Official document entitling residence in a given locality, with the accompanying benefits of housing, education, and medical services. Traditionally a statistical term for registered permanent residents (hu referred to households, kou to individuals), it now indicates the control system tying both rural and urban people to their mother’s place of birth, preventing them accessing social services when they ‘migrate’ to work in larger, more developed cities. ‘The city welcomes you’, says the sign in the picture. The approaching migrant family (and any ambitious talent) must, however, cross a chasm over a plank marked ‘accumulate points to gain hukou entitlement’ in the city.