Mapping China: Urbanisation - 1 Rural/Urban Dichotomy: Xiang Jian/Rural Reconstruction

Xiang Jian, or the Rural Reconstruction Movement, used to refer to a historical event in the 1920s that had a significant impact on Chinese villages. In the 21st century, the term ‘Xiang Jian’ has been adopted by a group of activists to describe a new intellectual current and social movement that focuses on the modern development of the countryside.

This effort encourages similar practices that aim at the same goal: to promote economic development and cultural revival in the countryside. These practices are initiated from different levels, including government policies and grassroots organisations.

Huaxi Village is a distinguished case of modern rural reconstruction. Deemed the richest village in China, Huaxi could be considered a village-corporation, or a corporation-village. It’s owned by the Huaxi village community, and runs a broad range of businesses, from agriculture and manufacturing to tourism services. The corporate stock is accessible to any individual villager, making Huaxi Corporation an entity of public-private partnership. The villagers enjoy an average income 13 times higher than that of urban residents in China. But the village is also criticised for its concentration of rights and its hegemonic discourses over the local small businesses.

The Yan Yang Chu Rural Reconstruction Institute uses a different tool. Based on the theory of the famous Yale graduate James Yan, the pioneer who started the 1920s’ Rural Reconstruction Movement, the institute believes that the revitalisation of villages lies with the villagers themselves. With its base in Dicheng Village in the province of Hebei, a geographically central location in China, the institute receives trainees from villages all over the country. Wen Tiejun, a professor from the People’s University of China and founder of the institute, is an icon of contemporary rural research in China, and has a reputation of working with villagers side by side.

Hsieh Ying-Chun is a leading architect who worked on the reconstruction experiment in Dicheng Village with Wen Tiejun. Originally from Taiwan, Hsieh is now known for his extensive practices in the rural areas of Mainland China. He developed a building system that features a prefab structural frame and an envelope to be filled by the villagers’ own creativity. It is an effort to combine modern productivity and native building conventions.

Grameen China is a China-based entity built upon the methodology of the Grameen Bank, which received the Nobel Peace Prize for creating economic and social development through micro-credit and micro-finance for the poor. Grameen China was initiated in 2014 in the rural area of Xuzhou and has since been providing micro-finance to the impoverished women in the surrounding villages.