China is building twenty new cities a year and has been, for two decades. But the massive urbanization is taking its toll on China's environment - and on many of its people who have been pouring into the mega-cities from China's countryside. The United States went through a similar transformation in the 19th century. But in China, it's happening faster and on a much larger scale. It's a massive migration which shows no signs of stopping as Mary Kay Magistad reports in her six-part series.
(web production: Michael Rass)
Listen to the series as a podcast:
Download the mp3 (parts1-3: 29:35)
Download the mp3 (parts4-6: 29:28)
Shenzhen
July 7th, 2008
Just a quarter century ago, 4 out of 5 Chinese were farmers. Now, almost half live in urban areas - and the number's expected to grow to two-thirds within a few of decades. Mary Kay Magistad begins our series in Shenzhen, a former fishing village turned mega-city, just across the border from Hong Kong.
Transcript with pictures
Beijing
June 8, 2008
In August Beijing will host the Olympic Games. China's leaders are looking forward to showing the world a modern face. They've been transforming the Chinese capital with a population of more than 17 million people. But they've paid less attention to maintaining a connection to its past.
Transcript with pictures
Wangwan village
July 9th, 2008
China is transforming itself from a land of villages to a land of cities. The government estimates there are now some 200-million rural migrants working in urban centers. That's having a profound impact on cities and villages. Mary Kay Magistad looks at the view from a village in southern China.
Transcript with pictures
Xinji
July 10th, 2008
Chinese officials estimate that they're establishing 20 new cities a year, and have been for a couple of decades. In Part IV of our series Mary Kay Magistad offers of one of these up-and-coming cities, the fur and leather center of Xinji a couple hundred miles south of Beijing.
Transcript with pictures
Western regions
July 11th, 2008
Once American settlers followed the call to go west. Chinese settlers have gone into sparsely populated western areas, too - like Tibet and Xinjiang. By some counts, Han Chinese settlers now outnumber the natives there. Mary Kay Magistad continues her series in the western Chinese city of Xining.
Transcript with pictures
Environmental challenges
July 14th, 2008
China has unveiled measures to improve Beijing's air quality during the Olympics. One of the measures is a ban on half of all the cars on the streets of the capital every day. Such steps may yield short-term benefits. But they fall well short of the actions China will have to take to protect its environment in the long term.
Transcript with pictures
All of Mary Kay's pictures from China
