Chinese Rural Areas Research Articles

From Digital Divide to Social Inclusion: A Tale of Mobile Platform Empowerment in Rural Areas

The digital divide in rural areas is an important social issue, especially in developing countries. Although Internet and broadband penetration have increased in the world generally, there are many obstacles for rural China to get access to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and its services. The mobile platform is regarded as a novel and effective tool to reduce the digital divide. Based on a case of one mobile platform, namely WeCountry in Chinese rural areas, this study illustrates how a mobile platform bridges the digital divide and helps rural areas achieve social inclusion. Results show that: (1) the mobile platform mainly acts on the digital capability divide elimination, and it has to guide and increase users’ usage capability; (2) the mobile platform can empower villagers in structural, psychological, and resource dimensions, achieving political inclusion, social participation inclusion, and economic inclusion; (3) platform providers and government are key organizations during the divide elimination process. This paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications.

On E-commerce Development Mode in Chinese Remote Rural Area in Internet Age

In this Internet era, rural areas in China are involved in this golden age of ecommerce rapid development as the result of the policy of achieving rural revitalization and common prosperity. However, because of the limited factors in human sources, technology and transportation, rural ecommerce development is slow. To help remote rural areas out of dilemma in e-commerce development and establish its connection with the outer world, this paper analyzes the positive and negative factors in rural areas in the process of developing rural e-commerce. By making a case analysis of the e-commerce development in one of Chinese rural area Jingxi, a successful model in rural e-commerce development, this paper has proposed an e-commerce mode that fits Chinese rural areas, the application of which is hoped to facilitate Chinese rural e-commerce development.

Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Chinese Rural Adults: The Henan Rural Cohort Study.

Background: Epidemiological studies about cardiovascular disease in rural areas of developing countries are rare. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and influencing factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in Chinese rural population.Methods: 39,259 subjects (15,490 males) aged 18–79 years were enrolled from the Henan Rural Cohort Study. Age-standardized prevalence was calculated according to Chinese 6th Population Census. Associations between risk factors and diseases were estimated by the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with generalized linear mixed model.Results: Among the participants, 1,734 with CHD and 2,642 with stroke were identified. Crude prevalence of CHD was 4.42%, and prevalence in male (4.01%) was significantly lower than female (4.68%). Corresponding age-standardized prevalence was 2.23% (2.05% for male and 2.37% for female). Crude prevalence of stroke was 6.73%, and in male (7.92%) was higher than female (5.95%). Age-standardized prevalence was 2.98% (3.42% for male and 2.69% for female). The results identified that old age, female, smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia were positively associated with CHD. Being Female and a higher level of physical activity were negatively related to stroke, while old age, high-risk drinking, and chronic disease were positively related to stroke.Conclusion: CHD and stroke were not rare in Chinese rural area. Healthy lifestyles and control of chronic disease should be improved to curb the epidemic of cardiovascular disease among rural population.Clinical Trial Registration: The Henan Rural Cohort Study has been registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Register (Registration number: ChiCTR-OOC-15006699). http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=11375.

Biases towards water pollution treatment in Chinese rural areas—A field study in villages at Shandong Province of China

Abstract Based on field studies in villages in Eastern China Province of Shandong, we identify and highlight two biases from the perspectives of both policy makers and villagers in terms of water management. In specific, policy makers tend to underweight the gravity of water pollution, especially as relative to air pollutions which have been received widespread attention from public. Another layer of bias we report in this paper is villagers’ perception of water pollution: villagers tend to attribute the devastating water pollution more to industrial sources rather than to their own ways of water usage. We aim to present these two important biases so that the situation of water pollution can be improved by making policies and incentivizing villagers accordingly to address these two biases.

Architectural Design based on Wang Shu’s Approach to Theory and Research

Under the process of rapid urbanization, the problem of cultural continuity began to appear in Chinese urban and rural areas. After studying architecture in China and researching Western philosophy, Chinese architect Wang Shu developed a unique theory based on the reality of urbanization in China. In order to realistically act upon this context, he began developing a methodology for his based on conducting detailed research and performing experiments with small-scale projects as a precursor to begin design projects.As a result, his works shows great respect to the quality of local life and culture.His research and practice has allowed him to overcome the distinction between professional and amateur, city and countryside. This essay introduces Wang Shu’s research-based architectural design approach through three levels: theory, research, and practice.

