China's urbanization in the post-1978 reform era is marked by dramatic urban-rural space reconfiguration and population redistribution. These two features have not only posed challenges but also created opportunities for the country's social governance. Given that communities connect individuals with the society and the state, this report zeros in on social governance innovation at the community level.

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The main body of the report is divided into four parts under the headings of North China, East China, South China, and Central and West China. Such a division is informed mainly by each region's distinctive characteristics of community governance innovation. The report ends with some brief concluding remarks.

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1. North China

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Beijing is selected to showcase two distinguishing features of community governance innovation in North China. One is that of integrating established residents and new residents of "danweidayuan", and the other leveraging the third-party social resources.

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1.1 Integrating established residents and new residents of "danweidayuan"

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To better understand this feature, it is worth outlining the historical development of "danweidayuan" in Beijing. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, institutions of the Communist Party of China and those of the Central Government acquired land in the capital city of Beijing. Each of these institutions gradually developed its land into a "danweidayuan" where its employees could work and live at the same place. Noteworthy is that "danweidayuan" gradually became a gated community. This is not only in the sense that people from outside did not have free access to it, but also in the sense that it became increasingly unnecessary for its residents to interact with people outside as more and more community services could be enjoyed within their "danweidayuan". As could be expected, residents of each "danweidayuan" developed strong sense of belonging to and identifying with their gated community. Nonetheless, "danweidayuan" became less livable when their established facilities and services grew less competitive than those newly developed outside their boundaries. Furthermore, "danweidayuan" had in effect disrupted continuity in urban space, thus being unable to meet the two requests for urban governance in the new era, namely the equalization of public services and the establishment of a social governance model that is based on collaboration, participation and common interests.

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In the historical context as outlined above, the redevelopment of many old residential communities in Beijing has a dual focus on bridging the gap between established residents and new residents of "danweidayuan" and encouraging all residents to participate in governing their communities. Tiancun Street Compound 40 in Haidian District, formerly known as the "danweidayuan" of Beijing Research and Design Institute of Rubber Industry, serves as an illustrative case in this regard. The compound had experienced moving out of its young established residents and moving in of migrant workers. Its redevelopment did not focus on large-scale construction, but on transforming its worn bicycle shed into a culture courtyard (i.e., a public space for all residents to enjoy and participate in cultural activities). The courtyard drove the formation of eight culture-themed groups such as choral group, dance group, and knitting group. Activities associated with these groups have, in turn, promoted community cohesion and community engagement.

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1.2 Leveraging the third-party social resources

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Many communities in Beijing have leveraged the third-party organizations for their social governance innovations. These organizations are either universities or social organizations located in China's capital city.

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One case is Fengtai District's Lugouqiao Town that consists of 20 villages. Thanks to being located in Beijing’s urban-rural periphery, many of these villages boast collective property that exceeds 10 billion RMB. Nonetheless, a challenge facing the township government pertains to its grassroots cadres' lack of capacity to address issues that emerge from new trends. This challenge appears more pressing given the fact that most of the top leadership (i.e., secretary of village party branch committee and chairman of villagers' committee) of the twenty villages have not received education above the level of associate degree, not to mention that none of their degrees are directly relate to rural development or community governance. In September 2016, the town collaborated with School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China in establishing a teaching and research base. Work group at the base has designed a long-term training program for the cadres, which has proved to be effective in developing grassroots cadres' competencies regarding rural development and social governance. 

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Another case is Lengquan Village of Xibeiwang Town of Haidian District. The population of its villagers is around 2,000. However, the population of its non-permanent residents is about 20,000, many of whom are school-age children of migrant workers. These migrant children lack the company of families and friends and often find it hard to incorporate into their new urban environments, thus always at risk of returning to their own villages and becoming left-behind children. Although Lengquan Village by itself is unable to provide various types of high-quality public services for these children, it seeks support from social organizations in this regard. The village has collaborated with China Youth Development Foundation in establishing a public benefit project named "Hope Community" which has been well participated by university students, working professionals, and celebrities as long-time volunteers. "Hope Community" has served more than 320 families of migrant workers, functioning as a space where migrant children may find and enjoy a warm reception from their new place of residence.    

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2. South China

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Pearl River Delta Region is selected to showcase two distinct characteristics of community governance innovation in South China. One is that of positive interactions between rapid urbanization and a strong kinship culture, and the other effective participation of multiple subjects.

