CONTROLLED URBANIZATION IN CHINA, 1949-1989 Sun Sheng HAN B.A., Tongji University, 1983 M.Sc., Asian Institute of Technology, 1987 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Geography @ Sun Sheng HAN 1994 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY December 1994 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Sun Sheng Han Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Controlled Urbanization In China, 1949- 1989 Examining Committee: Chair: R.D. Moore, Assistant Professor - S.T. Wong, Profess6r Senior Supervisor L.J.'EEm, Associate Professor YA.~.Brohman, Assistant Professor R. ~a~ter,'P'rofessor, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University Internal Examiner Cllftok~.pax Professor Department of Geography University of Georgia External Examiner Date Approved: December 5, 1994 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay Controlled Urbanization In China. 1949-1989 Author: - (signature) ABSTRACT Controlled urbanization is a socialist method of planning in which there is no intervention by market forces in the economic system and where the greater part of production activity is determined top-down from an administrative hierarchical body or central agency. This method of planning has been used by the Chinese government since 1949, both as an approach as well as a process in the planning of national development and in the implementation of various programs and planning policies according to the Communist Party objectives along ideological lines that were introduced by Soviet advisors. The objectives of this study are to examine the role which controlled urbanization played in shaping Chinese urban policies and in influencing the development of Chinese cities, and to assess the impact which different policies had on the rate of Chinese urban population growth between 1949 and 1989. The study area, about 9.6 million square kilometers, covers mainland China and Hainan Island. The data sources included communist leaders' speeches, government statements, press releases, orders and decisions of the Chinese Communist Party, laws and regulations pertaining to urban and regional administration, statistical reports and census publications, and research findings of Chinese scholars. The method employed in analyzing the data comprised simple descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. Controlled urbanization had its ideological roots in Marxism and Chinese agrarianism. The fusion of these two ideologies led to a conflict which resulted in two interlocking consequences: rural-urban dichotomy and experimental strategies. These two consequences had direct bearing on controlled urbanization as well as in defining iii the dimension and framework of change which caused several chain reactions among strategies, rural-urban interaction, level of urbanization and industrialization. Controlled urbanization had different repercussions on the various groups of policies that were aimed at: 1) the flow of population between cities and the countryside, 2) the development of cities, 3) the development of the countryside and 4) the regional location of industries. While most of these policies over time were amended, overhauled and reformulated to comply with important strategic changes, those that controlled rural-urban migration and the growth of large cities were implemented and continued. Prior to 1978, the main policy variables that influenced and affected Chinese urbanization were administrative forces and planned industrialization. After 1978, the growth of Chinese cities was hastened and stimulated by economic liberalization. As a consequence of these policy impacts, Chinese urbanization fluctuated. These fluctuations over time changed the regional and hierarchical distribution patterns of Chinese cities. Controlled urbanization has been and pr'obably will continue to be an important aspect of China's development. In order for China to keep pace with modernization, controlled urbanization needs to be modified so that market forces can play a bigger role in the decision-making process. Understanding the interaction of the social, economic and political forces in the urbanization process is thus not only essential but also vital to the effective formulation of innovative and progressive policies for China's development. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In writing this dissertation the author is indebted to a number of agencies, departments, colleagues and friends at various stages of his research. He is grateful to the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, and his former colleagues and friends in the Ministry of Construction, People's Republic of China, for their help in collecting data and in providing information for his research project. He is grateful to his former professors, H. Detlef Kamrneier and Karl E. Weber of the Human Settlements Division, at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, for encouraging and recommending him to come to Simon Fraser University to study for his doctoral degree in urban geography. Thanks are due to Simon Fraser University and the Department of Geography for their teaching assistantships and graduate fellowships which enabled him to complete his program of graduate studies. Gratitude must also be extended to the front office and cartographic staff of the Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, for friendly and helpful services rendered to him. The author wishes to thank Professor Shue Tuck Wong, senior supervisor of his dissertation. He is very grateful to him for his invaluable guidance, support and constant encouragement throughout the writing of the dissertation. Thanks are also due to Dr. Leonard Evenden for his encouragement, support and comments on the initial draft; to Dr. John Brohman for his comments and suggestions on the draft; to Professor Roger Hayter for his encouragement and support, and to Professor Clifton Pannell for acting as external examiner. Finally the author wishes to thank his wife, Ning, and his daughter, Canmon, for their patience, understanding and support. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................iii LIST OF CHARTS ..........................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................ix LIST OF MAPS ...............................................x LIST OF TABLES ............................................xi Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................I Statement of Problem 1 Objectives of Study 12 Organization of Study 13 11. CHINESE URBANIZATION STUDIES........................ 15 Growth of the Literature 15 Chinese Urbanization before 1949 ,Chinese urbanization after 1949 Grban Policies Spatial Patterns of Chinese Urbanization Summary 111. RESEARCH DESIGN ......................................51 The Study Area 51 The Temporal Coverage 71 Terminology and Measurements 77 Method of Approach, Data Collection and Analysis 85 Limitations of Study 90 IV. THE IDEOLOGICAL BASE OF CHINESE URBANIZATION .........91 b Marxism and China's Development 92 ' The Spatial Dimension of Chinese Rural-Urban Relations 105 Chinese Experimental Strategies in Development 13 5 \//Strategy, Space and Urbanization 165 Summary 169 V. CHINESE URBANIZATION POLICIES........... ............172 Policies that Control the Population Flow 1- 1- between Cities and the Countryside 17 2 policies that Guide the Development of Cities 188 Policies that Guide the Development of the Countryside 214 Policies that Guide the Regional Location of Industries 220 Summary 225 vi Chapter Page VI. POLICY IMPACT ON CHINESE URBANIZATION ...............227 Hypotheses and Variables 227 Statistical Analyses and Results 238 Consequences of Policy Impact: the Pattern of Chinese Urbanization 249 Summary 274 VII. CONCLUSIONS .........................................277 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................292 vii LIST OF CHARTS Chart Page 3.1 Administrative Structure of Chinese Spatial Organization, 1949-1953............56 3.2 Administrative Structure of Chinese Spatial Organization, 1954-1983............58 3.3 Administrative Structure of Chinese Spatial Organization, 1984-1989............59 3.4 Traditional Regionalization of China..... .............66 3.5 Sub-periods of the Study ..............................74 3.6 Spatial Administrative Units of Chinese Cities...... ...............................79 4.1 Principal Stages in the Theory of Chinese Communist Transition.. ....................104 4.2 Chain Reactions among Strategy, Space, Urbanization and the Economy ..................164 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 3.1 Five Basic Types of Chinese Cities ................ 80 6.1 Trends in the Number of Cities in China, 1949-1989 ............................................250