Distributed heating/centralized monitoring mode of biomass briquette fuel in Chinese northern rural areas

There are abundant crop straws in Chinese rural areas, but they are loose structure, low energy density and scattered distribution. Biomass densification technology is one of the effective ways to solve these problems. So the paper proposes a novel distributed heating/centralized monitoring mode of the biomass briquette fuel for rural areas. The mode includes the energy service station, the internet platform and the farmer households. A bidirectional C2S (Customer to Supplier) relationship between the energy service station and the farmer households is formed. The biomass briquette fuels are bartered using the crop straws instead of using money between the farmer households and the energy service station. The optimal service radius is calculated in different climate rons. The results are 4.75 km in extremely cold ron, 1.71 km in cold plain ron, 2.36 km in cold mountain ron. The use-scale of 1000 households is regarded as the standard for the promotion and application of the mode. The sensitivity analysis is that briquetting cost is the peak. At last, some suggestions are proposed, which will promote the future development of the briquette heating in China.

Epidemiology and prevalence of hyperuricemia among men and women in Chinese rural population: The Henan Rural Cohort Study

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the latest prevalence of hyperuricemia and influencing factors in Chinese rural population.Methods: A survey was conducted from July 2015 to September 2017. A total of 38,855 (15,371 men and 23,484 women) subjects were recruited from the Henan Rural Cohort Study. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum urate level of >7.0 mg/dL for men and >6.0 mg/dL for women. A meta-analysis of 19 studies that focused on hyperuricemia prevalence was performed to validate the result of the cross-sectional survey.Results: The crude and age-standardized prevalence of hyperuricemia was 10.24% and 12.60%, respectively. The prevalence of hyperuricemia decreased in men with increasing age, but the opposite trend was observed in women. The results of meta-analysis demonstrated that hyperuricemia prevalence in Chinese rural areas was 11.7%, consistent with the result of current survey. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that overweight or obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypoalphalipoproteinemia and high serum creatinine level could increase the risk of hyperuricemia, while high physical activity and fasting plasma glucose were associated with a lower risk of hyperuricemia in all participants.Conclusion: The latest prevalence of hyperuricemia is high in rural China and is associated with multiple factors, indicating that prevention and control strategies for hyperuricemia are needed urgently.

Impact of the Built Environment and Bicycling Psychological Factors on the Acceptable Bicycling Distance of Rural Residents

The ability to understand bicycling behavior in China’s rural areas is critical in constructing an improved, sustainable, countryside amid the rapid urbanization in the country. This study analyzes the influence of individual bicycling psychology, objective, and perceived built environment on the acceptable bicycling distance of rural residents. This research is conducted by controlling for the socio-demographic characteristics of the residents on the bases of a face-to-face questionnaire survey and an on-site measurement. Exploratory factor analysis shows three attitudinal common factors on bicycling infrastructure, namely, bicycling ancillary facilities, bicycle lane conditions, and safety, and two bicycling motivation factors, namely, convenience and other motivations. Multiple linear regression was estimated and results of the models were consistent. Individual bicycling psychology and built environment factors significantly influence the acceptable bicycling distance of rural residents. The socio-demographic variables insignificantly influence the acceptable bicycling distance, which is inconsistent with the existing literature. The research results provide a broad empirical base for the complex relationships among individual bicycling psychological factors, objective and perceived built environment, and bicycling behavior. This study presents the first research on bicycling in Chinese rural areas and provides guidance for the development of effective countermeasures in constructing ecovillages.

