A current interesting trend in China is that, because for many years hukou could only move one way—from rural to urban areas, while urban hukou could not be converted back into rural hukou—more and more people have come to recognize the value of retaining a rural hukou. People with rural hukou are typically entitled to a plot of residential land, farmland, and certain exclusive forms of insurance and subsidies, so many have chosen to keep their rural registration.
This trend has become so pronounced that, starting last year, local governments across China began introducing rural return-migration policies: as long as you still have relatives in the countryside, you may transfer your urban hukou back to a rural hukou. However, even under these policies, returning one’s hukou to the village still requires approval through a vote by the village collective.