Hello, my name is Mr. Marsh, and I'm here today to teach you all about "Rural to urban migration in China." So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe reasons why people migrate from rural areas to cities in China, and identify benefits and challenges of this migration.

There are five key terms for today's lesson.

Those are, "migration", "push factor", "pull factor", "economy", and "cultural diversity".

Migration refers to moving from one place to another with the intention of staying there.

Push factor refers to a reason prompting people to leave the place they live, such as lack of jobs, hazards, and conflict.

A pull factor refers to a reason attracting people to a new place, such as more jobs, better living conditions, and better services.

Economy refers to the way money in a particular area is made and spent.

And cultural diversity refers to the variety of cultural and ethnic groups within a society.

There are two learning cycles for today's lesson, and we're gonna start with the first learning cycle, which is, "Why might people move to cities in China?" So the first thing to say is that migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live and to work.

So it's very different from a holiday.

Migration can be permanent.

People move and stay.

Or it can be temporary.

People move for a short period, and then return.

Migration can happen within a country, as well as between different countries as well.

So people migrate for many, many different reasons.

It might be related to work, it could be related to education, perhaps family, better services, and living environment, or even safety.

For example, Jun says that, "My family moved to be closer to my grandparents." So this was for familial reasons.

And Aisha says, "We moved because my mother got a new job in another part of China." So this then was to do with job opportunities.

There are many, many different reasons why people migrate to different parts of the same country or even to another country itself.

Most of the migration in the world is internal.

It happens within the same country.

Internal migration is when people move within their own country, rather than crossing international borders.

One in 10 people in China is actually an internal migrant.

So you can understand now that there's a lot of migration happening within the country of China itself.

In China, people move from rural areas to urban areas, and this migration from the countryside to towns and cities happens in many, many other countries as well.

And now the images on the screen in front of you do a great job in perhaps illustrating the type of environments that people are moving from, on the left, those rural areas, those countryside areas, to the urban areas, such as Shanghai, that you can see on the right hand side there, those urban areas as well.

So why do you think people might move from a rural area that you see on the left to an urban area that you see, for example, on the right? You may like to pause the video here whilst you consider your own answer to that question or even perhaps discuss it with someone near you.

So a quick learning check.

It says, true or false? All migrants are forced to move.

What I'd like you to do then is pause the video here whilst you consider, and then select your answer.

And the answer is false.

Now, what I'd like you to do once again is pause the video whilst you consider as to why this statement is false.

And the reason it's false is that there are just different reasons which can lead someone to migrate.

These may be related to work, education, family, better services, the living environment, or perhaps safety.

So in some occasions, people are forced to move, but in many, many other occasions, people are attracted to different places.

It's more voluntary.

They are attracted to move to a different place for more positive reasons.

So really, really well done if you're able to get those two answers correct.

So in front of you is a graph showing you the share of people living in urban, towns and cities, and rural areas, countryside areas in China.

So if we follow the line showing us the urban areas, we can see how it's changed over time.

Between 1960 and 2023, the percentage of people living in urban areas has increased dramatically.

Down at, what, 15% in 1960, and now all the way above 60% of China's total population now living in urban areas.

Contrast that to rural areas, and we can see that between 1960 and 2023, the percentage of people living in rural areas has dropped dramatically.

Again, back in 1960, the total population living in rural areas was up at 85%.

Compare that to today, and it is down at 35%.

So there has been a huge switch in terms of where people are living in China today.

Now, as a result of this continued rural to urban migration, there are many large, still fast-growing cities in China, and this map does a great job in showing the location of those, because the largest cities are in the centre and east of the country, and they include Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan.

Time now for a learning check, and it says, Sam and Izzy are having a discussion, and you need to decide who is correct.

Now Sam, she says that most people in China live in the countryside.

Izzy, she says that more people in China live in towns and cities than in rural areas.

So what I need you to do right now then is pause the video whilst you consider and then select who you think is correct.

And the correct answer was Izzy, yes.

More people now live in China in those towns and cities than in rural areas, those countryside areas.

In fact, more than 64% of people in China now live in urban areas, and this proportion continues to increase.

