Measuring the Strength of Provincial Identity in China

• In Event: Geographic Divisions

Abstract

This paper intends to answer two overarching questions about provincial-level regional identity in China. First, does the strength of provincial identity vary among provinces in China? Second, what factors explain the variation in the strength of provincial identity? Four measures are used to represent a province's strength of regional identity: dating preference (the proportion of dating preference for people from the same province), regional associations (the number of one province’s associations in all the other provinces), NPC bills (the proportion of bills in National People’s Congress on provincial affairs compared to national affairs by provincial delegations), and TV rating (the proportion of top five TV programs with local themes). According to these four measures the 29 provinces in China are ranked by their strength of provincial identity. This research reveals that while China’s coastal provinces embrace the strongest regional identity, the southwestern, northern, and northwestern provinces hold weaker regional identity. Furthermore, this research suggests that the level of economic development and the degree of marketization hardly explain the variation in the strength of provincial identity in China.

Author

• Jingyuan Cheng