How to become an Urban and Regional Planner

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 城乡规划工程技术人员

Researches, plans and designs how land is used, how space is laid out and how development is arranged in cities, towns and the countryside.

Main tasks

• Surveying sites and collecting and analysing the basic information planning needs
• Writing plans and technical documents for each stage of planning
• Preparing town system plans, city and township master plans, village plans and all kinds of detailed plans
• Writing documents for submitting plans for approval
• Researching urban and rural planning theory and developing applied techniques
• Giving advice on carrying out plans

Ways in

• University: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 52 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Architecture (0828); majors such as Urban and Rural Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Building Conservation Engineering, Human Settlements Science and Technology. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
• University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Public Administration (1204); Management Science and Engineering (1201); majors such as Engineering Management, Management Science, Information Management and Information Systems, Real Estate Development and Management, Construction Cost Engineering, Public Service Administration. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
• Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Urban and Rural Planning (440201). Vocational major 440201 Urban and Rural Planning (城乡规划), 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: Registered Urban and Rural Planner; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Village and Town Development and Management (440203). Vocational major 440203 Village and Town Development and Management (村镇建设与管理), 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: Registered Urban and Rural Planner; Construction Quality Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Digital Technology for Urban Design (240105). Vocational major 240105 Digital Technology for Urban Design (城市设计数字技术), 4 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: Registered Urban and Rural Planner; Registered Architect; Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Urban and Rural Planning (240201). Vocational major 240201 Urban and Rural Planning (城乡规划), 4 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: Registered Urban and Rural Planner; Building Information Modelling (BIM).
• National qualification: Licence to practise: Registered Urban and Rural Planner. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Registered Urban and Rural Planner (注册城乡规划师), run by Ministry of Natural Resources; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥79,500 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥55,200 to CN¥123,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥192,300.
• This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, 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¥183,370 a year (2025), middle half CN¥137,905 to CN¥306,160.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Engineering and Technical Personnel holds 2.35% of everyone employed in China; 17.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 48.9% are under 35, 45.1% are 35 to 54 and 6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
• Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Related jobs

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Urban and Regional Planner?

Ways in include: Architecture & Built Environment degrees; Business & Commerce degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Urban and Rural Planning (440201); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Village and Town Development and Management (440203).

How much does an Urban and Regional Planner earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥79,500 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 Engineering and Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥183,370 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Urban and Regional Planner?

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
• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), 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