INTERNAL MIGRATION IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA Also by Delia Davin WOMAN-WORK: Women and the Party in Revolutionary China CHINA'S ONE-CHILD FAMILY POLICY (editor with E. Croll and P. Kane) CHINESE LIVES: an Oral History of Contemporary China (by Zhang Xinxin and Sang Ye, editor and translator with W 1. F. Jenner) MAOZEDONG Internal Migration in Contemporary China Delia Davin Head ofD epartment and Reader in Chinese Social Studies University ofL eeds First published in Great Britain 1999 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-40373-8 ISBN 978-0-230-37671-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230376717 First published in the United States of America 1999 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Davin, Delia. Internal migration in contemporary China I Delia Davin. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Migration, Internal~China~History~20th century. I. Title. HB2114.A3D38 1998 304.8'0951 '0904~dc21 98-28378 CIP © Delia Davin 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 978-0-333-71731-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 Contents List of Tables VII List of Figures Vlll Chinese-language Newspapers and Magazines Cited in English in the Text ix Money and Measures X Acknowledgements XI Introduction 1 1 Migration in China after 1949 4 Restrictions on population movement 4 Enforcement of the hukou system 7 The economics of the urban/rural divide 8 Rural to urban migration, 1950s to the 1970s 10 Types of migration in pre-reform China 14 Summary 18 2 An Overview of Migration since 1978 20 Investigating migration in the post-reform era 20 Categories and terminology in Chinese migration studies 21 Sources for migration data 23 Sex and age distribution of migrants 26 Educational level 32 Direction and destination of migration 33 Summary 38 3 Reform Era Policies on Population Movement 39 The small town policy 40 The introduction of temporary registration 42 Hukou transfers and sales 44 Identity cards 46 Facilitating migration 47 Summary and prospects 48 4 Why People Migrate 49 Macro perspectives 50 Demographic factors 71 v VI Contents Micro determinants of migration and migratory behaviour 73 5 The Impact of Migration in the Sending Areas 78 Work, land and household 79 Remittances and presents 87 Lifestyle and attitudinal change 89 Migration and economic inequality 92 Costs and benefits of migration for the sending areas 94 6 Migrants' Lives and Impacts in the Destination Areas 98 Migrants in the changing cities 99 Construction workers 111 Domestic service 112 The Special Economic Zones 115 Conclusion 119 7 Women and Migration 121 Migrant sex ratios and the position of women in Chinese society 121 The impact of migration on women's lives 124 Migration and female autonomy 126 Migrant fertility 130 Migrants and prostitution 133 Conclusion 136 8 Marriage Migration 137 When marriage means migration 137 Mate selection in rural China 139 The spatial hierarchy of marriage after the economic reforms 143 Problems arising from long-distance marriage 147 Conclusion 149 9 Responses to Migration and the Prospects for the Future 151 Media images 151 Residents and migrants - another look at the divide 154 Freedom of movement and the control of migration 157 Notes 161 Bibliography 165 Index 175 List of Tables Table 2.1 Female migration as a percentage of internal migration by origin (residence in 1985) and destination (residence 1990). 29 Table 2.2 Percentages of intra-county, intra-provincial and inter-provincial migrants among migrants nationally and in each of the three regions. 34 Table 2.3 Internal migration in China by origin (residence in 1985) and destination (residence 1990). 37 Table 3.1 Non-agricultural population, selected years, 1956-95. 44 Table 4.1 Population and area by region (1995). 55 Table 4.2 Data for Figures 4.1 and 4.4-4.8. 64 Table 4.3 Age distribution of Chinese population: changing percentages of total population in different age groups, selected years, 1964-95. 72 Table 8.1 Marriage as a percentage of all reported causes of migration by destination of migrants (1990 residence) - Census data. 138 Table 8.2 Marriage as a reported cause of inter-provincial out-migration (%) and in-migration by province. 145 Vll List of Figures Figure 4.1 Per capita gross domestic product by province. 51 Figure 4.2 Provinces and economic regions in China 53 Figure 4.3 Regional shares of total investment in capital construction, 1953-92. 55 Figure 4.4 Per capita industrial output by province. 59 Figure 4.5 Per capita rural household net income by province. 60 Figure 4.6 Per capita output of town and village enterprises by province. 61 Figure 4.7 Per capita foreign direct investment by province (US$). 62 Figure 4.8 Per capita total construction output value by province. 63 Graphics based on copy supplied by the Graphics Unit, School of Geography, University of Leeds. viii Chinese-language Newspapers and Magazines Cited in English in the Text Beijing Youth News (Beijing Qingnianbao) Chinese Business Times (Huasheng Shibao) Chinese Rural Economy (Zhongguo Nongcun Jingji) Chinese Youth (Zhongguo Qingnian) Consumer Times (Xiaofei Shibao) Democracy and Law (Minzhu yu Fazhi) Guangming Daily (Guangming Daily) Labour News (Laodong Bao) Legal Daily (Fazhi Ribao) Peasant Daily (Nongmin Ribao) Outlook (Liaowang) Population and Economics (Renkou yu Jingji) Tianjin Evening News (Jinwanbao) Wenhui News (Wenhuibao, Shanghai) Yangcheng (Guangzhou) Evening News (Yangcheng Wanbao). ix