Villages In China Research Articles

Adaptation of Chinese traditional villages from the perspective of locality preservation

Recently, traditional villages in China have received multiple policy protections and capital injections. While these external interventions protect the cultural heritage of traditional villages and provide opportunities for development, they have gradually eroded their intrinsic adaptive cycle system. This study focused on 6819 traditional villages, revealed the characteristics and transitions of the adaptive cycle stages in traditional villages and described the internal mechanisms of adaptability within these villages. The research findings are as follows: Regarding adaptability characterisation, the adaptability of traditional villages has developed a regionally significant imbalance. The highest proportion of adaptability cycle stages was found in the poverty trap, exploration (r) and gambling traps. Traditional villages are mostly in a rigid state, with a few adaptive processes shifting between the poverty trap and exploration (r), requiring a new impetus to guide positive cycles. In terms of adaptability mechanisms, there was a significant negative relationship between locality, mobility and resilience in traditional villages. Intrinsic adaptive mechanisms gradually disintegrate, and there is an increasing risk of falling into a lock-in trap. This study provides empirical evidence for analysing the issues in traditional villages and offers recommendations for long-term planning and policy formulation of locality protection in traditional villages.

How Can Ecological Product Value Realization Sustainably Enhance the Well-Being of Farmers? A Case Study of Xingyuan Village in China

Although recent years have witnessed a considerable increase in studies on the economic value of ecological products, the extant literature has overlooked the multidimensional enhancement of ecological product value from the perspective of farmers’ well-being. This research aims to examine how the Realization of Ecological Product Value (EPVR) serves as a crucial pathway to promoting the overall well-being of farmers in developing countries. Through a case study of a village in southeastern China, this research reveals that EPVR can enhance farmers’ well-being via various mechanisms as follows: (1) Economic solution to enrich farmers’ livelihood diversity, achieved by leveraging rural resource endowments and comparative advantages; (2) Fair social protection program enabling farmers to enjoy ecological benefits and further achieving urban-rural integration; (3) Environmental protection plan that balances production, living, and ecology; and (4) Grassroots governance tool promoting the governance ability to form collaborative governance model in a community of shared interests. This study offers theoretical support for enhancing human well-being through the realization of ecological product value in rural areas.

Behavioural selection of farmer households for rural homestead use in China: Self-occupation and transfer

With the outflow of the rural population, the functions of rural homesteads in China have undergone transformation, leading to the reform of the rural homestead system. Strengthening investigations into rural homestead-use behaviours of self-occupation and transfer, considering the trend of rural transformation and the reform of rural homestead, are vital to providing adequate support to formulate and implement targeted institutions responsible for rural homestead use. Based on survey and questionnaire data from 299 villages in China in 2022, this paper addresses the characteristics of rural homestead-use from the perspectives of homestead self-occupation and transfer. The factors of both farmer households and villages were recognised using a hierarchical Logit model. The results revealed the following. First, household self-occupation played the dominant role in the state of rural homestead use in China, with the accompaniment of a low proportion of transfer in non-self-occupation homesteads. The proportions of self-occupation and transfer were found to vary significantly on different scales across provinces, villages and farming households. Second, there were different factors influencing the self-occupation and transfer behaviours of rural homesteads. Specifically, self-occupation behaviour was predominantly influenced by the degree of dependence on self-housing demand and homestead supply, and village demands for development more substantially influenced transfer behaviour. Third, under the context of both the rural transformation trend and Rural Revitalisation Project, it is recognised that the residential security function of homesteads is prioritised, followed by promoting the reuse of homesteads through comprehensive measures. This study will provide a scientific reference for the effective implementation of rural revitalisation and rural homestead system reform.

(Re)shaping the Tourists’ Imagined Identity of Mosuo towards Sustainable Ethnic Tourism Development in Southwest China

Ethnic tourism development has emerged as a vital strategy in ethnic regions to drive local economic growth and improve the quality of life. However, numerous ethnic areas have undergone transformation to accommodate tourism and commercial advancement, with little regard for the conservation of their cultural values. Therefore, the aim of this study is to enhance the cultural tourism attributes and construct place identities from the tourists’ perspective. By conducting fieldwork in Zhaishi village of Yongning Township and Lige village near Lugu Lake, encompassing semi-structured interviews with professionals and questionnaires for tourists, we explore the relationship between the “imagined” and “perceived” identity from the tourists’ perspective and the constructed identity from the authorities’ perspective in two Mosuo villages in China. The findings suggest that the local government should focus on the (re)shaping of tourists’ imagined identity and perceived identities. The results of this study provide policy recommendations for the future development of tourism in the Mosuo region, thereby enriching the perspective of ethnic tourism research.

