Published by ChinaMNC · Huidong

Huizhou Island Land-Rights Pilot Offers a Model for Foreign Founders Navigating Unclear Property Rules

Huizhou's Dongsheng Village was named among China's first batch of market-based factor-allocation reform measures. The pilot shows how local governments can resolve unclear land and housing rights on inhabited islands — a practical signal for foreign founders evaluating rural tourism, homestay and leisure-fishing ventures in China.

Why This Pilot Matters to Foreign Founders

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently released its first batch of innovation measures and experience from pilot reforms on market-based allocation of production factors. The list contains 56 measures deemed worth promoting. Guangdong contributed nine cases, and one came from Huizhou: a reform built on the principle of “state ownership, collective use, integrated rights confirmation” that resolves the long-standing difficulty of confirming land and housing rights on inhabited islands.

For foreign founders, the case is a useful window into how Chinese local governments untangle unclear property rights — a recurring challenge in rural tourism, homestays, leisure fishing and other land-based businesses. It also illustrates how a local pilot can later become a nationally promoted practice.

The Problem: Unclear Title Blocks Investment

Dongsheng Village sits on Dongsheng Island in Aotou Subdistrict, Daya Bay Development Zone, Huizhou. It is a traditional fishing village surrounded by sea. Its residents historically lived on boats and followed the water, forming a distinct Tanka culture. In the 1950s, the government began encouraging fishermen to leave their cabins and settle on the island, gradually creating today's village.

The village now has more than 1,100 registered residents, most of whom rely on fishing. In recent years it has developed tourism activities such as fishermen's restaurants and leisure fishing boats, and in 2024 it was selected in the fourth batch of Guangdong's cultural and tourism characteristic villages. Visitor traffic concentrates between the May Day holiday and the National Day golden week.

Village Party secretary Xu Weibin explained that the village long wanted to strengthen its tourism industry and improve infrastructure, including building homestays and developing popular photo spots. But unclear land title on the island often prevented the village from acting boldly. Villagers' houses lacked lawful ownership certificates, creating problems for new construction or renovation, mortgage financing and compliant operation. The village collective could not effectively coordinate land for public facilities, and quality cultural and tourism resources sat idle.

A responsible official from the Daya Bay Development Zone Natural Resources Branch noted that although villagers have long lived and worked on the island, current Chinese laws and regulations do not clearly define the nature of land ownership where fishermen settled on islands after coming ashore. This bottleneck constrained the island's economic potential.

The Solution: Research First, Then a New Rights Path

To break the deadlock, municipal and district departments pursued a pioneering approach. Facing unclear legal rules, complex historical evolution and a lack of directly transferable experience, they began with research and expert input to build a legal foundation for rights confirmation.

The research team traced the village's history and development, reviewing county records and land archives from different periods to clarify the historical fact of state ownership. Experts were brought in, including scholars who had participated in drafting the Civil Code, to form a research group and conduct special studies supporting the subsequent institutional design. Based on that research and local conditions, authorities formulated a plan for confirming and using land rights on inhabited islands, proposing the “state ownership, collective use, integrated rights confirmation” path.

Institutional Innovation Within the Public-Ownership Baseline

While maintaining the baseline of public land ownership, the plan confirms land-use rights as a whole to the village collective economic organization, based on historical evolution and actual use. The village collective is given a central role in managing land-use rights: it reviews villagers' residential land needs and coordinates land for commercial and public-welfare construction according to development needs. This protects villagers' basic rights while reserving space and providing a basis for the collective's future development and overall island development.

Household-by-Household Implementation

Authorities also adopted a livelihood-oriented approach, providing “one policy per household” services. They conducted cadastral surveys and policy briefings household by household and developed individualized solutions. To date, 83 rural housing units in the village have completed rights confirmation and certification, fundamentally resolving incomplete housing and land rights. This makes assets visible and rights legally protected, and removes restrictions on house renovation, homestay business approvals and participation in cultural tourism development.

Villager Xu Zaoteng, who received his certificate, said that holding the “red book” brings peace of mind. Previously, he wanted to renovate an old house into a homestay but lacked complete documents and feared losing his investment. Now that property rights are clear, the house belongs to him and can be mortgaged to expand the business if needed. With the peak season over and fewer visitors, he plans to use the quieter period to upgrade the homestay and campsite.

What the “Dongsheng Model” Demonstrates

A Huizhou Development and Reform Bureau official said the practice has produced a new path for resolving unclear housing property rights and land ownership for villagers on inhabited islands. The “Dongsheng Model” is described as offering reform experience that can be replicated and promoted in similar areas.

• From idle resources to activated industry: Before the reform, unclear land rights made island resource development difficult and limited the economy, with villagers mainly relying on traditional fishing. After the reform, Dongsheng Village can plan and use land more rationally, integrate island resources, develop distinctive fishing and tourism, attract visitors and drive catering and accommodation.
• A land-rights precedent for inhabited islands: The reform breaks conventional thinking while maintaining public land ownership, offering a new path for resolving villagers' housing property rights and historical land-title issues, and providing an institutional sample for similar islands across the province and the country.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

Foreign founders considering rural tourism, homestay or leisure-fishing projects in China should note that land and housing title can be the decisive variable. This pilot suggests several practical points. First, verify whether the land and buildings you intend to use have completed rights confirmation and certification. Second, understand the role of the village collective economic organization, which may hold confirmed land-use rights and review land needs. Third, confirm whether local rules allow the intended business activity and financing arrangements, including mortgage use. Fourth, monitor whether similar reform measures are promoted in the area where you plan to operate.

The case does not create a nationwide rule, and procedures may differ by locality. Founders should confirm current requirements with local authorities and qualified professional advisers before committing capital.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.