Direct me to credible sources (e.g. academic journals, reports from
reputable organizations like World Bank) that support the following
claims:

1) Today, rural areas in China are still largely dominated by an
impoverished lifestyle (e.g. manual labour, people farming with
outdated equipment, etc.).

2) Urban Chinese people view these rural areas as dirty, backward, and
a place of hardship.

Dear kariny-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

ARTICLES SUPPORTING THE STATEMENT: “1) Today, rural areas in China are
still largely dominated by an impoverished lifestyle (e.g. manual
labour, people farming with
outdated equipment, etc.)”:

GUARDIAN UNLIMITED
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4078714,00.html
Addresses poverty trends.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
“STUDY OF CHINA”
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0007)
Note paragraph heading, “AGRICULTURE”: “Low worker productivity
because of scanty supplies of agricultural machinery and other modern
inputs. Most agricultural processes still performed by hand.”

WORLD TIBET NETWORK NEWS
“Hardships Continue for China's Rural Poor”
http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1993/9/6_5.html
“In China's vast countryside, millions of peasants labor on tiny plots
of land, trying to extract a living. They take odd jobs or borrow
money just to stay a few steps ahead of starvation. The poorest cannot
even buy salt.”


ARTICLES SUPPORTING THE STATEMENT: “2) Urban Chinese people view these
rural areas as dirty, backward, and a place of hardship.”:

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
“STUDY OF CHINA”
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0078)
Note paragraph heading, “URBAN-RURAL DISTINCTIONS”: “In modern China,
legal distinction is made between urban and rural dwellers, and
movement from rural to urban status is difficult. Urban life is felt
to be far preferable…”

CHINA - RURAL SOCIETY
“Collectivization and Class Status”
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0084)

URBAN SOCIETY – DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0093)
“Legal status as an urban dweller in China is prized”

CHINA.ORG.CN
“GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPERS”
http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/fp1015/t-3.htm
“But the central and western regions are relatively backward.
Therefore, China's rural poor are mostly concentrated in the central
and western regions, especially in the western region, living in
scattered areas in deserts, hills, mountains and plateaus. These
regions are characterized by the largest number of poor people, and
the deepest degree and most complicated structure of poverty. Of the
592 poverty-stricken counties named by the Chinese Government on its
priority poverty relief list in 1994, 82 percent are situated in the
central and western regions.”

CHINA.ORG.CN
“Residence System Reform Speeds up Human Resources Flow”
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2001/Nov/21457.htm
“The system, which had remained virtually untouched until early this
year, confines urban residents to cities and towns with housing,
medical, education and employment benefits, and farmers to rural
areas. Farmers, however, are denied the benefits available to their
urban counterparts and are permitted to seek only low-paying jobs
shunned by urban residents. Therefore, urban residents in China have
been an object of envy by several hundred million rural countrymen,
and becoming an city resident has been an impossible dream for the
vast majority of rural Chinese.”


I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga



INFORMATION SOURCES

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
“STUDY OF CHINA”
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html
(This link leads to the entire, expansive document)


GUARDIAN UNLIMITED
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4078714,00.html


CHINA.ORG.CN
http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/fp1015/t-3.htm


WORLD TIBET NETWORK NEWS
http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1993/9/6_5.html


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Majority rural China poverty

Majority rural China impoverished

China urban rural differentiation

China differentiation studies

China differentiation research

China differentiation report

I would say closer to 3.5 stars, but that's not an option.  Sources
for question 1 were quite helpful.  The answer to question two was a
bit of a stretch though, since there were no sources that directly
addressed urban views of rural areas (i.e. what city people think). 
Thanks for the quick response though.