Family value changes in China's Pearl River Delta region

This paper aims to document and explain value changes in the families of the upper Pearl River Delta region as a result of rapid economic changes from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. A survey via questionnaire interviews was conducted in the urban area of Guangzhou and one of its increasingly industrialised rural suburbs, Xiayuan. Xiayuan represents the early stage while Guangzhou the later stage of economic development in the region. A representative sample of the population in Guangzhou and Xiayuan was identified and interviewed respectively. The response rate in both localities was highly satisfactory (Guangzhou 67%; Xiayuan 61%).