Villages (Chinese: 村; pinyin: Cūn), formally village-level divisions (村级行政区; Cūn Jí Xíngzhèngqū) in China, serve as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area). In 2000, China's densely populated villages (>100 persons/square km) had a population greater than 500 million and covered more than 2 million square kilometers, or more than 20% of China's total area. By 2020, all incorporated villages (with proper conditions making it possible) had road access, the last village to be connected being a remote village in Sichuan province's Butuo County.

Types of villages

Urban

Note

Urban village (Chinese: 城中村; pinyin: chéngzhōngcūn) one that spontaneously and naturally exists within urban area, which is not an administrative division.

Rural

A typical rural village in Hainan, China
The building housing the local village committee and other government offices and organizations in Baiwan Village, Xiqiuwan Township, Badong County, Hubei

Natural village

Natural villages (Chinese: 自然村; pinyin: zìráncūn) are residential communities as a social concept, which are often described as a village. They do not have formally defined boundaries, although during the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China era, rules defined who was a resident of a particular natural village. They are often named as cun (村), tun (屯), ying (营), zhaizi (寨子), zhuang (庄), wanzi (湾子), or bang (浜), depending on the region. An estimated 2 million of these villages exist in China, with their number decreasing rapidly at a rate of over 100 a day due to urbanisation and consolidation.

Lists of village-level divisions

Villages (村)

List of villages in China

Provinces

Autonomous areas

  • List of village-level divisions of Guangxi
  • List of village-level divisions of Inner Mongolia
  • List of village-level divisions of Ningxia
  • List of village-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region
  • List of village-level divisions of Xinjiang

Municipalities

  • List of village-level divisions of Beijing
  • List of village-level divisions of Chongqing
  • List of village-level divisions of Shanghai
  • List of village-level divisions of Tianjin

See also

Bibliography

  • Ellis, E.C. (2004). "Long-term ecological changes in the densely populated rural landscapes of China". In DeFries, R. S.; Asner, G. P.; Houghton, R. A. (eds.). (PDF). Geophysical Monograph Series. Vol. 153. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. pp. 303–320. Bibcode:. doi:. ISBN 0-87590-418-1.
  • Joseph Esherick; Mary Backus Rankin; Joint Committee on Chinese Studies (U.S.) (1990). . University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06763-9.
  • Roxann Prazniak (1 January 1999). . Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8476-9007-7.

External links