Next is the vast differences in developmental background. A huge expanse of land has mostly lying in waste without users, when the westward movement began in America, immigrants were free to adopt any form they say fit for land reclamation, By contrast, intrusion of new developers into China's western region would surely entail clashes of interest with local inhabitants. Lastly, there is a major difference in the prevailing economic systems. America then solved the land problem by nationalization first, followed up with privatization through selling land at cheap prices or pure free distribution. Not so in China.
Land still belongs to the state, with farmers having only the land-use rights.
We certainly cannot copy the U.S. experience in enticing people to go west in the same manner. For all these differences, however, valuable lessons can still be learned from the American experience. One is to guard against a rush that results in uncoordinated transport development. In the course of the westward movement, private individuals, the county, the state and federal governments, all took a hand in railroad construction without a centralized macro arrangement. The result were separated pockets without a unified network.