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How Demographic Change Transforms China

7

Aging China (1/12)

Chinese soldiers march past an elderly woman in Beijing. By the beginning of next century, China will have more than 130 million elderly people. The shrinking workforce produced by the "one-child" family policy of the 1980s will soon struggle to support an increasing number of retirees born under the "baby boom" policy of Chairman Mao Zedong. (Photo: Reuters)

Only Children (2/12)

A boy looks at the portrait of late Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing. Nearly three decades after China imposed its strict one-child policy, the government now also offers financial incentives in an effort to restrict population growth, rewarding farmers who choose not to have more children than allowed by law. (Photo: Reuters)

Little Emperors and Empresses (3/12)

A young couple sit on a bench near Beijing's Tiananmen Square. China's one-child policy has created a generation of "emperors" and "empresses." Experts say many of this generation are unable to sustain relationships, a result of being spoiled. Today, some 90 million only children live in China, mostly in cities. (Photo: Reuters)

Birth Control (4/12)

A young man blows up a condom as others look on during a contest in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. The event is part of an official campaign to educate people about safe sex and family planning. Chinese officials say, birth control policies prevented up to 400 million extra births since the 1970s, and have helped limit population growth. (Photo: Reuters)

Minorities (5/12)

Muslim clerics wait for the start of the Olympic torch relay in the former Silk Road city of Kashgar, home to ethnic-minority Muslim Uighurs. China recognizes 55 ethnic minorities comprising more than 120 million people. Due to less severe birth control policies, their numbers are growing seven times faster than the ethnic Han majority. (Photo: Reuters)

Rural Majority (6/12)

A farmer leads a donkey as it rolls fields, while a tractor behind them tills the soil on the northern outskirts of Beijing. Traditional methods of farming in China are slowly giving way to more modern and efficient techniques. Despite massive migration to the cities, the majority of the population - around 700 million people - still live in rural areas. (Photo: Reuters)

Modernizing the Countryside (7/12)

A man sleeps in a newly built bus station in a rural part of Jiangxi province. In his annual "state of the nation" report, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao addressed the rift between the urban rich and farming poor as one of China's biggest challenges. Improving life in the rural areas could prevent another massive wave of migration to China's booming industrial centers. (Photo: Reuters)

Booming Middle-Class (8/12)

People play on a beach in Qingdao in east China. More and more Chinese people earn enough money to to take vacations and purchase cars and other consumer goods. Now boasting a growing middle class of between 100 and 150 million people, China has become one of the world's most interesting markets. (Photo: Reuters)

Urbanization (9/12)

An areal photo of a suburb near Harbin in northeastern China. With nearly ten million inhabitants, Harbin is only the tenth biggest city in China, one among over a hundred Chinese cities containing more than a million inhabitants. Harbin's growth has lead to urban sprawl and burgeoning suburbs, a phenomenon that can be witnessed in many large cities in China. (Photo: Reuters)

Obliterating the Past (10/12)

A laborer demolishes an old building at a construction site, which will be part of a new commercial area in Shanghai. Many historic sites in Shanghai and Beijing have had to make way for modern skyscrapers and property development. (Photo: Reuters)

Overuse of Water Resources (11/12)

A dried-up lake can be seen in between drought-effected farming areas near the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin. Drought and depletion of strained groundwater resources is threatening many parts of arid northern China. (Photo: Reuters)

Water Resources II (12/12)

A newly constructed apartment block is reflected in a canal as a man scoops water into a barrel on the outskirts of Beijing. China will have exploited all available water supplies to the limit by 2030, according to a government report. China's surface and underground water supplies are declining under feverish economic growth and a population eclipsing 1.3 billion. With global warming and further population growth, water scarcity is likely to worsen. (Photo: Reuters)

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