Chinese Cities - Sciences Po - OGLM 3050 - 59127 - S2 2025/26 Clément Renaud [hi@clementrenaud.com](mailto:hi@clementrenaud.com) (use left/right keyboard arrows to navigate) --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Week 6 # 移 ## Migrations: Becoming Urban #### 10 Mar 2026 --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Character of the week # 移 [Purple Culture](https://www.purpleculture.net/dictionary-details/?word=移) / [Hanziyuan](https://hanziyuan.net/) / [CUHK dic](https://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=移) --- class: inverse # Program today - Assignments - Migration / hukou system - Case studies: urban villages in Shenzhen (Baishizhou, Dafen) - Arc: policy → experience → space --- class: middle # 1. Assignments ### 1) "Made in China" - due today - feedback ### 2) Final Assignment (what comes next) - Read the [assignment](/chinese-cities/final-assignement) when you can - form a group - **For next week:** come with an idea — a topic or direction you might want to explore --- class: middle, inverse # Becoming urban Hundreds of millions live in cities without full urban citizenship. --- class: inverse, bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/mig-pattern-map.png) # Migration patterns .footnote.inverse[ See some good [map-based analysis](https://matthartzell.blogspot.com/2013/09/chinese-domestic-migration-map.html) / Some more [stats](https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/547?&id=547&lang=en) ## ] --- # Becoming urban - Focus on internal migration (not emigration) - ~300M migrant workers — [official stats](https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202502/t20250228_1958822.html) - Many kinds of migrants (construction, manufacturing, services, graduates, etc.) --- class: inverse, bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/migrant-workers.jpg) # Migrant workers .footnote[ - General [stats about workers](https://clb.org.hk/en/content/migrant-workers-and-their-children) - Changing trends: [Sixth Tone](https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1015180) - Image: [AFP](https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/chinas-migrant-workers-boon-and-challenge) ] --- # Land vs people - Eli Friedman: China has urbanised **land** much faster than **people** (hukou, welfare, rights) - Migrants work and live in cities but remain excluded from full urban citizenship .footnote[Franceschini & Friedman, "The Urbanisation of People," _Made in China Journal_, 2022.] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/arriving-city.jpg) .left-column[ # 农民工 ## "floating population" - Growing rural-urban income gap - migrants without local hukou rights - system maintained while accommodating economic needs. ] --- # Representations ## "Urbanisation of people" lags behind urbanisation of land - Not civilized (文明) - Second-generation migrants: born in cities but often without local hukou; schooling, identity, belonging - 躺平 (lying flat): pushback against 996; 高新园 [上班](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0QxlGpBiu4) / [下班](https://youtube.com/shorts/U2gRiDZKCbI?si=F5NwF6BSjQOItyKa) ### Last Train Home, Lixin Fan (2009); - Left-behind children (留守儿童): scale (recall week 5); parents migrate, grandparents often caregivers - **6th gen cinema:** Jia Zhangke — _24 City_ (demolition, memory, factory city), _The World_ (theme park, migrant workers); Wang Xiaoshuai — _Chinese Portrait_ --- class: middle, bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/hukou_booklet.png) # Hukou Recall from week 2 - rural/urban hukou - land-for-hukou deals. --- # Before Hukou ### Baojia and Early Registration - Baojia system (保甲): Late Qin dynasty: used for taxation, conscription, and census registratio - Republican Era (1912–1949): weakened amid warlord rule, civil war, and wartime disruption (large-scale migration and refugee movement) - Japanese occupation (1937–1945): registration used for social control --- # Under Mao - 1951 provisional regulations - 1954 in law; shift from census to migration control - 1958: "Regulations on Household Registration" — definitive framework - Rural/urban division; strict control of internal migration; tied to "iron rice bowl" (employment, welfare) - Food ration system (Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution) --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/evolution-of-hukou.png) # Evolution of hukou --- # Reform era - Economic reforms under Deng → need for labour mobility - 1984: "self-supplied grain" temporary residence permits; rural migrants allowed in cities - 1992: "Blue stamp" urban hukou for purchase in some cities - Migrants in cities with limited rights (welfare, schooling, etc.) .footnote[[Source](https://joinhorizons.com/the-chinese-hukou-system-explained/)] --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/sun-zhigang.webp) .left-column[ # Sun Zhigang (2003) - Just arrived in Guangzhou for job as designer; no temporary residence card - Police could detain and deport anyone without valid residence card - Sun beaten to death in custody - Abolition of "custody and repatriation" (收容遣送) system after national outcry ] .footnote[[10 years after](https://clb.org.hk/en/content/why-it-important-remember-sun-zhigang)] --- # 2014 reform - New-type Urbanisation Plan (NUP): central guidelines with numeric targets ("top-level design" 顶层设计) - Elimination of agricultural/non-agricultural distinction; unified "resident household registration" (居民户口) - Tiered by city size: → small/medium open → large controlled → megacities strict (points system) - National residence permit (居住证) from 2016 - goal 100M migrant workers with urban hukou by 2020 .footnote[ Wang (2020), _Journal of Current Chinese Affairs_: NUP, Guangdong case studies (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhongshan); mega-cities prioritise duration of residence and social insurance over education/skills. ] --- # Today: 居住证 vs 户口 | Aspect | 户口 (Hukou / Household Registration) | 居住证 (Residence Permit) | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | Type of status | Permanent household registration | Temporary residence status | | Who has it | All Chinese citizens (registered at birth) | People living outside their hukou location | | Purpose | National population registration and welfare allocation | Manage internal migration and prove local residence | | Benefits | Full access to local public services (schooling, healthcare, welfare) | Limited access to some local services | | Mobility | Hard to transfer, especially to major cities | Easier to obtain but must be renewed | | Typical scenario | Person officially registered in their hometown | Migrant worker/student living in another city | --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/who-hukou-graphic.jpg) .left-column[ # Points-based hukou - stable employment/residence - duration of social insurance - duration of residence (mega-cities) - education/skills weighted less in recent recalibration (e.g. Shenzhen 2017) ] .footnote[Wang (2020): Guangdong precedent; [official](https://english.www.gov.cn/news/top_news/2018/04/12/content_281476109368678.htm).] --- # How to get a Shenzhen hukou? | Path | Difficulty | Typical People | | --------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------- | | Talent / degree | Easy–medium | College graduates, tech workers | | Points system | Hard | Long-term migrant workers | | Family reunion | Medium | Spouses, children, parents | .small[ex. bachelor’s degree or higher, age usually ≤45 years, job in shenzhen, social security contributions in the city, no criminal record] - rules [circa 2005](https://clb.org.hk/sites/default/files/archive/en/share/File/general/Shenzhen_hukou_regs.pdf) - policy [update](https://www.cnbayarea.org.cn/english/Policy/content/post_349861.html) - [application process](https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-hukou-system-benefits-and-application-process-in-shenzhen/) - Apply on [WeChat](https://www.eyeshenzhen.com/content/2024-05/23/content_30962224.htm) - Most migrants will obtain the city’s residence permit (juzhuzheng 居住证), not the hukou .footnote[Liu & Shi (2020): Beijing hukou — eligibility vs success, points, quotas.] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/workers-prefab.png) # Where migrants live ## Construction workers: - prefab housing on site ([inside](https://www.khomehouse.com/prefab-house/k-type-prefab-house/prefabricated-labour-hutment.html)) - [conjugal rights at building sites](https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/726506.shtml) --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/ant-tribe.webp) # "Ant Tribe" (蚁族) young graduates in cramped, low-rent housing ([pics](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kevintang/chinas-ant-tribe-lives-in-the-worlds-most-cramped-apartments)) --- class: title, inverse, middle # Urban Villages (城中村) --- # Why urban villages matter ? - House a huge share of China’s migrant workforce. - Where "becoming urban" happens on the ground — entry points for rural migrants excluded from formal urban systems --- # Literature > I found that these communities, built by the original residents on their own land, formed a world that was independent and open, where they accepted outsiders, but also maintained autonomy, using their own wisdom to create a kind of inexpensive and convenient, but also rich and rowdy street life. > — Ou Ning (Shenzhen Biennale, 2009) ## Interesting refs - Bach: antithesis and condition