From regional society to migrant society: a study on urban transformation in China

Daming Zhou

doi:10.1186/s41257-020-00037-y

Abstract

This paper considers the process of the change in Chinese society—in which its people went from being regional to being migrant in urban communities—and recognizes urban transformation as being based on and an expression of cultural transformation. The transformation of urban communities accompanied the “migration era,” and China’s urban communities, in fact, have been gradually changing from a relatively closed regional society to a diverse and civilized migrant one. The diversification of migrants has caused many problems for cities during their transition, affecting such aspects of social life as the equal enjoyment of public resources, the changes in family and kinship, regional discrimination, the complexity of interpersonal and ethnic relations, etc. The related topics are worthy of further discussion.

Highlights

This paper considers the process of the change in Chinese society—in which its people went from being regional to being migrant in urban communities—and recognizes urban transformation as being based on and an expression of cultural transformation
Chinese culture of the past was formed on the basis of agricultural civilization, while modern urban People’s Republic of China (China) has surpassed the rural, with China changing from an agricultural society to an urban society
It can be seen that migration is symbol of urban vitality and a valuable asset to cities