So really, really well done if you're able to get that answer correct.

Now, in geography, when we try to consider the reasons which may motivate someone to migrate, we tend to categorise them into push factors and pull factors.

Let's start with the push factors first.

These are typically negative reasons.

So for example, a lack of jobs and low wages may force someone to move area.

Also perhaps, lower quality of services, for example, water, electricity, and sanitation.

Perhaps there are environmental problems or environmental disasters, like floods or drought, which could destroy crops, and thereby lead to starvation.

And finally, perhaps limited educational opportunities.

Perhaps there's limited schooling in that area.

So as I said, these are all negative reasons which may force someone out of living in an area, and if we cast our mind back to where we know people are moving from and to in China, we know that people are moving from rural areas to urban areas, so perhaps in some rural areas in China, they may experience one or more of the reasons that you can see on the screen in front of you.

Perhaps there aren't enough job opportunities, perhaps there aren't enough schooling opportunities, and perhaps there aren't enough service provision as well.

In terms of pull factors, then, these are more positive.

So now we're thinking about more job opportunities in urban areas, for example.

Perhaps there are higher-paying jobs there as well.

Perhaps they can join family and friends that have already made that migration previously.

Better housing and living conditions, where there are more services being provided.

For example, water, electricity, and sanitation.

And finally, better education and healthcare.

So as I said, these are all pull factors.

They are attractive reasons, they are positive reasons, which would attract people to living in an area.

And I have one final question for you, which is, can you think of any other reasons, perhaps push factors or pull factors? You may like to pause the video here whilst you consider your own answer to that question, or discuss it with someone near you.

So many people in rural areas in China really do depend on agriculture or farming to make a living.

And many agricultural workers are then moving to urban areas.

This is because of increased salary that they can find in urban areas, but also because of the increased use of technology through agriculture, which is making those people, those farm workers, more and more redundant.

There is less need for manual workers on farms with the increase in technology.

Furthermore, heat waves and extreme rainfall are happening more and more frequently, perhaps due to climate change.

And this is making it much more difficult to grow crops.

Therefore, their way of life, their lifestyle, their occupation in those rural areas, is ceasing to exist, and therefore they're being forced, or through those push factors, to move from rural areas to those urban areas.

So pull factors that make people move to cities in China really do include better job prospects, higher incomes, perhaps friends and family who are already living there and perhaps already made that migration can really help with providing support in the beginning, especially, in finding jobs and places to live.

Higher quality of education and healthcare can be found in urban areas.

And finally, better quality of services, and better provision of those services such as water, electricity, and sanitation.

In the 1970s, China's economy started to grow rapidly.

China's economy has changed massively from one which is based on agriculture, so farming, and one which now depends much more on manufacturing and industry.

In fact, many of the items of clothing and electronic products that we use and buy here are typically made in China.

Cities in China then have become much more industrial.

They've become industrial centres, and lots of new jobs have been created there.

And as a result, many people have moved from those struggling countryside, those struggling rural areas, to these booming urban areas in search of better employment opportunities and higher wages.

So if we focus on Shanghai for just one second, Shanghai is one of China's largest cities, and it has grown rapidly.

Why? Well, because it is China's leading industrial manufacturing centre.

It is an important source of a wide range of goods and services, both locally, nationally, and globally.

There are opportunities for more and better jobs with higher incomes, and this really does attract people, from the local, regional, or even national and global level, as they look and come to Shanghai for new job opportunities.

And yes, many, many people do move to Shanghai from other parts of China, other regions and provinces of China, but also more globally as well as they look to try and find work in some of these industries and manufacturing centres.

Friends and family who are already living in the city can actually help provide support in terms of finding jobs and actual places to live.

It's a really important asset to have.

There may actually be access in the city to better housing and a higher quality of service, such as water, electricity, and sanitation, than where they're moving from.

For example, some rural areas of China.

So a quick learning check.

It says true or false? Pull factors are reasons people leave a place, such as drought or lack of job opportunities.

What I need you to do then is pause the video whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why this statement is false.

And it's false because pull factors are reasons people move to a place, such as better jobs or services.

Push factors are reasons people leave a place.

