This research monograph charts how change has taken place in three contrasting areas. The first Tongzhou is rich and urban and close to Beijing. In 1990 it was one of the richest 300 counties but still had a rural character in many parts and some small-scale industries. Now Tongzhou is a modern city with multi-lane highways and many commuters living in high rise apartments, and much inward migration from the countryside driven by employment opportunities generated in special development zones. Ansai has been transformed by the exploitation of oil under the Loess Plateau. Its infrastructure has modernised and new roads and railway lines mean that villages that were remote are accessible. At the same time there has been both urbanisation and outward migration so the rural population has shrunk fast. In Zhaojue there has been some development around the main road onto the high plateau and new villages and schools are being built to encourage Yi people to move off the mountains. But most schools remain small and difficult to access, and some are in very poor condition