When your neighbour is the village cadre: allocation of public resources in the social network

ABSTRACT As a key node in the social network, political elites play an important role in the allocation of public resources in developing countries, and they may bring benefits to their neighbours. China’s large-scale poverty alleviation efforts, as well as the nature of China as an acquaintance society, provides us with an opportunity to examine this issue. By using a novel panel of data from a village in China, our results show that households connected to village cadres are more likely to become beneficiaries of poverty alleviation projects than those not connected – the closer the social relationship with village cadres, the greater the benefits. Both favouritism and information transmission are proven to be mechanisms of the connection effect. As such, closely connected networks within communities are conducive to improving the targeting efficiency of public welfare projects, and external supervision is essential for eliminating the favouritism of political elites.

Impacts on Rural Community Development and Governance by Different Land Ownership: A Comparative Study Based on Two Villages in China

AbstractThe capability of rural community governance is significantly impacted by the different types of land ownership when capital investment in rural tourism to achieve rural revitalisation. The outcomes of which profoundly affect sustainable rural development. This study, by utilising a theoretical framework using double movement theory, aims to assess the impacts on rural community governance by two different land ownership models, the Enterprise-based Model (EBM) and the Community-based Model (CBM), in the process of capital flow to the countryside (CFC). Case studies of the two villages were adopted to examine and explore the logic of interaction between stakeholders and reveal the internal mechanism of rural community governance. The results of this research indicate that the CBM has considerable advantages over the EBM. In the CBM, the village collective retains land ownership without fully marketising, which allows villagers to maintain their bargaining power with investors whilst increasing their local awareness. In the EBM, however, the local government promotes the conversion of land ownership. The villagers benefit more from one-time acquisition but lose sustainable benefits created by local development. Stakeholders call for the need to create a development model beyond the market economy by maintaining China's rural land system in the process of CFC. In this regard, this paper provides an original contribution.

Analysis of spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors of ethnic-minority villages in China using geospatial technology and statistical models

Analysis of spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors of ethnic-minority villages in China using geospatial technology and statistical models

Socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods supporting social interaction between locals and migrants in peri-urban China

Western literature shows evidence of a positive relationship between socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods and social interaction. However, there is little research exploring this relationship in the Chinese context, particularly between locals and migrants in peri-urban China where significant housing is being created. This paper studies the socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods in supporting social interaction between locals and migrants across different neighbourhood types in the peri-urban areas in Guangzhou. In this research, data were collected using door-to-door questionnaires and site surveys in 9 peri-urban neighbourhoods in Guangzhou. The nature and strength of relationships between socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods and social interaction were examined through statistical analysis. The results of this study suggest that the level of maintenance and accessibility can help improve social interaction for locals and migrants living together in villages, redeveloped villages, and commodity housing. Neighbourhood boundaries and quality of neighbourhoods were found to be positively related to social interaction for locals and migrants in redeveloped villages only. In addition, the perceived character of the neighbourhood can positively impact social interaction for locals in villages only. This study demonstrates that high-quality neighbourhoods can improve social interaction between migrants and locals in peri-urban villages, commodity housing, and redeveloped villages in China. The study provides a guide for neighbourhood designers, urban planners, and property managers in peri-urban China regarding how to create a neighbourhood supporting social interaction between locals and migrants in villages, redeveloped villages and commodity housing respectively.

Assessment of visual quality and social perception of cultural landscapes: application to Anyi traditional villages, China

The assessment of landscape visual quality (LVQ) holds significant importance in the preservation and advancement of traditional villages. One challenge in measuring human perception lies in establishing a connection between public preferences and landscape characteristics. This study conducted an analysis of social media data from Anyi traditional villages in China to address this issue and identified eight human perceptions: naturalness, ancientness, colorfulness, variety, uniqueness, ingenuity, vividness, and pleasantness. A total of thirty characteristic indicators with potential explanations for LVQ were determined by research group through field investigations. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess human’s preferences using 82 traditional village photos, and scores for the eight perceptions were obtained. The logistic regression was employed to establish distinct perception models, with perceptions serving as the dependent variables and characteristic indicators as the independent variables. Nomograms were subsequently utilized to visualize regression results and display the correlation between these two factors. The findings suggest that nomograms facilitate intuitive determination of the weights assigned to characteristic indicators in perceptual models, as well as their influence on LVQ. This work provides a reference for decision-making related to the adaptive protection and development of traditional villages, thereby helping to enhance the competitiveness of tourist destinations.

