Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2026
Abstract
Drawing on a systematic review of both international and Chinese-language scholarship on counter-urbanization in China, this article proposes a comprehensive typology of counter-urbanization migrations—consisting of eight types of new migrants—based on the diverse motivations driving such migration. We build a bilingual corpus of 273 research papers published between the 1970s and 2025. Integrating bibliometric mapping and qualitative synthesis, we conduct a systematic review to trace the temporal evolution and thematic diversification of counter-urbanization research. The review reveals persistent conceptual ambiguity surrounding counter-urbanization in the Chinese context, which this study addresses by conceptually distinguishing counter-urbanization from suburban expansion, population decentralization, and return migration. Empirically, counter-urbanization in China is shown to involve heterogeneous demographic groups and multiple drivers. Our synthesis identifies a fundamental analytical divide between consumption-oriented and production-oriented engagements with rural space. Counter-urbanization in China therefore cannot be understood as a singular demographic reversal. Finally, contrary to the common view, it reveals that state intervention in China functions primarily as an enabling infrastructure rather than a direct driver of migration. Overall, this review advances a more nuanced theoretical framework for understanding urban-to-rural mobility in China and contributes to broader comparative debates on counter-urbanization beyond Western contexts.
Keywords
counter-urbanization; rural revitalization; migration; urban–rural relation; China
Discipline
Asian Studies | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Regional Sociology | Urban Studies
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Sustainability
Volume
18
Issue
3
First Page
1
Last Page
30
ISSN
2071-1050
Identifier
10.3390/su18031564
Publisher
MDPI
Citation
YANG, Chengxue, & ZHANG, Qian Forrest.(2026). Counter-urbanization in China: A systematic review toward a comprehensive typology. Sustainability, 18(3), 1-30.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4332
Copyright Owner and License
Authors-CC-BY
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031564
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Urban Studies Commons