Reference no: EM133687874

Books: Revolution and Its Past by R. Keith Schoppa and Leslie T. Chang's book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China and also using outside sources.

1. Explain how the Opium Wars led to the establishment of the treaty port system in China from 1840s to 1890s. What kinds of rights was the West able to obtain through the system? How did the treaty port system changed the traditional role of Chinese cities as a political center of the empire. What about changes to the ordinary people life in the Canton region that exposed to the most foreign influence?

2. Give a brief overview of China's opening-up and economic reform since Deng Xiaoping came to power. Which part of the reform do you think bring the most important changes to Chinese cities? Why? How did the reform change the urban-rural relationship? What might constitute the downsides of this process?

3. Leslie T. Chang's book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China tells stories behind China's 130 million migrant workers, the largest migration in human history. Please explain what led to the unprecedented urban development, abruptly departing from the de-urbanization model of the Mao's socialist building plan. In what ways did the Hukou system facilitate the process and in what ways did it hinder it? What's the main obstacles or challenges that this radical movement of Chinese migrant workers into cities might have on China and the rest of the world?