An important perspective for the research network lies in cooperation with Chinese researchers from the Center for Chinese Rural Studies (CCRS) at Central China Normal University (CCNU). This center is one of the leading research institutions in the field of rural development in China and researchers from the CCRS have an extensive network ranging from the political leadership in Beijing to villagers all over central China.

The history of the CCRS dates back to the 1980s, when faculty members from the Department of Political Science at Central China Normal University began doing research on rural grassroots government systems. In 1990, a Center for Rural Grassroots Studies was set up with Zhang Hou’an as its director and Xu Yong as its vice-director.  During the 1990s, the research field of the center was expanded to include village economic life, educational issues and rural society. The center was renamed the Center for Rural Studies in 1995.

In May 2000, the CCRS was appointed one of the One Hundred Key Research Institutes of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Chinese Universities by the Ministry of Education. Today - with professor Xu Yong as its influential director – the CCRS is perhaps China’s most important university based research center specializing in rural studies.

The CCRS’s manifold purposes include:

-          to advance Chinese rural studies as a leading research center,

-          to function as a training center for experts in rural studies

-          to foster academic linkages and academic exchange among scholars at home and abroad

-          to act as a source of consultancy on rural issues to the Chinese government

-          to serve as a resource center for those who seek to understand rural China

Apart from providing an interesting Chinese perspective on current trends in the organization of rural areas in China, cooperation with the CCRS will facilitate access to fieldwork sites and to an impressive collection of primary data and reports that the center has collected, including field reports by Chinese researchers and students. For more information on the CCRS, please visit their website:  www.ccrs.org.cn