Surveying and Mapping Services Workers

How to become a Cadastral and Property Surveyor

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 不动产测绘员

Also called: Cadastral Surveyor, Building Surveyor (Floor Area), Administrative Boundary Surveyor

Surveys land, buildings and administrative boundaries with total stations, satellite receivers, handheld distance meters and steel tapes, and investigates who owns them.

Main tasks

Choosing sites and setting monuments before surveying legal boundaries and marking boundary points on site
Observing and recording the position, number and area of land, buildings and administrative boundaries with handheld distance meters, total stations and steel tapes
Investigating and recording the type, ownership and quality of land, buildings and administrative boundaries
Organising and filing property registers, data, documents and atlases
Maintaining instruments, equipment and tools

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Cadastral Surveying and Land Management (420305). Vocational major 420305 Cadastral Surveying and Land Management (地籍测绘与土地管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building; Surveying and Geographic Information Data Acquisition and Processing.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Real Estate Inspection and Valuation (440702). Vocational major 440702 Intelligent Real Estate Inspection and Valuation (房地产智能检测与估价), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Real Estate Appraiser; Certified Asset Valuer; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Intelligent Valuation Data Collection and Applications.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Land and Resources Survey and Management (420101). Vocational major 420101 Land and Resources Survey and Management (国土资源调查与管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Surveying and Geographic Information Data Acquisition and Processing; Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Surveying and Mapping Engineering Technology (420302). Vocational major 420302 Surveying and Mapping Engineering Technology (测绘工程技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Surveying and Geographic Information Data Acquisition and Processing; Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building; Drone Photogrammetry.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Land and Resources Survey (620101). Vocational major 620101 Land and Resources Survey (国土资源调查), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥67,400 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥49,200 to CN¥96,500. One in ten earn less than CN¥38,000 and one in ten more than CN¥140,900.
This is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥81,552 a year (2025), middle half CN¥62,000 to CN¥114,247.
This is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Technical Support Services Workers holds 0.75% of everyone employed in China; 36.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
64.4% are under 35, 33.1% are 35 to 54 and 2.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Cadastral and Property Surveyor?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Cadastral Surveying and Land Management (420305); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Real Estate Inspection and Valuation (440702).

How much does a Cadastral and Property Surveyor earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥67,400 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥81,552 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Cadastral and Property Surveyor?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026