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2.1 Positive interactions between rapid urbanization and a strong kinship culture

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Pearl River Delta Region is steeped in kinship culture which is marked by strong group identification based on blood relations. Community governance innovation in this region tends to derive from positive interactions between traditional kinship culture and modern urbanization.

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Lijiao Village, one of the largest urbanizing villages in Haizhu Distrctict of Guangzhou, provides an illustrative case. In the process of its redevelopment, Lijiao Village Wei's Kinship Association worked with Hong Kong Wei's Kinship Association to facilitate villagers' communication and negotiation with two other stakeholders (i.e., local government and the developer). It deserves mentioning that Hong Kong Wei's Kinship Association is a non-profit organization established by ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao, and overseas to maintain a worldwide network of those whose family name is Wei. It also deserves mentioning that close collaboration between the two Wei's kinship associations can be dated back as early as 1982. Drawing on its more advanced understanding of residential quality and environmental development, Hong Kong Wei's Kinship Association offered many constructive recommendations for redevelopment of Lijiao Village. Leveraging villagers' trust, the association not only clarified villagers' common interests by integrating their individual opinions, but more importantly, increased villagers' negotiation power. This in turn enabled the association to deliver the collective opinion of villagers to local government and the developer clearly and accurately. In this case, Hong Kong Wei's Association greatly streamlined the communication among and across key stakeholders, and finally contributed to the efficient and effective redevelopment of Lijiao Village.  

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2.2 Effective participation of multiple subjects

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To better understand this characteristic, it deserves mentioning that the population of Guangdong Province has increased by over 40 million since the late 1970s. This population growth has been contributed vastly by those moving into the province's Pearl River Delta Region for work opportunities and business opportunities. Consequently, how to incorporate such a large migrant population into existing governance system has become a pressing challenge. Two problems stand out, particularly in those communities where the majority of residents are from migrant population. One problem pertains to the gap between established residents and new residents, and the other relates to exclusion of new residents from the processes of making decisions on their community affairs.    

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The above-mentioned challenge has been well addressed by effective participation of multiple subjects in community governance. This is particularly the case among urbanizing villages in Pearl River Delta Region. Sanyuanlijiedao, a subdistrict of Guangzhou City, serves as a good example. There are 103,000 residents in the subdistrict whereas 56,000 are from migrant population. It is clear that the majority of its residents are not established ones. Now each of the thirteen communities in Sanyuanlijiedao has included the migrant people in the process of addressing affairs of the communities where they reside now. This inclusion is achieved by the establishment of "Yishihui" (or "Deliberation Hall" in English). Among the thirteen members of a specific "Yishihui", it is required that six are from established residents, six from new residents, and one from subdistrict office. A decision is reached when two thirds of the thirteen members vote for a motion, and the decision is then implemented by neighborhood committee.      

 

3. East China

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Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province are selected to illustrate two distinct features of community governance innovation in East China. One is that of leveraging industry development, and the other leveraging cultural heritage.

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3.1 Leveraging industry development

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To better understand this feature, it is worth depicting briefly the development trajectory of Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province since the late 1970s. That is, cities and villages of both provinces have been well integrated into the industry chain of Yangtze River Delta Region with Shanghai City as its core. Major cities in the two provinces have become centers of finance, design, and research and development. Their small and medium-sized cities have become manufacturing centers. Their towns and villages have become sites of production of parts and components. Due to this highly developed real economy at Yangtze River Delta Region, sufficient employment opportunities for local residents can be found within their provinces. In some areas, this is even the case within the boundaries of towns and/or villages.

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The development trajectory as described above has contributed to two interrelated demographic trends in Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province. First, the vast majority of established residents tend to stay at Yangtze River Delta Region. Second, neither province has experienced a massive influx of migrant workers from regions outside Yangtze River Delta Region. Since existing social governance systems of the two provinces do not face a pressing challenge associated with migrant workers, they tend to focus on industry development.

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Hesilu Village of Yiwu City in Zhejiang Province serves as a good example in this regard. Leveraging its proximity to Yiwu downtown, the village first focused on developing itself into Yiwu's Provence. Lavender was introduced from Europe and Xinjiang Province, and now "Lavender Tours" have become the village's branding tourism project. High value-added lavender products such as sachets and soaps have also become new growth areas. Then, the village expanded its cultural tourism projects to its ancient village buildings. A well-known landscape and architecture design company was recruited to preserve, plan, and develop these buildings. The addition of "Ancient Village Tours" has further increased the competitiveness of Hesilu's cultural tourism industry. The village also developed rice wine industry, tapping into its traditional wine making process. Now it is running a public relations campaign for this more recently developed industry through various media such as workshops, displays, and festivals. In the long-term, the village aims at holistic development by integrating its landscape, culture, agriculture, and tourism projects.

