With the integration of regional economies and economic globalization,China has chosen a new path of establishing a“socialist market economy”for its economic development.However,its entry into WTO and a comprehensive privatization agenda with indepth reforms has intensified domestic pressure for the gradual liberalization of the economy along with relaxation of rules and regulations affecting demographic movements.At the core is the issue of the future development direction of Chinese cities,and in particular,the treatment of the rural labour force engaging in non-farm activities as it moves to cities and forms the“floating population”(流动人口liudong renkou)of China.This floating population calls for reform of established urban institutions like the HRS,and introduces new patterns of social stratification.While China has benefited by joining the global framework of trade,it has also placed heavy cost on unevenly distributed unskilled labour force,which requires a mechanism to tap available human resources and divert them effectively into various underdeveloped regions.As the process of urbanization accelerates,so will the process of expansion of China’s urban centers.Economic development will continue to promote urbanization and spatial concentration.In this context the paper explores the problems state faces in managing and controlling the flood of urban migrants.Besides,the paper examines whether the impact of the consumerist economy and free trade break the“invisible wall”for the migrant population;and how the urban centers cope with the ever growing population,by expansion or by building new “world cities”(世界城市shijie chengshi). With the integration of regional economies and economic globalization, China has chosen a new path of establishing a “socialist market economy” for its economic development. However, its entry into WTO and a comprehensive privatization agenda with indepth reforms have intensified domestic pressure for the gradual liberalization of the economy along with relaxation of rules and regulations affecting demographic movements. At the core of the issue of the future development direction of Chinese cities, and in particular, the treatment of the rural labor force engaging in non-farm activities as it moves to cities and forms the “floating population ” (floating population liudong renkou) of China. This floating population calls for reform of established urban institutions like the HRS, and introduces new patterns of social stratification. White China has benefited by joining the global framework of trade, it has also also heavy load on unevenly distributed unskilled labor force, which requires a mechanism to tap available human resources and divert it effectively into various underdeveloped regions. As the process of urbanization accelerates, so will the process of expansion of China’s urban centers. Economic development will continue to promote urbanization and spatial concentration. In this context the paper explores the problems state faces in managing and controlling the flood of urban migrants.Besides, the paper examines whether the impact of the consumerist economy and free trade break the “invisible wall” for the migrant population; and how the the urban centers cope with the ever growing population, by expansion or by building new “world cities ” (world city shijie chengshi).