Energy poverty and solid fuels use in rural China: Analysis based on national population census

China has basically achieved ubiquity of electricity access in rural areas during the latest three decades. However, solid fuels are still widely used in the rural areas, which is currently the main issue impinging upon energy poverty in China. There about 490 million rural residents in China using solid fuels for cooking. Based on national population census data, this research evaluates the current situation and long-term trend of solid fuel use for cooking in rural China. Firstly, over three-fourths of all rural households depend on solid fuels to meet their cooking demand, whilst in urban area and township this figure is as low as 8 % and 36 % respectively. Secondly, solid fuel use was linked closely to rural household income, i.e., those regions with low per capita household income use more solid fuel. Furthermore, rural households using solid fuel declined by 17 percent from 2000 to 2010, albeit with some significant regional differences. Finally, the proportion of rural residents using clean fuels remained low, and the proportion using gas remained nearly constant over last 10 years in many provinces. Improving access to affordable and reliable energy services for cooking remains a great challenge China need to address.