Author Description

The movement of Han Chinese into minority regions has been a long standing pattern in China. However, China's minorities have only recently begun to move in significant numbers, motivated by economic, social, and political factors. This book looks at how current changes in China are affecting the minority populations. It gives special attention to border regions in the west of China--areas with heavily muslim populations that are hotbeds of unrest. The contributors focus on how populations shifts and the movement of China's minorities impact such issues as education, ethnic identity, the environment, local economy, labor, and regional development. They emphasize new dimensions in ethnic relations in China that have been introduced as a result of the spatial relocations.