Experts are warning local governments in east China's Jiangsu Province about
the increasing influx of migrants to its urban areas, making Jiangsu the most
densely populated in the country.
According to a survey recently released by the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of
Statistics (JPBS), the population density in the province has reached 729 people
per square kilometer, 5.3 times the nation's average.
According to He Guangyuan from the JPBS, migration from other regions to the
urban areas of Jiangsu is the major reason for the population increase.
Compared with rural places, urban areas in Jiangsu experienced an expanding
population, as most migrants from other provinces or the countryside of Jiangsu
chose to settle down in the province's cities, China Daily, the country's main
English-language newspaper, reported on Tuesday.
Cities in South Jiangsu, witnessing dramatic economic growth, have attracted
a huge number of migrants and have seen their population increase by 9.74
percent in the 2000-2005 period, He was quoted as saying.
To solve the problem of overcrowding, many densely-populated cities in
Jiangsu have taken various measures.
For instance, Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu, has announced recently
that it will speed up the construction of suburban districts to relocate
factories, institutions and residents.
The latest population census conducted by the local statistics bureau
revealed that the number of residents per square kilometer has reached 282,000
in Nanjing, which makes it one of the most densely populated old cities in the
country, the report cited Liu Qinghao, vice-director of the Nanjing Municipal
Urban Planning Bureau, as saying.
To date, more than 390 medium- and large enterprises have already been moved
to suburban industrial parks.
Moreover, dozens of universities and middle schools have set up campuses in
the suburb.
More than 300,000 residents are going to be relocated in the newly built
suburban residential districts within five years, the report said.
Like Nanjing, five other cities in the province, which boast a population
larger than five million, have taken measures to relocate their work units and
residents in suburban areas.