NBS Rural-Urban Continuum Codes： 2009-2020

Working with China’s administrative data can be challenging, especially during periods of rapid urbanization when administrative division names and codes frequently change. For example, during the 2010s, many counties were upgraded to districts, and some counties were merged into prefectural cities. In addition, administrative units may appear under different names or codes across datasets, creating further difficulties when linking data. 

To address these challenges, I compiled the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) for 2009 and 2020 using data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The RUCC dataset contains all NBS-designated administrative division records for China, first issued in 2009, and serves as a foundational reference for many administrative datasets. The data includes the name and ID of each province/prefecture/county/township/community-level division, as well as an urbanicity code for every community --- the lowest level documented in China’s statistical administrative system. 

Based on the RUCC data, I plot a simplified framework for the administrative hierarchy of the People's Republic of China in the 2010s, inspired by Chan (1994) "Cities with invisible walls."