When most young people have migrated to cities, remaining villagers prefer to live in new buildings on village borders, leading to empty and ageing centres and more populated peripheries.The government estimates one quarter to one third of rural villages are affected, wasting 114 million mu of rural land, spreading social services thin, and reducing social cohesion. The problem persists due to poor spatial planning and complicated and inflexible rural land usage rights, especially for homestead land.