ABSTRACT
The current household registration management system was formed and fully developed in the mid- and late 1950s in order to meet the requirements of the planned economy. The current household registration system hinders the development of urbanization. The government distinguished between urban and rural populations through the household registration system and used entirely different standards to distribute food stamps, vouchers for cloth, and sugar. The current household registration management system, unique to China, strictly distinguishes between urban non-agricultural population and rural agricultural population. The two statuses are entirely different, forming the pattern of “rural-urban bifurcation and one country, two policies”; that is, one policy for cities and urban residents, and another for rural areas and farmers. After 1978, a series of economic and social system reforms have been carried out. Great historic changes have taken place in the whole economy and society.
