Abstract: Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the extensive network of market towns has been a major feature of China's urban and rural structure. Unlike in the developed Western countries, Chinese market towns did not become a transitional stage in the development of urbanization. Industrialization and land development have not fully moved China's urbanization towards the path of large cities and megacities. This paper is devoted to clarifying the theoretical tradition of market town research, and examining the economic, social, and political aspects of their evolution since Ming and Qing. From the economic point of view, market towns are joint points connecting local markets and the world, and are increasingly characterized by super-leveling, cross-regional and financialization. At the social level, market towns are hierarchical, organized and highly inclusive. From the political point of view, they are the focal point of local autonomy and national state power. This intermediate nature is the essential feature of market towns. From its beginning Chinese sociology has paid close attention to the study of market towns. Many relevant issues are discussed such as family, community, daily life, social mobility, grass-roots governance and so on. Sociological study of market town must treat the subject as a general social fact and the relationship between market towns and specific systems and social structures should be examined on the premise of studying elements of life experience, life wisdom, ethics and morality, customs and other factors.

Key words: market town, urbanization, self-government, local governance