Spatio-vertical characterization of the BTEXS group of VOCs in Chinese agricultural soils

Ubiquitous contamination of the BTEXS (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene) group in soils is a significant concern for ecological safety. However, comprehensive spatio-vertical survey of the BTEXS group on a national scale is rare to date. Using a static headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method (HS-GCMS), this study performed a quantitative analysis of BTEXS levels in soils from Chinese rural areas in 2013 and 2016. The median ∑BTEXS concentrations in surface soils in 2013 and 2016 were 37.5 and 34.4 ng g−1 dry weight, respectively. Toluene was the dominant pollutant, accounting for approximately 41.6% and 32.1% of the total levels. BTEXS contamination was higher in Shanxi province, Northeast China, and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau compared to the other regions. Vertically, toluene, m,p′-xylene and o′-xylene concentrations were significantly higher in the top soil layer (0–15 cm) and decreased significantly with increasing soil depth (p < 0.05). Higher soil organic matter was significantly associated with higher BTEXS concentrations of sampling site. BTEXS was also enhanced at sites with higher elevations and lower temperature due to global distillation effects. The findings of this study could help decision-makers to protect against BTEXS contamination in rural areas. These findings provide a basis for further study of the mechanism of BTEXS migration and transport in large-scale environment. CapsuleSpatio-vertical distribution, influence factors, exposure risks of BTEXS in soils from Chinese agricultural region was studied.

Effects of rural built environment on travel-related CO2 emissions considering travel attitudes

This study contributes to the understanding of the impacts of the rural built environment on travel-related CO2 emissions by considering the mediating effects of household car ownership, travel frequency, travel distance, and individual travel attitudes through structural equation modeling. The travel data were collected from an activity diary survey in rural Sichuan. Geographic information system technology, combined with on-site measurement, was used to obtain data on the built environment. After controlling the socio-demographic factors, the model results corroborate that all built environment variables had significant total effects on car ownership, travel distance, travel frequency, and travel emissions. Specifically, residents living in the village with more accessible markets, higher roads, and higher building density travel a shorter distance and emit less CO2. Meanwhile, residents living in the village with centralized living style and higher transit and destination accessibility travel less frequently but emit more CO2. Individual travel attitudes have a limited effect on travel behavior and CO2 emissions. This study suggests that planners and policymakers should consider shortening the distance between destination/transit and residential areas and increasing road and building densities. Moreover, promoting the construction of bicycling facilities and separate bicycle lanes to encourage rural residents to ride electric bicycles, bicycles, and motorcycles will reduce transport CO2 emission in Chinese rural areas.

Older people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Chinese rural areas: perceived stigma and associated factors.

Perceived stigma is a common problem among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA). In recent years, the number of older adults with HIV/AIDS has rapidly increased in China. However, HIV/AIDS-related perceived stigma and associated factors in older PLWHA remain unknown. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Yongzhou. Participants were recruited via the Hunan HIV/AIDS Registry system. All participants were ≥50 y of age at the time of their HIV diagnosis. Sowell's HIV Stigma Scale was used to measure perceived stigma. A total of 193 participants were interviewed, of which 132 (68.4%) were male. The ages of the participants ranged from 50 to 82 y and the average age was 61.1±5.95 y. Eighteen (9.3%) subjects were ethnic minorities. Older PLWHA reported a relatively high level of perceived stigma, especially individuals of Han ethnicity having high annual incomes. The individuals who had disclosed their HIV-positive status to all their family had higher scores on the dimension related to blame. Regression analysis showed that ethnicity, annual income, living arrangement and disclosure patterns were the main associated factors of perceived stigma. Perceived stigma is common in older Chinese PLWHA. Individuals of ethnic minorities or with higher economic status have higher levels of stigma. Family relationships have a deep influence on perceived stigma.

Residential energy consumption and its linkages with life expectancy in mainland China: A geographically weighted regression approach and energy-ladder-based perspective

Spatially variation of the relation between residential energy consumption and life expectancy at birth in mainland China was illustrated. Close associations were found between household coal/household electricity and life expectancy at birth at the provincial level in mainland China in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Household coal and electricity consumption showed significant negative/positive relations to life expectancy at birth in Chinese rural areas than urban areas. Furthermore, geographically weighted regression showed spatial non-stationary of the relations between residential energy consumption and life expectancy at birth in mainland China, especially for the household coal and household electricity. The negative correlations of household coal and life expectancy at birth denoted that household coal in the western part was more serious than the eastern part of China. In comparison, positive correlations between household electricity and life expectancy at birth showed an increasing trend from the east to the west, which indicated the positive effects of electricity, especially in western China. The results provided new insights into Chinese residential energy policy implications with spatial feature, which highlighted the higher priority in the energy ladder model to improve the household coal quality and increase the household electricity utilization especially in western rural areas in China.