So pull factors tend to be much more positive in their outlook.

Governmental policy can really influence migration.

For example, in the 1950s, the Chinese government established what's known as a "hukou" system to control rural to urban migration.

This system tracks where everyone lives in China by putting people into groups according to their place of residence.

This system affects where people live and work in China.

In China, there are two main types of hukous, urban and rural.

If someone has an urban hukou, they can make use of more services, such as healthcare, education, et cetera.

But if someone has a rural hukou, it can be much more difficult for them to access those types of services.

Therefore, it can be easier or harder for people in China to live and work in different places depending on which hukou they actually are designated with.

Now, this strict hukou system really has affected rural to urban migration in China.

For example, in the 1950s, Chinese government set up this hukou system to actually limit rural to urban migration so that it wasn't too rapid.

Then, in 1978, the government started to make changes to the hukou system, to encourage people to move from rural areas to cities.

Rural to urban migration increased as a result, and this helped China's economy to bloom.

Finally, more changes have been made in recent years, particularly with regard to smaller cities, to make it easier for people from rural areas to access services in those cities and get urban hukou.

So a quick learning check based on that hukou information.

It says, "The hukou system in China puts people into groups according to their?" Now you have four options right here, so what I want you to do is read through the four statements and decide which you think is correct.

Best of luck.

And the correct answer was C, place of residence.

Yes.

Remember, there are two different types of hukous, rural and urban, and it's based on a person's place of residence.

So really, really well done if you got that answer correct.

We're on now to our one and only practise question for the first learning cycle, and it is all about push and pull factors.

It says, "Sort the statements below into push and pull factors.

Write 'push' or 'pull' in the second column of the table." So we have one, two, three, four here.

And then on the following slide, we have a further four, and it's the exact same task.

You need to read through the statement and decide whether it is a pull or push factor.

So pause the video here whilst you attempt this practise question.

Best of luck.

And the correct answers were, so climate change causing extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts, causing it to happen more often in China.

These can damage or destroy crops.

This is a push factor.

The fact that friends and family can already be living in the city and help support finding jobs and places to live.

This is a pull factor.

Higher quality of education and healthcare in cities like Shanghai, well this is positive, it's a pull factor.

A lower quality of services, such as water, electricity, and sanitation in some rural areas in China is a push factor.

The second set of factors says, increased use of machinery means fewer manual workers are actually needed on farms, and therefore fewer job opportunities.

This is a push factor.

Higher quality of services, such as water, electricity, and sanitation in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, is a pull factor.

Improved job prospects and higher incomes working in urban areas such as Shanghai in many different industries is a pull factor.

And finally, lower quality of education and healthcare in rural areas is a push factor.

So really, really well done if you're able to get those answers correct.

We're on now to our second and final learning cycle, and this is all about the impacts of rural to urban migration.

So rural to urban migration has many benefits and challenges for both the rural and urban areas.

And these include the following.

In terms of the rural, then, these migrants that move to urban areas may be able to send home money to help their families.

In terms of the negative though, there are fewer people to actually work on the farms. So the rural economy is going to decline at the expense of the urban economy.

Let's have a look then at the urban positive.

And indeed, more people working in those cities in terms of those factories, for example, is going to grow that city's economy.

In terms of the negative, though, more people living in an urban area can lead to more pressure on housing and services such as healthcare and education.

Now I have a question for you, and it says, what do you think other impacts might be? You may like to pause the video here whilst you debate your own answer to that question or perhaps even discuss it with someone near you.

So what did you get? Well, let's have a look at the impacts in terms of the benefits and the challenges of rural to urban migration.

So in terms of benefits, then, it certainly allows more people to work in the city, and this helps grow that economy.

So people working in jobs, they're paying taxes, they're also paying into local businesses, they're purchasing goods.

All of this goes some way to growing that city economy.

Furthermore, people moving to the city can share their knowledge and skills with others.

It also increases cultural diversity of the population, with many, many different people from different backgrounds, from different provinces and regions, both locally, regionally, and globally, really does help improve that cultural diversity.

In terms of the challenges, with such a rapid increase in population, it's undoubtedly going to lead to overcrowding.

