Short answers, pulled from the story.
The China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) is a nationally representative, biennial longitudinal social survey launched in 2010 by the Institute of Social Science Survey at Peking University. It tracks changes in Chinese society, economy, population, education, and health at the individual, household, and community levels. Data are intended for academic research and public policy analysis.
The original target sample size was 16,000 households across 25 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China. The 2010 baseline ultimately reached 14,960 households, interviewing 33,600 adults and 8,990 youths for a total of 42,590 individuals. The sample is designed to represent approximately 95% of China's population.
CFPS is run by the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) at Peking University. The principal investigators include Yu Xie (Peking University and Princeton University), Xiaobo Zhang, Ping Tu, and Qiang Ren. Funding comes from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Peking University.
CFPS is conducted biennially. The baseline was in 2010, and longitudinal waves have run in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. Follow-up of all core members is designed to take place on a yearly basis between full waves.
CFPS data are not distributed through ICPSR or other third-party archives. Access is granted by the Institute of Social Science Survey at Peking University through a data-use application. The Peking University Open Research Data Dataverse mirrors the baseline release under DOI 10.18170/DVN/45LCSO.
CFPS covers economic activities, educational attainment, family relationships and dynamics, migration, and physical and mental health. Subject terms include debt, employment, income, land distribution, pensions, real estate, time utilization, cognitive functioning, and inter-personal trust. Mental health is measured using established scales such as the K6 and CESD20.