China's modernizations, reforms and mobile population

Since 1949, China has dealt with problems of an unbalanced distribution of population and a great contradiction of production activities between cities and countryside. Recent reforms, however, are changing all areas of life in China. The growth of major urban centres has been limited, while a much more relaxed population movement between urban and rural areas is allowed. This paper provides a brief history of China's national development and assesses the current reforms and their impacts on the population mobility in the post-Mao era. -Author