Beijing ( CNN ) -- Liu Ming Xing is a student at Jin Wei Elementary School , where her favorite class is music . The 13-year-old loves the class . `` It makes me feel good , '' she said . And she says about her school life at Jin Wei : `` This place is good , I like it . I want to stay here . '' But she may have to leave . Liu 's family migrated to the Beijing from the countryside for work , and Jin Wei is a school for migrants . But the surrounding community , once filled with families like Liu 's , is under pressure as the government began dismantling the neighborhood to make way for new development . The school , funded by migrant parents , may soon close . `` The children of the rural migrants wo n't be able to continue to attend school in this area , '' said human rights lawyer Zhang Zhiqiang , referring to the area where Liu 's family lives . In China , families are registered as rural or urban . When rural migrants move to the cities they live in a twilight zone : They ca n't access healthcare , social security or even public education as part of the nation 's `` hukou '' system , which requires household registration . Migrant workers still must be registered in their rural town of origin , not the city to which they move -- which keeps public services out of reach for many who have flocked to cities for work . `` What makes this bad is that it violates the rights of migrants to live and work here , '' Zhang said . `` Secondly , and more importantly , it violates children 's rights to get compulsory education because when parents are forced to move back to their hometown . Beijing has made urbanization a main goal for increasing domestic consumption and closing the wealth gap . Hundreds of millions have moved to the cities from the countryside in search of jobs . Last year , the urban population of the world 's most populous nation exceeded the rural population for the first time , according to the National Bureau of Statistics . But activists say that the government 's own policies are forcing these migrants out of cities and creating an underclass in China . About 250 million people -- equivalent to about 80 % of the population of the U.S. -- are migrant workers in China . It 's the children of migrant workers , like Liu , who are often hardest hit . `` They do n't have a lot of connections back home . Their kids do n't speak much of local dialect , '' Zhang said . `` The government is forcing these people to move elsewhere without understanding their difficulties . '' But registration of children is tied to their parents , so children of migrant workers eventually will have to return to their parents ' home village to register and continue their education . Beijing has pledged to reform the hukou system but is hampered because many social services are funded by local cities rather than the national government . `` The government is trying . They 're definitely making efforts , they realize that this is a big problem , '' William Nee of the China Labour Bulletin said . `` The problem is the finances of the health care scheme and education are all done at the local level , so I think it 's very difficult for the government at the national level to say , 'Okay , let 's just reform the hukou system ' . '' The political cost of reforming the hukou system is onerous . `` The mayors and party secretaries of many major cities are concerned that if hukou is freed up , there will be a huge fiscal burden in providing services for these migrants , '' said Yukon Huang , senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment and former World Bank director of China . `` If you ask the residents , the established residents of the major cities , they would say I do n't want more people coming , this may mean fewer job opportunities for us , '' Huang added . `` They also associate inflows of migrant workers in terms of crime , pollution or congestion . So this is going to be a political issue . And I think it is a political issue that requires very careful management , '' he said . `` China has been very successful in avoiding some of what I call 'the urban sprawls ' in places like Calcutta or Manila or even Bangkok . In that sense , it 's going to be a new challenge for China . '' If reform is on the horizon , it may come too late for Liu 's family , who is watching their neighborhood being torn down as her father recovers from heart disease . `` I just hope that my father can get well as soon as possible and that we will be okay , '' said Liu , breaking down in tears . CNN 's Kristie Lu Stout and CY Xu contributed to this report .
Rural workers migrating to Chinese cities for work have little access to social services . There are 250 million Chinese migrant workers -- equal to about 80 % of the U.S. population . China 's urban dwellers eclipsed its rural population for the first time last year . Activists say China 's home registration system needs to be reformed for migrant workers .