| "Please don't judge everything in China with western value because this country is too much different from US or Europe". Nancy, I could not agree with you more: again, I was arguing how DIFFERENT Chinese cities are from their western counterparts despite some superficial similarities, given historical, cultural and economic considerations. The forces that have produced the Chinese cities we see today ARE very different from the forces that produced many western cities. So I am agreeing with you, and I don't understand why I keep getting told that China is different from the US/Europe. I'm in no way arguing otherwise. Alex and patrick22: I will not disagree with you that China has gone through many profound changes, and perhaps I've been guilty of over-generalizing in my previous post given that the country is its own world with a billion plus people and a huge diversity of conditions, life stories, aspirations, successes and failures. Look up the definition of 'complex' in the dictionary and you will probably find "modern China". :-) But at the same time it would be dishonest not to acknowledge the major role that the state has played, and to a certain extent still plays, in the nature of China's urban redevelopment. There are countless stories to be told about every Chinese city, town and even neighbourhood. Shanghai itself exhibits an immense diversity of development stories depending on what particular neighbourhood or even building you are looking at. All I'm saying is that state-driven mega-projects (Pudong being the huge example in Shanghai) are just as equally a part of China's urban development story as the aspirations of the common person on the street. I'm not necessarily saying the results are good or bad for people, that's not really my argument here (although the amount of resources squandered on some local gov't 'image' projects is quite frightening). I'm saying,for better or worse, the Chinese state at all levels (yes, this includes local officials) is heavily involved in China's urban development, and that political considerations drive the growth of Chinese cities as much as any aspirations for a better life. Like it or not, the Chinese state still completely runs the show and calls the shots. And yes, it is the majesty of these state mega-projects that is used to project China's 'rise', more so than smaller but more real successes, like a family being able to send a member to university for the first time or having enough food on their table. If you read my previous post again you will see that it is as much about the West's general intellectual laziness in trying to understand China (just getting off a plane, taking a picture of Lujiazui, dreaming of a billion consumers and leaving) as a comment on Chinese society or Chinese people. |
Shanghai Looks Similar to US, But...