URBANIZATION is an important indicator for measuring the degree of development and modernization of a country or region. China’s urbanization is an epitome of the country’s development as a whole. It is a process of both unremitting explorations and institu- By LIU BAOKUI 1949-2019: The Rise of Cities in China tional and model innovations based on local realities. Over the vicissitudes of 70 years since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, urbanization has transformed a “rural China” into an “urban China.” Having avoided serious social problems experienced by developed countries and many developing countries, China has explored a new approach to urbanization with Chinese characteristics.