ABSTRACT
Migration is the primary driver of Chinese demographic change. As Cai (2013: 392) points out, ‘Internal migration has emerged as the single most important factor behind the rapid population redistribution in China. Mass population movement across the country not only alters population composition but also stimulates social, economic and cultural changes.’ Running in tandem with migration has been rapid urbanization in China and the growth of mega-cities and large urban clusters, fuelled by migrants from western and central rural regions. This chapter seeks to increase our understanding of the nexus between urban population growth and rural-to-urban migration, distinctive features of urbanization and the major social challenges facing rural migrants at the current stage of urbanization, in the context of dramatic demographic, social and economic transitions in China. This chapter also provides an opportunity for readers to better understand the issues of increasing social inequality and changing patterns of migration in an era of rapid urbanization in China.
