{"id":42306,"date":"2026-08-28T04:27:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T02:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.graviton.at\/letterswaplibrary\/navigating-china-family-panel-studies-cfps-an-unofficial-guide-for-non-chinese-speaker\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T04:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T02:27:33","slug":"navigating-china-family-panel-studies-cfps-an-unofficial-guide-for-non-chinese-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.graviton.at\/letterswaplibrary\/navigating-china-family-panel-studies-cfps-an-unofficial-guide-for-non-chinese-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating China Family Panel Studies (CFPS): An Unofficial Guide For Non-Chinese Speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

As a bilingual undergraduate user of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), I have noticed that the English documentations are very scattered across multiple portals, which might be a barrier for non-Chinese speaking researchers attempting to use the data. Here is a navigation guide I compiled to hopefully mitigate some language barrier.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/em>: I am in no way affiliated with CFPS or Peking University, this guide is unofficial and is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. I will however try my best to provide the most accurate information possible.<\/p>\n

Last Update 27 August.<\/p>\n\n

Introduction of CFPS (quoted from the website)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChina Family Panel Studies (CFPS) is a nationally representative, biennial longitudinal survey of Chinese communities, families, and individuals launched in 2010 by the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) of Peking University, China. The CFPS is designed to collect individual-, family-, and community-level longitudinal data in contemporary China. The studies focus on the economic, as well as the non-economic, wellbeing of the Chinese population, with a wealth of information covering such topics as economic activities, education outcomes, family dynamics and relationships, migration, and health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

##<\/p>\n

Home Page<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/<\/a> or https:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/en\/index.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the page that appears when you search China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Do note that the two language versions are seemingly hosted on two separate websites, and I believe they are not updated in parallel. Some documents and information are only available in the Chinese website and not the English website.<\/p>\n\n

I will illustrate the discrepancies using side-by-side comparison table in the following. I will point out major discrepancies that will likely affect non-Chinese speakers\u2019 navigation of the panel data, instead of pointing out every single tiny difference.<\/p>\n\n

Discrepancies in \u201cNews \u76f8\u5173\u65b0\u95fb\u201d sub-page<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nChinese Version<\/th>\nEnglish Version<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Last Update<\/strong><\/td>\n2026.07.07<\/td>\n2025.10.24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entries<\/strong><\/td>\n108<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Covered Content Type<\/strong><\/td>\nFieldwork & operations<\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nData releases<\/td>\nData releases (fewer details)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nAcademic events<\/td>\nAcademic events (selective)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nCalls for proposals<\/td>\nCalls for proposals (in some years) <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nTraining & recruitment <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In general, the English website covers selective summary highlighting key data releases and international engagement; while the Chinese website includes comprehensive internal\/domestic record of all CFPS activities.<\/p>\n

Discrepancies in \u201cDocumentation \u6587\u6863\u4e2d\u5fc3\u201d sub-page<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nChinese Version<\/th>\nEnglish Version<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Questionnaire \u8c03\u67e5\u95ee\u5377<\/strong> (Both have 2010-2022 full questionnaires )<\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/wdzx\/tcwj\/index.htm<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2008 & 2009 pilot versions<\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nA variable navigation website listed (http:\/\/surveysearch.akng.net\/<\/a>)<\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nA side-by-side comparison of 2010 to 2022 questionnaire change (titled: CFPS2010-2022\u5386\u5e74\u95ee\u5377\u5185\u5bb9\u6c47\u603b\u8868) <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
User\u2019s Manual \u7528\u6237\u624b\u518c<\/strong> (Least discrepancy)<\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/wdzx\/yhsc\/index.htm<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1 Manual (2017.7.30)<\/td>\n3 Manuals (latest is updated on 2025.10.10) <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Documentation \u6570\u636e\u6587\u6863<\/strong> (Largest discrepancy, English website only had the \u201cCodebook and SAS\u201d sub-page)<\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/wdzx\/sjwd\/index.htm<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Measures \u91cf\u8868<\/td>\nDetailed summary of all (psychometric) measures\/ scales used in 2010-2022<\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nA side-by-side comparison of measures\/ scales used in 2010-2022 <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coding Scheme for Text Data \u6587\u672c\u7f16\u7801<\/td>\nOccupation coding (\u804c\u4e1a\u7f16\u7801): CFPS has very detailed categorization of various occupation using CCSO and ISCO<\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nIllness coding (\u75be\u75c5\u7f16\u7801), Death coding (\u6b7b\u4ea1\u7f16\u7801), Undergraduate Institution coding <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Occupation Coding \u804c\u4e1a\u7f16\u7801<\/td>\nUnsure how this one is different from the occupation coding under \u201ccoding scheme\u201d subpage, I believe they are the same thing. <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Logic Flowchart \u903b\u8f91\u6d41\u7a0b\u56fe<\/td>\n2018, 2020, 2022 flowcharts Given the complex skip logic across hundreds of questions in CFPS (e.g., if answer to Q1 = 5, skip to Q3), logic flowchart visualization is provided to help users identify missing values better. <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Codebook & SAS label<\/td>\n2010-2022 codebook and SAS label & Composite variables across waves<\/td>\nAvailable under the \u201cData Description\u201d sub-page \u00b7 Same <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Technical Reports\u6280\u672f\u62a5\u544a<\/strong><\/td>\n46 technical documents on few areas: Survey Design & Sampling, Data Cleaning & Variable Construction, Weighting & Socioeconomic Measures, Special Topics & Methodological Innovations, Wave-Specific Data Introductions & Cleaning <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Discrepancies in \u201cFAQ \u5e38\u89c1\u95ee\u9898\u201d sub-page<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nChinese Version<\/th>\nEnglish Version<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Coverage<\/strong><\/td>\n13 categories in FAQ<\/td>\n3 categories in FAQ<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nRegistration & Download, Design & Data Collection, Family Relationship Database, Income & Expenditure, Cross-Database Linkage, Data Updates, Publication-Related, Weights, Missing Values, Address, Occupation, Scales\/Inventories, Other <\/td>\nData Acquisition, Data Use, Publish with CFPS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Discrepancies in \u201cContact Us \u8054\u7cfb\u6211\u4eec\u201d sub-page<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nChinese Version<\/th>\nEnglish Version<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Basic Contact<\/strong><\/td>\nEmail & Address<\/td>\nEmail & Address <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Additional Services<\/strong><\/td>\nFree Data Consultation Services \u6570\u636e\u54a8\u8be2 (Online or Face-to-Face) https:\/\/www.isss.pku.edu.cn\/cfps\/lxwm\/sjzx\/index.htm<\/a> \u00b7 <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nPaid Personalized Services \u4e2a\u6027\u5316\u670d\u52a1 <\/td>\n\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

##<\/p>\n

The Most Efficient Navigation<\/strong><\/p>\n

For non-Chinese speaking users, the most efficient path will probably be:<\/p>\n

Register Directly at the Data Centre<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

URL: https:\/\/cfpsdata.pku.edu.cn\/#\/home<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Why? The English and Chinese versions here are better synchronized than the main website.<\/p>\n

\u00b7 What You’ll Find:<\/p>\n