A nomogram to predict the incident radiographic knee osteoarthritis in a Chinese rural area

A nomogram to predict the incident radiographic knee osteoarthritis in a Chinese rural area

Research on decision making of energy utilization project in China based on benefit evaluation

PurposeThere are thousands of areas excluded from using electrical energy in China. It is mainly because that these places, which are away from towns, have the characteristics of scattered living and low-power consumption and are difficult to construct the power grid. The utilization of energy in remote areas could improve the level of education and quality of life for people living in there, which has great social significance. However, how to choose the optimal power generation model quantitatively according to local energy advantages is a difficult problem.Design/methodology/approachTo carry out a better assessment of the energy benefits of Chinese rural areas to assist the decision-making of energy utilization project, this paper takes Sunan Yugu Autonomous County in Gansu Province as an example. Four feasible energy utilization scenarios are proposed by analyzing its geographical conditions and re-source advantage, respectively, are photovoltaic power generation, biomass power generation, wind power generation and power grid extension. Based on the above scenarios, the evaluation index system of comprehensive utilization of energy in remote areas is constructed, and the comprehensive benefit of each model is evaluated by adopting entropy-based fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model.FindingsEvaluation results show that the comprehensive benefits of photovoltaic power generation is the best, followed by power grid extension. Thus, preference should be given to the two models in the energy utilization in Sunan County. This evaluation model can provide a scientific reference for the selection decision-making of energy utilization project, which is helpful to provide the feasibility and efficiency of the construction of energy utilization project.Originality/valueThe authors construct the comprehensive benefit evaluation index system and evaluate the comprehensive benefits of different scenarios are by using entropy - fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. Then the qualitative problem can be analyzed quantitatively. The purpose of this study is to support the decision-making of energy investment. Simultaneously, the paper also has some practical significance in improving the credibility of the government and the quality of local people’s life.

Depressive Symptoms and Migrant Worker Wages: Estimation Based on a Nationally-Representative Panel Dataset.

In recent years, migrant workers, defined as people who move from Chinese rural areas to cities in other parts of the country to find work, have experienced slowed wage growth. An important question that has emerged is whether depressive symptoms have a significant relationship with migrant worker wages. This paper uses a nationally representative panel dataset to examine the overall association of depressive symptoms and migrant worker wages in China and explores the indirect mechanisms through which these impacts occur. Using the Coarsened Exact Matching method, our results show that depressive symptoms have a significant direct negative relationship with migrant worker wages, and that this relationship is consistent. Furthermore, we also find that depressive symptoms can reduce migrant worker wages indirectly by increasing the frequency of job conversion or by shortening work duration.

Rural solid waste-characteristics and leachate pollution assessment for different precipitation levels, China.

Open dumping adversely affects the environment and remains the most widely used method for waste disposal in many developing rural areas in China. Information regarding the impact of rural solid waste (RSW) on the environment remains limited. The objectives of this study are to investigate the characteristics of RSW and the impact of different precipitation rates, and to evaluate the contamination potential of RSW using a leachate pollution index (LPI). The study showed that leachate concentration was significantly influenced by precipitation rates at the initial precipitation stages. Precipitation rates of 42.00mm/day appeared to have the largest dilution effects. In contrast, the concentrations of leachate at rainfall rates of 24.00mm/day and soaking were steady, and no similar trends were observed. The highest amounts of pollutants in leachate were the result of soaking. In the first week of our experiment, the LPI value for each rural area waste sample rapidly increased with rising precipitation rates from soaking to 42.00mm/day. However, no significant change in LPI was observed thereafter (after 5weeks) even with increasing precipitation rates. The values of chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and NH3-N in the leachate after 10weeks were 4.00, 7.34, 1.87, and 2.21 times higher, respectively, than those of the prescribed leachate quality standards in China. The results of our study suggest the following course of action for the three dump sites investigated: in Banqiao, given the size of the population and the size of the waste amount, landfill might be a suitable way for disposing of RSW. In Machen, building a standardized waste collection site would be an economical solution for reducing potential pollution risks. In Jiuduhe, increasing the transportation rate of solid waste might be an effective solution. The results of this study can help to improve the understanding of leachate pollution in Chinese rural areas.