of possibility. - Wang: parallel worlds, not slums. --- class: inverse, bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/urban-village.jpg) # What are urban villages? - **Chengzhongcun** (城中村): recall week 1 — villages engulfed by city; farmers retained collective land; migrant housing - **Affordable:** high-density, low-cost; entry point for migrant workers and young professionals - **Informal economy:** small businesses, street markets; often illegal constructions (握手楼, etc.) - **Challenges:** overcrowding, poor sanitation; redevelopment and demolition; rising rents, displacement .footnote[Chengzhongcun wiki; Ding (2022), _Urban Informal Settlements_ — surveys, resistance, Dafen as "place making via art business."] --- # Challenges & future - **Redevelopment:** government-led replacement with modern developments; displacement, loss of affordable housing - **Cultural loss:** destruction of unique urban landscapes and communities - **Policy debates:** preserve or redevelop? Integrating informal settlements into planning; ensuring affordable housing .footnote[Bach (2017); O'Donnell (2021), [Made in China Journal](https://madeinchinajournal.com/2021/12/01/the-end-of-an-era-two-decades-of-shenzhen-urban-villages/).] --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/Shenzhen-locations-of-urban-villages-in-the-city-center.jpg) # Urbanized villages in Shenzhen .footnote[ author: [Juan Du](https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/urban-village/169804/beyond-classification/) ] --- class: middle, inverse # Baishizhou 白石洲 ### Urban (re)development and preservation --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-location-rulab.png) # Baishizhou 白石洲 白石洲: white-stone sandbar; historical landing place; [map](https://maps.app.goo.gl/zHVpTnzXdXH9FDRK9) .footnote[Relational Urbanism Lab.] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-urbanus.png) # Baishizhou 白石洲 --- # Location ### Four villages: Shangbaishi, Xiabaishi, Tangtou, Xintang (~0.6 km²); ~120k people - Nanshan District, near Shenzhen Bay, north of Shennan Road - Adjacent to OCT-LOFT (preserved industrial buildings; creative district / contrasting development outcomes and approaches) - close to tech parks (Tencent, DJI) --- # Density - 140,000+ residents in ~0.6 km² (density ~280,000/km²) - Mainly migrant workers; "handshake architecture" (握手楼) — buildings so close you can shake hands - Until 2019: one of the few relatively untouched urban villages in Shenzhen's inner SEZ; destination for displaced from other renewal projects .footnote[Urbanus; O'Donnel, 2023.] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-life-1.png) # Life before redevelopment - Vibrant street life: construction, traffic, markets (goods from HK), street vendors, food scene - Diverse population: small business owners, industrial workers, young white-collar (low rents); later tech startups and creative industries accelerated gentrification - [Street life video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEu-jPevTHc) .footnote[Kaye (2016), MacKinnon (2016), Wang (2017).] --- # Timeline - **1950s–1990s:** five agricultural villages → state factories → SEZ (1980s) → rapid urban transformation - **2005–2016:** redevelopment plans; OCT-LOFT nearby (2010); URBANUS preservation proposals (2014); redevelopment announced; [URBANUS](http://www.urbanus.com.cn/projects/baishizhou/?lang=en) - **2016–2017:** western section (Shahe) demolished; eastern evictions, utilities cut - **2019:** mass evictions; 拆 (chāi, "demolish") spray-painted on walls; - **2020–2023** demolition - **2025** new luxury developments .footnote[O'Donnell (2021); MacKinnon (2016), ChinaFile.] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-destruction-mackinnon.png) .left-column[ # Demolition - [LingHong](https://medium.com/@linghong_77519/half-demolished-village-in-the-city-6f0b5238e6b1), - [O'Donnell (2023)](https://madeinchinajournal.com/2021/12/01/the-end-of-an-era-two-decades-of-shenzhen-urban-villages/) - Eli MacKinnon (2016) ] --- # The disappearing village - Displacement of 140,000+; loss of affordable housing, micro-economies, cultural spaces - **No legal recourse for many:** informal rentals (shouju 收据, not fapiao 发票); renters/shopkeepers often ineligible for compensation (e.g. noodle shop owner, O'Donnell 2016) - **Where people went:** rural villages; other urban villages; much pricier housing; or another city - **State-led gentrification:** ~100B yuan redevelopment; LVGEM; "urban-industrial heritage" narrative; [street pics today](https://shenzhennoted.com/2023/03/10/baishizhou-blues/) / [redevelopment](https://www.ravensuncreative.com/case-studies/baishizhou-redevelopment/) / [redevelopment proposal](https://www.uapcompany.com/projects/baishizhou-urban-renewal) .footnote[Dai et al. (2023), _Population, Space and Place_.] --- class: bg-contain, inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-nut-brother-2019.png) # Resistance ## Mostly creative/symbolic less confrontational (precarious legal position of many) .footnote[Nut Brother (王瑞正), 2019 - Performance in Baishizhou ruins — giant excavator and dolls given by residents facing displacement. SCMP.] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-duan-peng-chinafile.png) .left-column[ # Handshake 302 - Art collective in Baishizhou - founded in 2013 - named after "handshake" buildings - **Artist residencies:** - builds international audience for Baishizhou's experiences and culture - Archive of stories, images, memories — documentation as resistance and reflection; [retrospective](https://shenzhennoted.com/2024/03/12/handshake-302-a-baishizhou-retrospective/) ] .footnote[[Shenzhen Noted](https://shenzhennoted.com/czc-special-forces/), [presentation](https://shenzhennoted.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/handshake-302.pdf)] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/baishizhou-new-odonnell-1.png) # New Baishizhou - After demolition: **three sections** — historic core + two upper-class gated communities (Shizhou Idle Road, Baishi Road) - Walls and gates separate areas; historic core **isolated** from the rest of the city - Former vibrancy and street life diminished; remnant symbolic space .footnote[O'Donnell (2023), "Baishizhou Village: A Return of the Repressed," Shenzhen Noted.] --- # Reflection - Tension between development and preservation - China's rapid urbanisation story; loss of informal urban spaces - Questions about who cities are built for --- class: middle, inverse # Dafen Village (大芬村) ### a contrasting case: cultural industry, regeneration, and resistance. --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/dafen-village.jpg) # Dafen Village (大芬村) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps/search/Dafen+Oil+Painting+Village+Shenzhen) (22.6057, 114.1357) .footnote[From fishing village to oil painting cluster.] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/dafen-van-goghs.jpg) # Dafen Village (大芬村) .footnote[ [China's Van Gogh](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/chinas-van-goghs-dafen-documentary-1315319) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/dafen-supermarket.jpg) .left-column[ # Migrant/artist economy - ~0.4 km² - 300+ native residents (Chen & Qi 2021) - painters, dealers, workshops - low-cost housing and workspace - entry point for rural migrants ] --- # Regenerate rather than demolish ## — but on whose terms? - **Wong (2013), _Van Gogh on Demand:_** world's largest hand-painted oil production; copying (临摹) vs "original creation" (原创) — e.g. 2004 Copying Competition then 1,100 painters painting originals in street; state emphasis on originality; demand ~90% export (US, Europe) - **Ding (2022):** Dafen as "place making via art business" (art-led slum tourism, inclusive urbanism) --- # Dafen timeline - **1989:** Huang Jiang (HK trader) rents houses, hires painters; export painting business; before: ~300 families, fishing village - **1990s:** rapid growth; "Dafen Oil Painting Village" in media; flow-line replicas, small commodities - **2004:** Ministry of Culture — "cultural industry demonstration unit"; shift toward more original art - **2006:** villagers blocked bulldozers, surrounded demolition team - **2007:** URBANUS proposals + Dafen Art Museum (gov't, village, enterprises) - **2008:** financial crisis → shift to domestic sales; - **2010** Shanghai Expo showcase (e.g. "Dafen Lisa"); - **2017** ~60% world decorative oil painting market; gov't subsidies for rents .footnote[Wong (2013); Chen & Qi (2021). [China's Van Gogh](https://chinasvangoghs.com/).] --- # Dafen challenges (Chen & Qi 2021) - **Gentrification risk:** as in 798 (Beijing), Caochangdi, or Temple Bar (Dublin) — culture-led regeneration can raise rents and displace artists; Dafen has avoided full displacement so far via gov't housing subsidies; need to balance investment with policies that keep painters/artists - **Lack of clear lead:** many stakeholders (gov't, villagers, committee, operators, enterprises, NGOs); overlapping functions; Dafen Art Museum is gov't cultural unit, not independent — limited public education/research; need for multi-agent partnership - **Biennale and localisation:** treating biennale purely as tourism/growth, or without curatorial standpoint tied to place, can damage sustainability; over-commercialisation risks .footnote[Chen & Qi (2021), _Telematics and Informatics Reports_.] --- class: center, middle, inverse # Thank you Questions — and for next week: bring an idea for the final assignment.