ABSTRACT
Migration has played an important role in regional development in Chinese history. As early as the Yuan dynasty, the government made efforts to move the people from the east or central regions to develop the wild lands of the west. 1 This strategy continued through the Cultural Revolution years of the PRC, and has only recently reversed itself from this historical trend. Due to climate, altitude, and other natural limitations, the Western region has always had limited arable land, despite its vast range. After nearly eight centuries of development, population has become a tremendous pressure straining the cultivated land. Since 1978, however, with the success of the CER (Comprehensive Economic Reform) and the relaxation of the tight state-controlled household registration system, more and more rural labors have been moving out from their farmlands to nearby cities or other provinces for new job opportunities. This is due to the unbalanced nature of the CER, where the development has concentrated (especially since 1985) in the urban areas and favored the Coastal or eastern region. Consequently, most provinces in the West have experienced a net loss of population due to outward migration, which has been accelerating since 1982. Between 1982–87, there was a net loss of 0.44 million, but for the same five year period between 1995–2000, the net loss swelled to 6.63 million. 2