Small-scale waste incinerators in rural China: Potential risks of dioxin and polychlorinated naphthalene emissions

Abstract Rapid development has led to a tremendous increase in the volume of solid waste produced in rural China. The annual amount of solid waste produced from Chinese rural areas is approximately 110 million tons. Many small-scale solid waste incinerators have been built in Chinese rural areas. It was speculated that the emissions and potential risks of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs, commonly known as dioxins) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) from these incinerators could be serious. A preliminary case investigation on PCDD/F and PCN emissions from a small-scale waste incinerator was performed. The stack gas samples were collected using auto isokinetic sampling techniques and PCDD/F and PCN congeners were identified and quantified by high resolution gas chromatography combined with high resolution mass spectrometry. Concentrations and toxic equivalents of PCDD/Fs emitted from the small-scale waste incinerator were 153 ng m−3 and 5.6 ng TEQ m−3, respectively, which was much higher than the regulatory level for municipal solid waste incinerators permitted in China and the European Union Directive. PCNs have similar toxicological effects with PCDD/Fs, and the relative potency factors (RPFs) of some PCN congeners (dioxin-like PCNs) to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) were previously proposed to evaluate the dioxin-like toxicity of PCNs. The mass concentrations of PCNs and dioxin-like PCNs from the small-scale solid incinerator were 2927 ng m−3 and 1137 ng m−3, much higher than that of dioxins. However, much less attention has been paid to the small-scale incinerators compared with municipal solid waste incinerators. Here, we proposed that there should be a growing need to focus on the emissions and potential risks of dioxins and dioxin-like pollutants from these small-scale waste incinerators in rural China.

Identification of Accident Blackspots on Rural Roads Using Grid Clustering and Principal Component Clustering

Identifying road accident blackspots is an effective strategy for reducing accidents. The application of this method in rural areas is different from highway and urban roads as the latter two have complete geographic information. This paper presents (1) a novel segmentation method using grid clustering and K‐MEDOIDS to study the spatial patterns of road accidents in rural roads, (2) a clustering methodology using principal component analysis (PCA) and improved K‐means to create recognition of road accident blackspots based on segmented results, and (3) using accidents causes in police report to analyze recognition results. The proposed methodology will be illustrated by accident data in Chinese rural area in 2017. A grid‐based partition was carried on by using intersection as a basic spatial unit. Appended hazard scores were then added to the segments and using K‐means clustering, a result of similar hotspots was completed. The accuracy of the results is verified by the analysis of the cause extracted by Fuzzy C‐means algorithm (FCM).

Heating solutions for residential buildings in China: Current status and future outlook

With continuing of urbanization, improving of life quality as well as combating against air pollution, China is facing comprehensive challenges to supply modern clean heating to a majority of its citizens. For space heating solutions, currently in urban areas of north China, coal based district heating is prevalent. In urban areas of south China, distributed heating solutions are used. In rural areas, de-centralized coal stoves and biomass stoves are still commonly used. As renewable building heating solution, ground source heat pumps are installed for large scale applications. Building floor areas heated by ground source heat pumps increased tremendously during past ten years. Air source heat pump is being promoted in north Chinese rural areas as part of coal to clean heating project. Solar water heater and electric water heater for domestic hot water supply is widely used in north China and gas water boiler is widely used in south China. A series of policies have encouraged clean fossil fuel district heating in north China. National development plans are also supporting and subsidizing renewable heating technology such as heat pumps. Different building heating technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages from techno-economic and environmental perspectives. The choice of building heating solutions for different geolocations of China is strongly affected by spatial parameters such as local climate condition, population distribution, natural resource availability etc. Therefore, a spatial data analysis method is essential to help stakeholders decide proper building heating solutions in different parts of China by key performance indicators reflecting lower primary energy use, economic affordability and lower environmental impact.

島根大学・寧夏大学国際共同研究所編集『中国農村における持続可能な地域づくり─中国西部学術ネットワークからの報告─』（書評）

島根大学・寧夏大学国際共同研究所編集『中国農村における持続可能な地域づくり─中国西部学術ネットワークからの報告─』（書評）