Urbanization works on two levels: the development of larger metropolises and that of smaller cities and towns. The rate of Urbanization is a major indicator representing a country's modernization level. China's urbanization rate will reach around 60 percent in 20 years.

　　The Rate of Urbanization is a major indicator representing a country's modernization level. China's urbanization rate will reach around 60 percent in 20 years, taking stock of the country's population and economic growth in two decades in the future.

　　The "World Development Indicators" (WDI) published by World Bank revealed the connection between the rate of urbanization and per capita GDP. China's per capita GDP will reach over US,800 by 2020 based on an annual GDP growth rate of around 7.2 percent and a population growth of 0.8 percent. By then, China's urbanization rate will reach 60 percent.

　　China's current rate now is only about 38 percent, 8 percent lower than the world average, 20 percent less than that of medium-income countries and 40 percent lower than that of high-income countries, pointing to the arduous task of urbanization in China.

　　"A one percent increase in urbanization annually usually adds three percentage points to economic growth," Liu Yong, an expert with the Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy under the State Council's Development Research Center. It seems that there are also“Multiplier Effects”and“Accelerator Effects”between urbanization and economic growth

　　Urbanization will require a large investment in infrastructure, including water supplies, communications and waste handling facilities. Undertaking these projects will stimulate domestic demand and hasten urbanization.

　　Break a new path: Small towns

　　Twelve towns in Beijing and seven provinces were chosen on April 23 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to herald sustainable development in the country.

　　In a joint programme sponsored by the UNDP, the China Center for Town Reform and Development (CCTRD) under the State Council Office for the Restructuring of the Economic System, the State Development Planning Commission and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the towns will serve as test fields for urbanization in the countryside.

　　Urbanization works on two levels - the development of larger metropolises and that of smaller cities and towns.

　　Senior agriculture and rural development researchers suggest local governments should make more efforts to channel surplus rural laborsintossmall towns.

　　This will not only help cut unemployment in villages but also accelerate the process of urbanization.

　　China's urbanization ratio is significantly lower than that of developed countries and many developing nations. However, most people are crowded in big cities. Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin are all cities with the populations over ten million. Among which, Shanghai tops the other Chinese cities with a record 16 million people. Many problems arise from dense population.

　　The government adopted a town-first policy in 1996, encouraging rural residents to movesintostowns instead of big cities. And the country still uses a rigid residence registration and labor-absorbing system that largely bars rural residents from flowingsintosbig cities.

　　Regardless of the restrictions, throngs of farmers are pouringsintoscities as transient laborers, causing increasing economic and social problems and prompting fears that existing urban facilities will crumble if the restrictions are loosened.

　　China has yet to lift restrictions on the immigration of farmerssintosbig cities; for fear that an uncontrolled inflow - driven by heavy employment pressure in rural areas - will pile huge problems on cities. But restrictions sometimes do not take effect.

　　Sustainable urbanization

　　China's urbanization has been rapid over the past 20 years, and it is now time to speed up sustainable urban development. Sustainable urban development has become an urgent issue being given increasing attention by most Chinese cities.

　　China's cities will be modernized on a priority basis. Therefore, the realization of sustainable urban development will lead to the unification of economic, environmental and social benefits all over China.

　　According to domestic experts, in the 21st century, China's cities will be modernized to give citizens economic, social and environmental benefits, which must rely on the sustainable development of a city.

　　On how to realize sustainable development while the number of cities explodes, experts admitted that there exist many constraints, such as pollution, lack of water, limited land, the growth of urban pollution, and the expanding gap between the rich and the poor.

　　Experts suggested that a city is in itself an ecological system, and we must follow ecological rules to realize sustainable urban development. Consequently, we must apply correct city development policies; optimize the urban economic structure, and use land and other resources properly.

　　Statistics show that China now has about 700 cities, three times more than 20 years ago. The one-sided pursuit of economic growth caused environmental damage to a greater or lesser degree in the cities.

　　Therefore, the promotion of a "green" economy and life style will bring great challenges to China's cities, which already face problems of resource shortages, air pollution and ecological deterioration.

　　Beijing, China's capital city, has drawn up an ambitious plan to increase its green land coverage to 45 percent by 2010 with an average green space of 15 square meters per resident.

　　Therefore, the promotion of a "green" economy and life style will bring great challenges to China's cities, which already face problems of resource shortages, air pollution and ecological deterioration.

　　However, experts point out that the title of "Garden City" mainly refers to a city's infrastructure construction and environment enhancement. It cannot be considered a comprehensive indicator of the city's achievements in sustainable development.

　　A "green" city should also place importance on the balance of economic development and cultural enrichment, the experts say.

　　Zhejiang

　　Since China started reform and opening up in the late 1970s, more and more farmers in Zhejiang have given up farm work and started businesses in towns and cities. Their numerous successes have earned the name of "smart businessmen" for all Zhejiang farmers.

　　Today, the booming of village and township enterprises have provided job opportunities for over 10 million farmers in the province, who account for 40 percent of its rural laborers.

　　The provincial government has also stepped up efforts to remove barriers in urbanization. Residence system reform has allowed more freedom for people to migrate. The disparity between the urban and rural worlds has become less distinct.

　　Some 10 million farmers in east China's Zhejiang Province have left behind the life style of their forefathers and started urban life in boomtowns that have prospered in tandem with the rapid development of township enterprises.

　　The boomtowns are just like any other big cities in China, with tall buildings, super markets, green fields, brightly-lit stores, restaurants and entertainment centers.

　　Guangdong

　　According to a plan worked out by the province recently, it will build 300 towns in the next decade, featuring well structured layouts, complete city functions and perfect civil works, beautiful scenery, a developed economy and unique characteristics.

　　By the year 2010, the urbanization standard of the province will be raised from the current 40 percent to 50 percent. The urbanization in Pearl River Delta and in the special economic zones of the province will be even higher, amounting to 70 percent, which will meet the urbanization standard for cities in moderately developed countries

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　　A breach: Villages within cities

　　With the rapid development of urbanization and the extension of urban areas, villages that used to form the transition area between urban and rural areas have been absorbedsintosdowntown areas.

　　In Beijing, suburban areas that used to exist outside its third-ring road now find themselves in the midst of an urban setting as prosperous urban areas have extended beyond Beijing’s fourth- or even fifth-ring roads.

　　　Villages within cities"-- such as the Dazhongsi area of Beijing -- are creating an anomaly in the expanded urban environment with population, scale and economic conditions that differ from their surroundings.

　　The problems of China's "villages within cities" -- those formerly suburban areas that have been swallowed up by urban sprawl -- must be given top priority in China’s urban planning.

　　Land use in these "villages within the city" is extremely mixed-up. Overlapping residential, industrial and commercial use of land, mixed new and old apartments, crowded buildings -- all of these highlight low efficiency in land utilization.

　　Large numbers of non-natives with complicated backgrounds are living in "village" houses. Feudal superstitious activities have been very popular in some villages that are out of tune with the social culture and ethics of a modern city. This exerts great pressure on public safety.