China comprises a total land area of 960 million hectares. Approximately 15% is cultivated 20% is forest and woodland grassland covers 35% and more than 22% is covered by sandy or stony desert glaciers and permanent snow and other marginal lands. Cities towns industrial sites rural settlements and infrastructure cover 3.4% of the total land area. Over the next 50 years Chinas population will likely grow by 300 million inhabitants. Rural-to-urban migration urbanization and the growth of the industrial infrastructure will be dominant factors in land-use change especially in the densely settled eastern provinces. Lifestyle changes reflecting growing incomes and changing cultural influences will lead to an increased consumption of animal-based foods demand for larger apartments or suburban homes and a massive expansion in private means of transportation. Private farmland close to urban centers will be converted into residential and commercial sites. These changes may also cause China to become more open to outside influences and more regionally diverse.