Under the paradigm of cross-cultural comparison of values adopted by House，the current research investigated 1917 community residents from three representative areas in reforming China，and these areas are Shenzhen，Haerbin and “X” Farm in Heilongjiang. Social values（i.e.“what should be”）and social practices（i.e.“what is/ what are”）were discussed in terms of four aspects：collectivism，power distance，future orientation and humane orientation. The results showed that（a）after controlling demographic variables，residents from different areas exhibited different values and perceptions of social practices，reflecting the characteristics of local area. To be more specific，residents in Shenzhen showed stronger future orientation，residents in Haerbin showed stronger power distance，and residents in “X” Farm showed stronger collectivism and humane orientations.（b）There are significant differences between “what a society should be” and “what the society is” in the view of investigated residents. People generally believed that a society should emphasize the equality of power and human concern；however，the current society seems to manifest the reverse tendencies.