201
for 60% of the total population and it is. the first time that the figure has exceeded
60%. Obviously. the past four decades have seen a sharp increase of 40% in the share of
urban population in china.
There is no denying that since the reform and opening up, remarkable achievements have
been made in china's urbanization. To begin with, the rapid urbanization has provided
impetus for economic development, as it not only brings a sharp increase in demand for
consumption and investment, but also generates a growing need for urbanization has
created more job opportunities for ordinary people, especially for those migrant workers
who move to urban areas, which has effectively improved people's living standards as a
whole. Third, in the process of urbanization, the uneven distribution of educational
resources has also been alleviated to some extent.
Even so, it is also worth mentioning that as more people enjoyed the prosperity of modern
cities, we cannot ignore the mounting challenges urbanization has posed for national
resources, environment, job market, public service,