicalconcern risefrom apooreconomicbackground initiative gettingfavorable policiesfrom centralgovernmentandattracting foreigninvestment Chinaiscurrentlyundergoingoneofthelargestquickurbanizations inhuman historyasover200millionsurplusrurallaborersleavefromruralareas InPudong theeastpartofShanghai forexample 000peasantshavebecomeurban dwellerswithin years Asimilar scale populationchange inthewestpartof Shanghai tookabout years Astreetstatue Zhangjiagang The growingbamboo symbolizes continuedsuccesses ofthe Zhangjiaganghas indeedachievedone successafteranother thepastfewyears therapidgrowthof TVEs sustainable urbandevelopment ndexport oriented economic reconstruction CL AshappenedinothercountriesincludingtheUnited States large scalerapid urbanizationcanbeapainfulexperienceforacountry InIndiaandMexico example manysocio economic problems caused bythe urbanization ofthese countries Threedecadesago theworldhad19citiesthateachhadover4million population butnowthenumberwas135 By2025 about5 5billionpeoplewilllivein cities Eight tenthsofthem however willbeindevelopingcountries 42hChina accordingtothegovernment theurbanpopulation isexpected hit400 millionby theyearof2000and500 milli by2020 Thecrucial questionthatChinafacesnowishowto absorb hugenumberof surplusrurallaborers Therearethreemajoroptions Thefirstistoabsorbthem intothemajorcitiesofthecountry However thepopulationofChina stop15largest citiesisabout40million Thesecitiesclearlycannotabsorbfivetimesmorepeople their alreadyovercrowdedurban areas Thesecondoptionis toencourageTVEsto createmorejob opportunities within ruralareas Actually duringthepast16years about100millionruralworkershave alreadybeenabsorbedby21millionruralindustrialfirmsalloverthecountry But since theend ofthe 1980s thenumberofnewjobs created bytownship industries decreased Thedevelopmentpriorityfortownshipindustries istoattractcapitalandto upgradetechnologyratherthanincreasethelaborforce Moreimportantly dispersionofTVEs China vastrural areahas notonlymadethe ofresources infrastructure efficient buthas constrainedthe developmentofthe tertiary sector ofthe Chinese economy Thethirdoption setupandextendsmall andmedium cities peasantspursuepermanentresidencethere InChinathereare300smallercitieslike Zhangjiagang eachwithlessthan200 000people Thesecitiesarelocatedinallparts ofthe country therefore avoid transportationproblems causedbythe ofthe populationfromoneareatotheother ThesesmallerCitiesdon thavetheheavyburdens oflarge sizecities andthereforethesocialcostofhiringnew laborersisrelativelylow In addition localgovernmentshave agreat incentive developurban infrastructure theirownregions Zhangjiagang sstoryisasuccessfulone However itremainstobeseenwhether Zhangiagang smethod ofttrbandevelopmentcanbe duplicated inother parts ofthe country Ifnot howwillChinarespondtotheseriouschallengesofenvironmental deterioration inbothovercrowdedmajorcities invastrural areaswhereTVEshave scatteredirrationally Sincerely No Lane ChangLeRoad Shanghai 200040 China Fax No 2474947 Notes RichardHofstadter TheAgeof Reform FromBryantoF D R NewYork AlfredA Knopf Chengs Urbanproblems No Gaie Reform strategy No Ibid ou_iinii Populationandeconomy No Chin June22 Thetotalnumberofurbandwellerswho forcedto migrate countryside inthe 1960s andearly 1970s however stillunlm Chengs hiwenti Urbanproblems No C D Y Sept3 andBa0kanwenzhai Oct SunDaiyaoandWangWenzhang Julong desuxing Dragonwakes Beijin WenjinPublisher Shizhang_cankao Mayor reference No In1987 theChineseAcademyofCityPlanningandDesignpublisheda report whichlistedfivefactorsbehindChina surbandevelopment thelocationof large State construction projects thegrowth ofbigcities andtheir satellite cities ruralindustrialization theinputofforeign investment thedevelopment oflocalindustries Nankaiiii_vaniiu Nankaieconomicresearch No Chengshi Journalofcityplanning No Renkou Populationresearch No Chenaxiangiian Urbanandruralconstruction No JiefangDaily June JiangsuProvinceZhangjiagangcityLandAdministrationBureau A Gde ofReal Estate ofZhan_gi _angCi tandGuoShuzhenandDingZhenyi Zh anaga eeTrade Zone Chengshi Cityplanning No Ibid Jiefangriba Dec Suzhoud JournalofSuzhouUniversity No Chengshiguihua Cityplanning No JiangsuProvinceZhangjiagangcityLandAdministrationBureau AGuide ofReal EstateofZhaniagang_Cit andGuoShuzhenandDingZhenyi Fr Su0Ud exuebao JournalofSuzhouUniversity No andChengs Cityplanning No Jiefangribao Dec Chengshi_guih_ua Cityplanning No CaDai August31 ForadiscussionofChina ssurplusrurallaborers seetheauthor previous reports TidalWaveofMigrantWorkers China PartI 94ers Eastward Ho andPart II MillionMouths TooMany SeetwopreviouspartsoftheseriesonSunan sruralindustrialrevolution Ibid andalsoChe ngswenti Urbanproblems No Baowenzh Oct GuShengzuandZhuNong Zhongguochengzhenhuadefazhanyuejiu A studyofthedevelopmentofurbanizationinChina Zh ongguoheh Kexue Social science China No Ibid TianFangandZhangDongHang Zhon Orenkouiianvinduan New approachtothe studyofChina spopulation Beijing ZhishiPublishinghouse Ibid ShanghaiStar July15 Tian1andZhangDongliang Zh0 uorenkouii_an xinduan CankaoXiaoxi Referencenews August28 Che n_shim huahtfi Journalofcityplanning No Che mihua Cityplanning No CankaoXi June12 WebhuiDaily March14 CankaoXiaoxi August24 W ebhuiD March14 Yet someChineseofficialsandscholarshavecontinuedtofavorthe growthoflarge cities attheexpenseofthedevelopmentofsmallandmedium sized cities See forexample Chenhimdhua C ityplanning No Received Hanover