2011 : China counted 700 million urban dwellers , 200 million in rural areas . China 's breakneck economic growth has caused explosion in many of China 's cities . Many migrant workers , known as ` ` ##s , '' have left the countryside for the cities . Analyst : Urbanization is an irreversible process in the next 20 years .
2011 : China counted 690.79 million urban dwellers , 656.56 million in rural areas . China 's breakneck economic growth has seen explosion in size of China 's cities . Many migrant workers , known as `` mingong , '' have left the countryside for the cities . Analyst : Urbanization is an irreversible process in the next 20 years .