The energy consumption in rural area of China is related to the activities of agricultural econome, living standard and environmental quality. The paper analyses mainly the energy consumption conditions in the rural area. The total energy consumption (converted to coal equivalent, the same below) in rural area reached to 690 Mt in 1995, including 325 Mt consumed by township enterprises. But the annual per capita commodity energy consumpsion was only 0.56 t, far below the national average. The energy consumption of township enterprises increased rapidly in the past 17 years and reached 325 Mt in 1995, which was 65 % of the total commodity energy consumed in rural area.

By the efforts of rural energy development, about 30 Mt is obtained from renewable energy utilization of small scale hydropower, biogas, solar and wind energy etc. . The rural energy development increased effectively the energy supply to rural area, improved the structure of rural energy consumption, and promoted the rural social economy development. The population of lack firewood was reduced from 420 millions in 1979 to 70 millions in 1995. Along with raising of living level in rural area, the demand of high quality fuel increases year by year. There were 48 million of households used different high quality energies such as gases and LPG etc. in 1995. This paper analyses objectively the existing proplems related to energy, social and environment, etc. . It is the foundation of further discussion on the stratagem of rural energy development.