Extract

Since 1949, the land administration of Guangzhou has experienced several changes. When the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established, the Public Facilities Bureau was set up to manage construction and land issues. In 1950, it was renamed as the Infrastructure Construction Commission. In 1953 the Infrastructure Construction Commission and the Financing Commission were merged into the City Construction Commission, to be responsible for city construction, land allocation and urban planning. In 1977, the Urban Planning Bureau (GZUPB) was established to prepare city master plans and detailed plans, to allocate land for construction, and to examine and approve building applications. City plans at various levels provided some guidance to city development, but did not show much concern for arable land protection. The rapid farmland loss in the early 1980s aroused great concern on the part of the central government, and the State Land Administration Bureau (upgraded as the Ministry of Land Resources in 1997) was set up to administer arable land use and land registration in 1986, followed by the enactment of the Land Management Law.