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China's rapid development is transforming the world's second-largest economy from an agricultural country, into an urban society.
China's urban population now outnumbers its rural for the first time - a major change, in the country's social structure.
But China still has a long way to go to become truly city-based, with many side-effects from the rapid urbanization.
Sparking calls for China to improve its the quality of its urbanization, so more people can have a better life.
Today and tomorrow, our special report Growing Pains: China's Urbanization will take you closer to some ordinary people affected by the process of urbanization.
PKG
Yang Fulin was once a farmer in Zhejiang province.
He left his nearly 40-year-old farming career and lives the life he dreamed of: in the city.
SOUNDBITE(CHINESE)YANG FULIN, Gaoqiao Community resident
"When I was a child, my family went to city to buy fertilizer and I always saw city people sitting under trees with fans in their hands. I admired them so much. But now I also could live in that way."
Yang's dream was fulfilled thanks to Jiaxing city 's urbanization project that merged Yang's village, Gaojiaqiao, with seven other neighboring villages into the Gaoqiao Community in 2003.
Before that, Yang and his family earned their living on their farmland and silkworm breeding... As well as in temporary jobs, outside the village.
But even then, Yang's family barely earned enough to get by: their yearly income was only about 3,200 dollars.
After being merged into Gaoqiao Community, Yang's family got government compensation and subsidies, along with three new apartment houses - each about 100 square meters big.
SOUNDBITE(CHINESE)YANG FULIN, Gaoqiao Community resident
"Our income is getting higher and the total pensions of my wife and mine are 3,000 yuan. We don't have to struggle for a living any more."
With more spare time, Yang's spending more time on his reading - subscribing to five different newspapers..
And his diet is now more on balanced.
Like Yang, 10 percent of Jiaxing farmers have moved into the community and become city residents in just three years due to urbanization.
And for the first time, they're working nine to five.
SOUNDBITE(CHINESE) XIAO DAZHONG, Doumen Community resident
"When I earned a living on silkworm breeding, I had to get up very early to pick mulberry leaves for the silkworms and stay up late to feed them. Now I have regular work hours. I work in factory and every day when I return home from work, my parents have already cooked dinner for me."
As a traditional agricultural country, China has seen a sweeping migrant population from rural areas to cities - the biggest movement of people, in human history.
The rapid urbanization has not only changed people in rural areas to city dwellers, but also their way of life, boosting economic growth and raising living standards.
And urbanization is expected to become a major engine for China's future development: the country's economic growth can no longer lean on demand from an increasingly weak world economy...
Replacing exports, with domestic consumption and development:
SOUNDBITE(CHINESE) ZHOU YAN, Rural work office of Jiaxing
"Urbanization has become an inevitable trend of China's social and economic development. Every year China's GDP growth is almost 10% and its economy is developing fast, so urbanization is inevitable."
But the new wave of cities face many problems. In particular, rural residents face barriers to employment, social security and housing...
As a result, many migrants feel disconnected from society
And battle bias and discrimination at every turn.
In July, a male passenger who looked like a white-collar worker in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, asked two migrant workers to get off a bus, because they smelled of sweat.
The two manual laborers, soaked in sweat, accidentally touched the man's arm on the crowed bus. The passenger started swearing at the two migrants in the local dialect for making his shirt dirty.
He shouted at the workers loudly and demanded the driver force the workers off the bus.
The bus driver and other passengers intervened and the migrant workers stayed.
The passenger's move sparked widespread public criticism for being rude and disrespectful to migrant workers.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE): MR SHI, Local resident
"They make a living by doing manual work. You can't drive them off the bus."
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China has more than 250 million migrant workers, who left their hometowns in rural areas to build the country's roads, bridges, schools and airports...
But many still face inequality.
According to report from China's top population authority, more than 30% of the country's migrant workers are employed without any contract protecting their rights.
Working on average 54.6 hours a week - almost 15 hours more than the 40-hour legal limit.
And less than 30 percent of migrant workers joined the social insurance systems at their work locations - a mandatory obligation.
Many also leave their children behind in villages, where living costs are lower .
But this has led to another problem - a rising number of left-behind children.
China now has 58 million left-behind children.
Meaning more than 40 percent of schoolchildren in China, don't see their parents when they go home - separations that sometimes last for years.
These unattended children are usually in the custody of a single parent, grandparents, a distant relative or even a neighbor.
In some villages, children taking care of each other is also common.
Like Long Zhanghuan - a 9-year-old girl living in the mountainous county of Fenghuang in central China's Hunan Province.
She was brought into the spotlight when photos of the little girl sitting in class with her baby cousin in arms caused an outpouring of concern.
Long now lives with her grandparents after her father divorced her mother and left to work faraway.
She is the oldest among the eight children in the family - a family of only grandparents and grandchildren.
As a result, she shares the responsibility of taking care of them.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) LONG TITING, Long Zhanghuan's grandfather
"We have to take care of eight grandchildren. The older ones are able to take care of themselves now, but there are still four younger ones who need care. We can barely do anything for them. Usually I just cook for them and their grandmother washes their clothes."
To help with her grandparents, Long Zhanghuang has to carry her cousin while sitting in class.
Without care from parents, the kids can barely have a decent meal.
Lunch at school, is their main meal of the day.
Boys are responsible for carrying rice to the classroom, where other kids have already been waiting eagerly.
A bowl of rice and a box of chili or pickle are usually all they have.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) LONG ZHANGHUAN, Left-behind child
"(How long is the box of pickle for?) A week. (The same dish in a week?) Yes."
Although the school provides meals at a cost of one yuan, or 15 U.S. cents, the children would rather save the money for other family uses.
The children eat far from enough everyday, but what weighs most on their minds is not getting a decent meal, but love from their parents far away.
Wu Xiaohui, a writing teacher in the village recites some of the essays written by his students.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) WU XIAOHUI, Teacher
"A boy writes in his essay that he hates spring, though it is a beautiful season. He says his parents only come back in winter and will leave home in the spring. I felt very sad when I read it."
Working in this remote village for 11 years, Wu Yansheng, the school headmaster, is very familiar with their agony.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) WU YANSHENG, School headmaster
"Some of the children are withdrawn or extreme. We worry that their parent's absence will affect their personalities."
Wu says while the children appear strong and carefree, they are fragile.
He says the school is planning to work with the local government to set up a fund for all the left-behind children in the county.
But experts suggest the effective remedy to the plight is not more money, but keeping the parents and children together.
They call for more jobs in the countryside to keep parents at home, or ensure migrant children's equal access to public services in cities.
