Since 1949, always planned resettlements from densely populated areas in scarcely populated regions of northern, northeastern and western China have been carried out. This practice was also in the imperial era operated. The motivations were strategic (development of new areas, Sinisierung of areas, mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities) or economic nature (the modernization of agriculture and economic development in remote areas or combat unemployment in overpopulated areas), often carried out as a displacement criminal or reeducation measures against political opponents.

Since the late 1970s, there are no more Zwangsumsiedelungen. Nevertheless, the possibility of residence and work to elect, by a strict reporting system (hukou system) limited. From 1982 to 2003, this was with the System of Custody and Repatriation tightened enforced. The reason for these regulations is the enormous pressure of migration from the poor provinces in western and central China in the coastal areas, with about 150-200 million migrant workers (2006).

Moreover, a complete liberalization of a strong rural exodus condition, and it is feared that this would destabilize the cities. To meet the growing inequality between city and country contracts, the building of new socialist villages in the living situation in the country improve, so the migration to the cities to slow down. Already it is estimated that several million illegal migrant workers and in the unannounced Chinese cities to live and work.

The Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhou Ganzhi, in September 2005 at the annual meeting about the planning of Chinese cities in 2005 in the western Chinese city of Xi'an, declare that the urbanization rate in China in 2020 between 50 percent and 55 percent will. With rapid economic growth, the urbanization rate in China in the past 10 years by 20 percent to 40 percent. The continuing increase in the urbanization rate was due to the fact that many farmers in the cities were geströmt and large sums of money invested in the urban development would, said Zhou.