Now this will then spill over into leading to housing shortages, and also putting pressure on services such as education, healthcare, and transport.

Finally, it may even cause some sort of tension between those older residents and those newer residents moving in.

So there are both benefits and challenges to this rural to urban migration.

Now, as we looked at before, the population of Shanghai has increased rapidly.

For example, in the year 2000, Shanghai's population was at 14 million, already a very large city.

Yet by 2024, Shanghai's population has more than doubled to 30 million.

Many of the people living in Shanghai are migrants.

This has helped to grow the city's economy, and has meant it has become much more culturally diverse as well.

Shanghai is also one of the wealthiest cities in China, so we can see how a growing population goes hand in hand with a growing economy, also.

So this rapid increase in Shanghai's population, remember, its population more than doubled in 24 years, has presented some significant challenges.

And these have included things such as lack of affordable housing for the people living inside that urban area, but also traffic congestion.

Now, traffic congestion is going to lead to more pollution, which is going to lead to worse air quality, and that will also cause breathing problems as well for its people.

It will also cause or contribute to climate change as well.

So in terms of the impacts of rural to urban migration on rural areas in China, these include, let's start with the benefits.

So families will have fewer people to feed, meaning that there is more food available for those people that remain.

More land and resources to share out among the remaining people.

And finally, migrants might send money home to help their families and communities.

So perhaps somebody from the village or from the community may move to Shanghai or another urban area, get a job in a factory, or, which is much, much better paying than their previous job in perhaps the agricultural economy in the countryside.

And therefore they'll be able to send money home to their home community, and thereby support their families and friends as a result.

In terms of challenges, then, there will be fewer young people, especially fewer young males.

Young people, those people of working age, are typically those which make the risky move in terms of migration from one place to another.

So with more young people leaving the rural areas to go to urban areas, well this is gonna leave less young males back at home.

With fewer people remaining, there will be less people to work perhaps in the agricultural economy from which they've come from.

Also, in terms of the final challenge, families and communities are increasingly split up, with some living in rural areas, and some living in urban areas, particularly that young generation moving away from the family to go and find job opportunities in urban areas, and leaving their elders behind.

So a quick learning check says, which of the following are positive impacts of rural to urban migration on urban areas in China? You need to select two answers here.

So pause the video whilst you read through the four options and then select your two answers.

And the two correct answers were, A, it grows the economy, and C, people are able to share knowledge and skills.

So really, really well done if you were able to select A and C.

Our next learning check says, which of the following are negative impacts of rural to urban migration on rural areas in China? Once again, you need to select two answers.

So once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you read through those four options and select your two answers.

And in terms of negatives, then, we needed to identify families and communities are split up, and C, fewer people are available to work in rural areas.

Once again, really well done if you were able to get those two answers correct.

We're on now to our final practise question of the final learning cycle, and it says, "Complete the table by adding examples of challenges and benefits of rural to urban migration in China.

Try to include at least two impacts in each box of the table." So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video whilst you attempt this practise question.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback, then, we're gonna start with rural areas, looking at benefits and challenges of that rural to urban migration.

Now, you may have included some of these impacts in your own table.

So families have fewer people to feed, more land resources to share out among the remaining people.

Migrants might send money home to help their families and communities.

In terms of challenges, fewer young people.

Many rural to urban migrants are young people, particularly young males seeking work.

Fewer remaining people available to work.

And finally, families and communities are split up.

For the urban areas, then, this is what you may have included.

In terms of benefits, more people working in the city helps the economy to grow.

People moving to the city can share their knowledge and skills with others.

And finally, it increases cultural diversity of the population.

In terms of challenges, then, it leads to overcrowding, housing shortages, it leads to pressure on services such as education and healthcare.

And finally, it may also lead to tensions between the old and the new arriving residents.

So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our learning summary, and this is what you need to know from today's lesson.

Each year, millions of people move from rural areas to cities in China.

More than 64% of people in China now live in urban areas, and this proportion is increasing rapidly.

There are different reasons why people migrate from rural to urban areas, and the migration of people from rural to urban areas has both benefits and challenges.

So really, really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you.

And I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.