Villages of the People's Republic of China

Village or Village level divisions in China serves as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal like in the West, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area). In 2000, China's densely populated villages (>100 persons/ha) had a population greater than 500 million and covered more than 2 million square kilometers, or more than 20% of China's total area (Ellis 2004).

In general, urban areas are organized into neighborhood committees (), while rural areas are organized into village committees () or villager groups (). A "village" in this case can either be a natural village (), one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village (), which is a bureaucratic entity.

Instead of neighborhood committees and sub-districts, a city could have:

• neighborhood ()
• community ()

See also

• Urban village
• Organic Law of Village Committees

References

• 2004. Long-term ecological changes in the densely populated rural landscapes of China. Pages 303-320 in R. S. DeFries, G. P. Asner, and R. A. Houghton, editors. Ecosystems and Land Use Change. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.

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