In an effort to combat land distortion, improve its food security, and to narrow the gap of the living conditions between urban and rural communities, the Chinese government has implemented the Building New Rural Communities (BNRC) initiative. However, the policy and method used to implement this initiative has led to mixed results due to being rooted in a system without sufficient accountability. This article will put forward the idea that a more democratic process that engages the residents and implementing a bottom-up approach would help to address this issue.