In contemporary Chinese society, individuals may live far from their hometowns, yet remain deeply connected to them. Image generated by AI

Understanding social change in China requires analytical concepts informed by a diachronic perspective. The Chinese concept of xiangyuan (hometown ties) offers a particularly representative example. Literally, xiangyuan refers to the bonds formed through one’s hometown and is an indigenous concept deeply rooted in Chinese cultural traditions.

As China transitions from a “rural China” to an “urban–rural China,” contemporary hometown ties retain the core characteristics of blood ties and place-based connections found in traditional rural society, while also taking on new forms and functions amid large-scale population mobility. Hometown ties are both a basic form of social relations and a form of social capital with instrumental and expressive dimensions, while also serving as a vehicle for cultural identity. They constitute a key “social ligament” connecting urban and rural areas and bridging tradition and modernity.

Theoretical implications

Within the Chinese sociological tradition, Fei Xiaotong’s concept of chaxu geju (differential mode of association) laid a foundational framework for understanding social relations in China. In From the Soil, Fei devoted a chapter specifically to consanguinity (blood kinship) and regionalism, arguing that in a stable society, place-based connections are merely a projection of blood ties and cannot be separated from them. Yet as society evolves and social mobility intensifies, the meanings of traditional concepts must be expanded and deepened accordingly. Scholarly attention to and interpretation of xiangyuan respond directly to this theoretical need.

Compared with consanguinity and regionalism, hometown ties are more encompassing. Consanguinity is primarily bounded by clan and kinship relations, while place-based connections are defined largely by the spatial boundaries of villages and neighborhoods. Hometown ties, by contrast, refer to cultural identification and a sense of psychological belonging centered on one’s hometown. They do not require members to maintain long-term physical co-presence, nor do they require clearly identifiable blood relations among them. Instead, hometown ties draw on shared memories and cultural symbols associated with one’s place of origin to connect people dispersed across different geographical locations.

On this basis, hometown ties can be divided into two basic types. The first is ascribed hometown ties—an identification with one’s hometown conferred by place of birth or native place. The second is constructed hometown ties—an acquired identification formed through long-term lived experience and emotional investment in a “second hometown.” This distinction moves beyond the traditional analytical framework of geographical determinism and conceptualizes hometown ties as a dynamic relational process that can be constructed and accumulated.

Changes in hometown ties in urban–rural China

In traditional rural society, where people were strongly attached to their native place and reluctant to relocate, hometown ties and rural society largely overlapped. In essence, hometown ties constituted a composite relationship of consanguinity and regionalism grounded in physical co-presence. As China has transitioned toward an urban–rural society, however, hometown ties have gradually become decoupled from rural society—a transformation reflected in three dimensions.

First, hometown ties have shifted from “presence” to “absence.” Traditional hometown ties were mostly established through co-residence and everyday interaction, constituting a typical form of “present” social relations. In contemporary society, characterized by high levels of population mobility, many hometown ties take the form of “absent” connections: Individuals may migrate to cities in search of livelihoods, while their cultural identity remains rooted in the countryside; they may live far from their native place, yet their emotional attachment remains anchored in their hometown. These “absence” ties are sustained by modern communication technologies, with online spaces such as WeChat groups and hometown communities on Douyin becoming new arenas for interaction among people from the same place of origin.

Second, hometown ties have shifted from social homogeneity toward greater diversity. In traditional rural society, hometown ties were built on a relatively homogeneous social foundation, with limited differentiation in community members’ social status and lifestyles. Contemporary hometown ties, by contrast, may involve individuals from different social strata, including successful migrants who have left their hometowns, ordinary workers who have migrated to cities for employment, as well as older adults and children who remain in rural areas. This heterogeneity has given rise to more complex patterns of differentiation and interaction within hometown ties. Successful migrants, for instance, may draw on hometown networks to support the development of their places of origin, while ordinary villagers may rely on such networks for social support when they first migrate to cities.

Third, hometown ties have shifted from relative closure toward greater openness. Although traditional hometown ties exhibited the characteristics of chaxu geju, they tended to be relatively closed and exclusive. Today, by contrast, hometown ties display a much greater degree of openness and inclusiveness. The concentration of migrants from the same place of origin in cities does not preclude their interaction with local society, while the emergence of constructed hometown ties suggests that migrants can develop a sense of belonging to a “second hometown” through long-term embeddedness in local life and emotional identification. To some extent, this openness makes hometown ties a structural force for advancing social integration.

In sum, hometown ties, a concept rooted in China’s own social experience, offer a distinctive analytical key to understanding social change in China. They open a window onto the many facets of Chinese society throughout the process of Chinese modernization, revealing profound and complex changes in the foundations of individual identity, cultural and psychological belonging, forms of social connection, and relational network structures amid the far-reaching transformation of China’s urban–rural economic and social structure.

Jiang Fangbing is a research fellow from the Research Center for Chinese Modernization and Common Prosperity at the Party School of the CPC Hangzhou Municipal Committee.