Reference

Glossary

The translations in this library use one consistent English term for each Chinese concept. Many have no exact equivalent outside China's system of state and collective land ownership, so the notes explain the difference where it matters.

"Five Unifieds" 五统一 wǔ tǒngyī

Unified planning, unified reserve, unified development, unified supporting facilities and unified supply — the standard formula for government-led area redevelopment.

"One Map" Platform 一张图 yī zhāng tú

The national GIS platform on which approved territorial spatial plans are stored and used to supervise implementation.

Allocated Land 划拨用地 huàbō yòngdì

State-owned land given to government agencies, public institutions or SOEs free of charge or for a nominal fee, without a fixed term.Allocated land generally cannot be sold or used commercially until it is converted to paid use and a land price is paid.

Approved but Unsupplied Land 批而未供 pī ér wèi gōng

Land approved for conversion to construction use but not yet allocated or sold to a user.

Collectively Owned Construction Land 集体建设用地 jítǐ jiànshè yòngdì

Rural land owned by a village collective and designated for construction; commercial collective land can now enter the market directly under recent reforms.

Existing (Stock) Land 存量土地 cúnliàng tǔdì

Land already designated for construction, as opposed to new land converted from farmland or ecological space.China caps new construction land each year, so localities are pushed to reuse existing land.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) 容积率 róngjīlǜ

Total floor area divided by site area.

Idle Land 闲置土地 xiánzhì tǔdì

Land supplied to a user but not developed within the agreed period, typically one year after the contracted start date.

Inefficiently Used Land 低效用地 dīxiào yòngdì

Construction land whose layout, intensity, output or condition falls below local standards — low-density factories, obsolete parks, vacant buildings, land with unresolved tenure.Criteria are set locally, often using output or tax per mu. The national pilot was launched in 2023 under Ziran Zifa [2023] No. 171.

Land Reserve 土地收储 tǔdì shōuchǔ

Government acquisition of land into a public land bank for preparation and later supply.

Land Transfer (Sale of Land Use Rights) 土地出让 tǔdì chūràng

The government grants state-owned land use rights for a fixed term (typically 50 years for industrial land) in exchange for a land price.Land itself remains state-owned; "sale" in these pages always means sale of use rights.

Mu 亩 mǔ

Traditional Chinese unit of land area. 1 mu ≈ 666.7 m²; 15 mu = 1 hectare.

Multi-storey Industrial Building 工业多层厂房（工业上楼） gōngyè duōcéng chǎngfáng

Stacking manufacturing in buildings of several storeys instead of single-storey sheds, often with relaxed limits on ancillary offices and housing.

New-type Industrial Land (M0) 新型产业用地（M0） xīnxíng chǎnyè yòngdì

An industrial land category for R&D, design and other innovation uses combined with production, with higher densities allowed.

Output per Mu 亩均效益 mǔ jūn xiàoyì

Economic output or tax revenue per mu of land, widely used to rank enterprises and allocate land and utilities.

Regulatory Detailed Plan 控制性详细规划 kòngzhìxìng xiángxì guīhuà

The statutory plan that sets land use, FAR, height and other controls for each plot; the main basis for land supply.Roughly comparable to a zoning plan.

Secondary Land Market 土地二级市场 tǔdì èrjí shìchǎng

The market in which existing land users transfer, lease or mortgage their use rights to one another, as opposed to the primary market in which the government sells land.

Standard Land 标准地 biāozhǔn dì

Industrial land supplied with investment, output, energy and environmental requirements fixed in advance, so investors can start construction quickly.

Tender, Auction and Listing 招拍挂 zhāo pāi guà

The three competitive methods by which land use rights for commercial purposes must normally be sold.

Territorial Spatial Plan 国土空间规划 guótǔ kōngjiān guīhuà

The unified planning system introduced in 2019 that merged land-use plans, urban master plans and other spatial plans.

Transfer by Agreement 协议出让 xiéyì chūràng

Sale of land use rights through direct negotiation rather than competitive bidding, allowed only in specified cases such as redevelopment by the original user.

Transition Period Policy 过渡期政策 guòdùqī zhèngcè

Existing buildings may be used for new, state-supported industries for up to five years without changing the land user or planning conditions.

Urban Development Boundary 城镇开发边界 chéngzhèn kāifā biānjiè

The line within which urban construction is concentrated under the territorial spatial plan.

Urban Village 城中村 chéngzhōngcūn

Former rural villages engulfed by urban expansion, where land often remains collectively owned and densely built.