Villages (), formally village-level divisions () in China, serve as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area). In 2000, China's densely populated villages (>100 persons/square km) had a population greater than 500 million and covered more than 2 million square kilometers, or more than 20% of China's total area. By 2020, all incorporated villages (with proper conditions making it possible) had road access, the last village to be connected being a remote village in Sichuan province's Butuo County.
Types of villages
Urban Residential community () Residents' committee () Residential groups ( Note Urban village () one that spontaneously and naturally exists within urban area, which is not an administrative division.
Rural
Administrative village or Village () Hamlet or Band () Gacha () only for Inner Mongolia. Ranch () only for Qinghai. Ethnic village () only for village populated by Ethnic minority. Village committees () Villager groups ()
Natural village Natural villages () are residential communities as a social concept, which are often described as a village. They do not have formally defined boundaries, although during the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China era, rules defined who was a resident of a particular natural village. They are often named as cun (村), tun (屯), ying (营), zhaizi (寨子), zhuang (庄), wanzi (湾子), or bang (浜), depending on the region. An estimated 2 million of these villages exist in China, with their number decreasing rapidly at a rate of over 100 a day due to urbanisation and consolidation.
Lists of village-level divisions
Villages () List of villages in China
Provinces List of village-level divisions of Anhui List of village-level divisions of Fujian List of village-level divisions of Gansu List of village-level divisions of Guangdong List of village-level divisions of Guizhou List of village-level divisions of Hainan List of village-level divisions of Hebei List of village-level divisions of Heilongjiang List of village-level divisions of Henan List of village-level divisions of Hubei List of village-level divisions of Hunan List of village-level divisions of Jiangsu List of village-level divisions of Jiangxi List of village-level divisions of Jilin List of village-level divisions of Liaoning List of village-level divisions of Qinghai List of village-level divisions of Shaanxi List of village-level divisions of Shandong List of village-level divisions of Shanxi List of village-level divisions of Sichuan List of village-level divisions of Yunnan List of village-level divisions of Zhejiang Autonomous areas List of village-level divisions of Guangxi List of village-level divisions of Inner Mongolia List of village-level divisions of Ningxia List of village-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region List of village-level divisions of Xinjiang Municipalities List of village-level divisions of Beijing List of village-level divisions of Chongqing List of village-level divisions of Shanghai List of village-level divisions of Tianjin
See also Ethnic villages of China Organic Law of Village Committees Urban-type settlement, a similar concept used in the Soviet Union and present day Russia
References
Bibliography
External links Chinese Village Government Information Network Two Chinese Villages, Two Views of Rural Poverty Long-term changes in China's village landscapes are changing the world