Analysis on present situation and influencing factors of rural settlement hollowing in the hilly and mountainous area in Sichuan

Through spot investigation in twenty villages of five counties, this paper has analyzed the present situation of rural settlement hollowing in the hilly and mountainous area in Sichuan province from two sides of homestead and labor and studied the main influencing factors of the formation of rural settlement hollowing based on individual interview and survey data. The results reveal that the ageing, idle and waste phenomenon of house is common and rural population hollowing is so serious that is directly led by the large outflow of rural labor. Meanwhile, the formation of rural settlement hollowing in the hilly and mountainous area in Sichuan is limited by terrain, economy, traffic and policy etc. Finally, according to the main contributing factors of rural settlement hollowing, some countermeasures and suggestions have been proposed as follows: (1) strengthen construction of rural public service system and planning of rural settlements; (2) strengthen management of idle and waste homestead and supervision of land use; (3) further reduce the distinctions between urban and rural areas.