Predictors of the prevalence and importance of the observed trinary control system in rural China

Western criminological literature continues to focus on the binary control system (formal vs. informal), while China has long employed the trinary system (formal, semiformal, and informal) in its construction of social control. China scholars have investigated the prevalence and importance of the trinary control system as a key to understanding social control. However, there is a lack of research on their predictors. The current study aims at investigating the correlates of the prevalence and importance of the observed trinary control system in rural China. Using the sample data of 2343 respondents collected from 164 villages in rural China, the study found that both individual and village factors were the predictors of the prevalence of the observed controls exerted by village committees, a measure of semiformal control, and police, a measure of formal control, in maintaining community social order. Findings included the reported prevalence of four control mechanisms as significant predictors of their importance in community order maintenance. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Non-native flora changes in rural gardens of China: the role of tourism

Human cultivation facilitates the naturalization and subsequent invasion of non-native plant species through, for example, protection from predators or reducing environmental stochasticity. With the development of tourism, non-native plant species have been increasingly introduced into rural home gardens for landscape greening and amenity planting. However, few studies have examined non-native flora in rural home gardens, and in particular the importance of tourism in determining changes of garden non-native flora has not been scrutinized. In this study, we investigated non-native plant species in 135 home gardens across five rural tourism villages in tropical China. Attributes related to garden or household characteristics were also collected through interviews and questionnaires. A distance-based redundancy analysis was then performed to reveal the relationships between the non-native species composition and garden attributes. A total of 338 non-native plant species were recorded in the surveyed gardens. Among them, the majority (63%) were ornamentals, whereas 19% were for nutritional uses and 12% were spontaneous weeds. Gardening preference and distance to tourist attractions governed the non-native compositions, with gardens preferring cultural (ornamental) cultivation or gardens close to tourist attractions having more non-native species. These results highlight an increasing role of tourism in promoting non-native cultivation in rural gardens. Recommendations for species risk assessment, trade and supply regulation, and proper garden management are provided to help harness plant invasion along tourism development in rural China and other regions around the world.

Spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and geographic contexts of civilized villages in China.

Rural civilization is the soul of rural revitalization strategies. As a booster of rural civilization, the civilized village is an indispensable force to promote the modernization of rural areas, in the meanwhile, the study of its spatial distribution has important theoretical significance and practical value in deepening the theory of rural geography, promoting the development of rural civilization, and helping rural revitalization. Considering civilized villages as the study topic, the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and geographic context were discussed using spatial analysis methods. The number of civilized villages in the country has shown a clear upward trend since 2005. The spatial distribution pattern of civilized villages in China shows unbalanced patterns with a higher concentration in the east and south. Civilized villages in China present significant patterns of clustering with an increasing degree of spatial clustering, showing a multi-core spatial distribution pattern. Civilized villages in China demonstrate clear spatiotemporal clustering characteristics. A spatiotemporal hot spot cluster formed in the northwestern region from 2005 to 2011, and a spatiotemporal cold spot cluster formed in the southeastern region from 2005 to 2008. The spatial distribution of civilized villages in China has obvious geographical differentiation laws, and factors such as topography, climate, economy, transportation, and policy significantly affect their spatial distribution.

Delineating Landscape Features Perception in Tourism-Based Traditional Villages: A Case Study of Xijiang Thousand Households Miao Village, Guizhou

This study is a feature perception study of traditional village landscapes, refines the research method of traditional village landscape features using tourists online comment data, combs the landscape perception features of Xijiang Thousand Households Miao Village from tourists perspectives, digs out the managers’ problems in landscape planning, protection, utilisation, and puts forward the corresponding improvement strategies. In this paper, the Octopus data collector was used to collect online evaluation data from nine target platforms, and ROST CM6 was used to analyse the data for word frequency analysis, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis. Finally, using Nvivo12, the data was coded and a multidimensional model of landscape perception was constructed: natural landscapes, cultural and social landscapes, perceived landscapes, seasonal landscapes, and services and infrastructures. The results show that in the landscape perception model, the cultural and social landscape modules are the core factors affecting tourists’ psychological perceptions, with most tourists holding positive emotions towards the scenic spots and a few negative emotions mainly focusing on the relatively weak natural landscape, the unsatisfactory road system and charging system, and the over-commercialised development. In response to these problems, this study proposes corresponding planning recommendations. The results of the study reflect the trend of deep integration of culture and tourism in traditional villages in China, respond to the policy guidance of China’s rural revitalisation policy, and provide useful references and insights for the landscape construction and development of the Xijiang Thousand Households Miao Village and even similar tourist-oriented traditional villages.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Key Rural Tourism Villages in China

Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Key Rural Tourism Villages in China

Protection of traditional villages in China: a review on the development process and policy evolution

Protection of traditional villages in China: a review on the development process and policy evolution

