Published by ChinaMNC · Huidong

Huizhou's Island Land Reform: A Practical Guide for Foreign Founders on Property Rights and Operations

Huizhou's pilot reform for clarifying land and housing rights on inhabited islands offers lessons for foreign founders navigating property and operational challenges in China. Learn how the 'state-owned, collective-use, unified-confirmation' model works and what it means for your business.

Huizhou’s Island Land Reform: What Foreign Founders Should Know

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently released its first batch of 56 innovative measures and best practices from comprehensive pilot reforms on market-based allocation of production factors. Among them, Huizhou’s reform for resolving land and housing rights issues on inhabited islands was selected as one of nine cases from Guangdong province. For foreign founders operating in China, this reform illustrates how local governments are addressing property rights ambiguities that can hinder business development—and offers a template for navigating similar challenges.

The Challenge: Unclear Land Rights Stifle Development

Dongsheng Village, a traditional fishing community on Dongcheng Island in Huizhou’s Daya Bay Development Zone, has over 1,100 registered residents who rely mainly on fishing. In recent years, the village has developed tourism, including homestays and recreational fishing boats, and was recognized in 2024 as a provincial cultural and tourism characteristic village. However, unclear land ownership has long prevented villagers from renovating homes, obtaining mortgages, or expanding tourism businesses. The village collective could not coordinate land for public facilities, leaving quality tourism resources underutilized.

According to the Daya Bay Natural Resources Bureau, existing laws do not clearly define land ownership for fishermen who settled on islands after coming ashore. This legal gap constrained the island’s economic potential.

The Solution: ‘State-Owned, Collective-Use, Unified Confirmation’

To address this, local authorities adopted a pilot approach based on research and expert input. They traced the village’s history through county records and land archives to establish that the land is state-owned. Experts who participated in drafting China’s Civil Code were engaged to provide theoretical support. The resulting plan proposed a path: “state-owned, collective-use, unified confirmation.”

Under this model, land use rights are confirmed collectively to the village’s collective economic organization, while ultimate ownership remains with the state. The village collective is authorized to review villagers’ residential land needs and allocate land for commercial and public welfare uses. This preserves the bottom line of public land ownership while giving the collective a central role in land management, safeguarding villagers’ rights and reserving space for future development.

Implementation: Household-by-Household Approach

Authorities conducted cadastral surveys and policy outreach on a household-by-household basis, tailoring solutions to each family’s situation. To date, 83 rural housing units have received confirmation certificates, resolving longstanding issues of incomplete property rights and enabling assets to be recognized and legally protected. Villagers can now renovate homes, apply for homestay business approvals, and participate in tourism development without the previous restrictions.

One villager remarked that holding the certificate provides peace of mind, allowing him to invest in upgrading his homestay and campsite for the next peak season.

Outcomes and Lessons for Foreign Founders

According to the Huizhou Development and Reform Bureau, the reform has successfully addressed the lack of clear housing property rights and land ownership for island villagers, creating a replicable “Dongsheng model” for similar regions. The results include:

• From idle resources to activated industry: Previously, unclear land rights hampered development, and villagers relied mainly on fishing. Now, Dongsheng Village can plan land use more rationally, integrate island resources, develop specialty fishing and tourism, attract visitors, and stimulate catering and accommodation businesses.
• New experience in land confirmation for inhabited islands: By breaking traditional mindsets while upholding public land ownership, the reform provides a valuable institutional sample for revitalizing similar islands across the province and the country.

For foreign founders, this case highlights the importance of clarifying property and land-use rights when establishing operations in China. While the reform specifically addresses island communities, it demonstrates how local governments can innovate within existing legal frameworks to unlock economic potential. Foreign investors should ensure their business premises have proper documentation and stay informed about local pilot policies that may affect land use and property rights.

Call to Action: For assistance with company registration and operations in China, foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.

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