Social characteristics of migrants in suburban Beijing, China

Since Chinese economic reforms began to take effect in the 1990s, Beijing's metropolitan region has experienced a rapid expansion as migrants have flowed in from rural areas. However, large-scale suburban development means that migrants' living patterns have changed remarkably in recent years. This study presents the social-economic characteristics of the migrants who live in the Beijing suburban area. A questionnaire survey was carried out for migrant households in Changping and Yizhuang, home to Beijing technological business district and Beijing economic-technological development area, respectively. These two areas have attracted many foreign companies due to their good location and infrastructure, and provide significant employment opportunities to migrants. However, it appears many migrants in these areas are still on low incomes, meaning they are unable to buy or rent their own properties and need to share rooms instead. Compared to the migrants of the 1990s, more recent arrivals tend to have higher educational backgrounds and more technical training. As such they generally secure better jobs and aspire to purchasing newly built properties.