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3.2 Leveraging cultural heritage

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Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province have preserved the cultural heritage of "Litubulixiang, Litubulizhen" – meaning people's inseparability from their hometowns. This heritage, in turn, have enabled "Xiangxian" (i.e., talented villagers with virtue) to be highly respected and trusted by their fellow villagers. Therefore, community governance innovation in the two provinces tends to leverage Xiangxian. An illustrative case in this regard is that of Chengxiang Town of Taicang County in Jiangsu Province. Each of the eight villages of the town has established its "Hall of Xiangxian" with members selecting from well-respected grassroots cadres, villagers with talent for economic development and cultural development, retired leaders and workers, and moral exemplars. These halls have become a governance mechanism through which 'xiangxian' guide villagers to participate in making decisions about local affairs, expressing opinions about residential development, and managing conflicts within local communities. 'Xiangxian' have played three particular roles in the governance of their hometowns. The first is that of facilitator in rural economic development. Many 'xiangxian' have resources with respect to capital, technology, information, market, and network, all of which can be used to develop the economy of their hometowns. The second role is that of practitioner of rule of virtue in rural community. Certain conflicts in villages cannot be resolved by rule of law alone. Instead, they also require rule of virtue that is often embodied by 'xiangxian'. The third role is that of mediator between villagers and local government in rural governance. For one thing, 'xiangxian' are relatively independent from local state. For another, they tend to be perceived as trustworthy by villagers. Thus, 'xiangxian' can help to improve rural governance by building mutual trust between villagers and local government in the long term.

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4. Central and West China

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The context of Central and West China in relation to social governance is significantly different from that of each of the previous three regions. This region lacks sufficient funding for community redevelopment largely due to its slower economic growth. It also faces an ongoing out-migration of adults aged between 25 and 40. In this context, community governance innovation in Central and West China demonstrates two distinct features. One is that of leveraging development opportunities, and the other optimizing the use of existing resources.

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4.1 Leveraging development opportunities

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Huayuan Community of Changling Town of Zhenba County of Hanzhong City in Shaanxi Province serves as an illustrative case in this regard. There are 493 households in the community, out of which 126 are below the poverty line. Besides, the majority of its young workforce are migrant workers. For decades, villagers of Huayuan Community have not been able to develop a plausible approach to its economic development. A turning point came when a work group of Shaanxi Province Agricultural Product Quality Safety Center visited the community in 2017. The work group found out that three industries (i.e., tea tree industry, cage-free chicken industry, and rice industry) can be developed there thanks to its unique geographical location and climate. The work group then organized study tours for village leadership and villager representatives to learn about village revitalization successes in other parts of China (e.g., Beijing, Zhejiang Province, and Fujian Province). Now Huayuan Community has lifted itself out of poverty. In this poverty alleviation process, its villagers have become increasingly identified with their community. More importantly, they have developed their governance competencies.

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4.2 Optimizing the use of existing resources

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A good example in this regard is that of Xinweilu Community of Weigongluxiduan Subdistrict of Weibin District of Baoji City in Shaanxi Province. There are 25 compounds with a total of 60 buildings in the community, and most of these compounds are old residential communities with deteriorating facilities. In response to residents' urge to redevelop their compounds, Weigongluxiduan Subdistrict Office incorporated a social organization (i.e., Shaanxi Puhui Youth Social Development Center) into community governance. In so doing, it established the province's first alliance between communities and social organizations. This community governance innovation has achieved many positive results of community redevelopment at a relatively low cost (e.g., repaired compound entrances, newly painted compound walls, and new green space). Noteworthy is the formation of a new public space by the name of "Meeting Hall" in which residents participated in the whole process of community redevelopment from planning to implementation to operation. It is also noteworthy that sustainable self-governance of compound is made possible by the collaboration between compound self-governance team and Party team in creating compound norms and rules regarding issues such as management of fund and adoption of green space.

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5. Concluding remarks

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This report summarizes distinguishing features of community governance innovation in each of the four selected regions (i.e., North China, East China, South China, and Central and West China). Nonetheless, a caveat needs to be given, namely that these regional differences do not suggest each region has its unique governance challenges. Rather, all four regions are facing many similar challenges such as redeveloping old residential communities and incorporating migrant workers into community governance.