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Hukou permit

Hukou system
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese 户口
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese 户籍
Tibetan name
Tibetan ཐེམཐོ

A hukou is a record in a government system of household registration required by law in mainland China, and determines where citizens are allowed to live. The system itself is more properly called "huji", and has origins in ancient China.

A household registration record officially identifies a person as a resident of an area and includes identifying information such as name, parents, spouse, and date of birth. A hukou can also refer to a family register in many contexts since the household registration record (simplified Chinese: 户口簿; traditional Chinese: 戶口簿; pinyin: hùkǒu bù) is issued per family, and usually includes the births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and moves, of all members in the family.

Because of its entrenchment of social strata, especially as between rural and urban residency status, the hukou system is sometimes likened to a form of caste system. The system descends in part from ancient Chinese systems of household registration, which also influenced neighbouring countries. In present times, a similar household registration system exists within the public administration structures of Japan (koseki), Vietnam (Hộ khẩu), and North Korea (Hoju). In South Korea, the Hoju system was abolished on 1 January 2008. While unrelated in origin,propiska in the Soviet Union or Resident registration in Russia had/has a similar purpose.

The formal name for the system is "huji." Within the huji system, a "hukou" is the registered residency status of a particular individual in this system. "Hukou" is more commonly used in everyday conversation. "Hukou" has been adopted by English-language audiences to refer to both the huji system and an individual's hukou.


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