A school-based intervention programme to prevent anxiety and depression among Chinese children during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundChild and adolescent mental health is a major public health concern worldwide. The development of children’s social and emotional skills helps to improve mental health and wellbeing, and prevent anxiety and depression. The school-based social emotional learning (SEL) programmes have proved effective in a number of countries. But in Mainland China, there has been no empirical research of the effectiveness on children’s mental health. The study conducted a SEL programme in China during the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to determine whether: (1) a SEL programme can reduce anxiety and depression, (2) the intervention effect is influenced by sociodemographic characteristics, (3) the programme effects change children’s emotion management and communication.MethodsParticipants were 230 children aged 8–12 years in the intervention school and 325 in the control school in two poor villages in central China. The study was a quasi-experimental trial, comprising 16 weekly 90-minute sessions. It used a mixed-methods design, with a quantitative survey administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 5-month follow-up, and qualitative interviews. Linear mixed effects regression modeling was used to analyse the intervention effectiveness, linear models were conducted to examine the moderation effect of sociodemographic variables, and the inductive thematic analysis approach was used for interview data.ResultsThe intervention had no significant effect on anxiety or depression, except that intervention school children who lived with neither parent (left behind children) reported lower depression scores than control school at post-intervention and 5-month follow-up. Qualitative interviews showed after intervention children were more able to control tempers and better communicated their thoughts and feelings, improving their relationships with family and friends.ConclusionsThe programme was cheap, easy to implement, and warmly welcomed by children, schools and caregivers, suggesting it was feasible and potentially sustainable. More research is needed on the adaptation of the SEL programme in the Chinese context.

Not Just Survive, But Thrive: Examining Livelihood Capital, Poverty Reduction, and Sustainable Development in Ethnic Tourism Destinations

Understanding the roles of tourism development in poverty reduction and livelihood capital through a microlens is essential to rural ethnic areas’ sustainable development. However, few assessment methods are available to unravel the complex relationships between these three facets, and gaps remain in measuring residents’ livelihood. Based on the sustainable livelihood approach, this paper first selected core components of the sustainable livelihood framework to construct an evaluation index system and then provided specific indicators and evaluative criteria. Taking villages in China’s Longji Rice Terraces as a sample case, this study employed objective approaches (e.g., the entropy weight method and gray relational analysis) to assess residents’ livelihood capital. The aim was to showcase the sustainability of this area’s livelihood through a microlens. Findings offer several important contributions. First, this study presents a reliable measurement development method and a set of evaluation criteria for sustainable livelihood in tourism contexts, including five forms of capital and 21 indicators. Second, local inhabitants were found to benefit from tourism development; their livelihood options were diversified, especially in terms of growing financial capital. Yet these benefits were not evenly distributed, with notable differences observed across communities. Third, farmers’ livelihood capability did not improve uniformly over time. These findings offer valuable insights for tourism and hospitality stakeholders and can help steer rural regions toward a path of prosperity and growth. Strategies for inspiring entrepreneurship should especially be considered. In closing, theoretical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future work are provided.

Digital platforms and the spatial transformation of urban villages in southern China: a case for platform-urban villagism?

ABSTRACT In contrast to the dichotomy of platform urbanism-ruralism populated in recent urban geography, we propose an analytical framework of “platform-urban villagism” to examine the roles and impacts of digital platforms on the ongoing spatial transformations in urban villages in southern China. Our framework offers a nuanced understanding of the entanglements between digital platforms and key actors in unconventional urban areas. Leveraging empirical evidence from garment villages in Guangzhou, we explore the diversities of power relationships between various actors and the corresponding spatial implications. Specifically, our analysis reveals the potential symbiotic and productive relationships between digital platforms and other economic actors, leading to functional upgrading of the labor-intensive apparel industry and fostering non-antagonistic relationships with local governments and residents. By highlighting the transformation of production and non-production spaces within garment villages, our study challenges conventional notions of urban development and consumption-oriented activities associated with platform urbanism.

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Spatiotemporal Distribution of Rural Houses Construction Development in Mountainous Villages of China (1980–2019): A Case Study of Qingyuan Town

Rural house is a fundamental component of rural settlements, and understanding its construction and development characteristics is crucial for rural land use and development planning. This paper focuses on the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of Rural Houses Construction Development (RHCD) from 1980 to 2019 with a case study of Qingyuan Town in China. Based on the literature review and filed research, a set of evaluation indicators for RHCD was established. The article calculates RHCD indicators from temporal and spatial dimensions, uses the location entropy method to demonstrate the spatial distribution of indicators, and classifies the RHCD type of 14 villages in Qingyuan Town using clustering algorithms. It also analyzes the influencing factors of spatiotemporal distribution. The results show that the RHCD in Qingyuan Town exhibits typical characteristics of mountainous areas and aligns with the development trends of rural society in China. Population growth, geographical location, and economic development are the primary driving factors for the quantity indicator (Qi), while economic growth, construction technology, industrial development, and policy adjustments are the key factors influencing the form indicator (Fi). In future policy-making, greater emphasis should be placed on optimizing development strategies, improving data and monitoring systems, and integrating administrative strength with actual development needs.

Investigating Effects of Modernization on Rural Landscape Characters: A Case Study of Yayou Gou Village in China

Investigating Effects of Modernization on Rural Landscape Characters: A Case Study of Yayou Gou Village in China