Housing Types in China: Apartments, Houses, Courtyards, and More

Chinese housing varies by region, income, and urbanization:

• Apartments: Dominant in cities; high-rise complexes, ranging from compact units to luxury flats.
• Houses: Single-family homes in suburbs, rural areas, and new developments; often multi-story.
• Traditional Courtyard Houses (Siheyuan): Historic Beijing/hutong style; rooms around a central courtyard. Now rare, mostly preserved or gentrified.
• Dormitories: Worker/student housing in factories, universities.
• Rural Self-Built Homes: Villagers construct multi-story houses on homestead land.
• Emerging: Serviced apartments, co-living, "naked" flats (unfinished).

Urbanization (65%+ urban) drives apartment construction; rural areas retain more diverse forms.