Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
China' s 53 metropolitan regions—anchored by a city of
more than 1 million and incorporating adjacent counties—
hold 29 percent of the population, yet produce more
than half of the country' s GDP . The largest metropolitan
regions are Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.
China' s largest cities are concentrated along the
coast. However, numerous medium and small metropol-
itan regions are located inland. Here, in cities such as
Lanzhou, Xian, and Chengdu, per capita GDP is signifi-
cantly less than for coastal cities.
In the next five years, China expects to build over
300 new cities—bringing the total number of cities with
populations of over 200,000 to 1,000. For each new city ,
China will have to spend at least US$35 billion in order
to provide housing, potable water, power, transportation,
and related services.
that must be based on Qing Dynasty style. The fine resi-
dences remaining will be kept and restored.
Of the 15,000 dwellings originally designated for de-
struction, only around 5,000 remain. In the last three
years, two-thirds of families have been exiled to zones
more than 9 miles (15 km) away from the city center. A
few recalcitrant families hang on to their shattered
homes. At nightfall, they sit in the dust and speculate
about their uncertain future to the distant sounds of
churning cement-mixers that will soon cover all physical
vestiges of their lives. They know that this is inevitable
and as they say regarding the power of officialdom: “An
arm cannot twist a leg.”
Shanghai: Head of the Dragon
CHANGING CITY STRUCTURE
Upgrading, relocation, and new configurations are hall-
marks of the modern Chinese city . Modernization means
destruction. The demolition process follows precise
rules. Behind carefully constructed palisades, tearing
down begins in areas where land values are highest--the
central city . Unfortunately , this is where architectural
heritage is most valuable and best maintained.
People are given compensation packages and, with
little choice, head out to new suburban developments
where social and spatial segregation is based on afford-
ability . Well-off families can move into middle-class pri-
vatized estates, townhouses, and gated, Western-style
communities. Poorer people move into government-
subsidized apartments. Migrant workers are typically
confined to slums. Outer residential zones are often in
“the middle of nowhere' with sparse infrastructure and a
two-hour commute from the central city .
Beijing provides an example of current restructur-
ing activities in Chinese cities. The city has been un-
dergoing major reconstruction and renovation since
the 1990s.
Situated only a couple of miles from the city center is
the 9.7 square mile (25 km 2 ) Shixing hutong (traditional
neighborhood). In 2006 the hutong was destined to be re-
placed by luxury shops and art galleries as a draw to
tourists attending the Olympic Games in 2008. Protests
over the loss of homes and the ruination of neighbor-
hood character led to a hiatus in demolition. The district
is now classified as a “protection area.” This status does
not prevent demolition, but requires the architects to de-
sign new buildings in a so-called “neo-traditional style”
The “Paris of the East.” Asia' s most sophisticated city .
The world' s most crime-ridden city . This was Shang-
hai before 1949. T Today, , Shanghai is China' is largest
city , its foremost economic center, and a rival to Bei-
jing as the nation' s cultural capital. In fact, Shanghai
rivals Hong Kong in economic importance.
Shanghai thrived long before the arrival of Euro-
peans. It had a population in excess of a million in
the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and three million by
1816. From 1895 to 1945, the city' s population in-
creased ten-fold. Migrants accounted for a significant
portion of this growth because the city was safely
distant from most battlefronts and had economic op-
portunities associated with the multiple foreign con-
cessions. While migrants came from the surrounding
provinces, they also came from Guangdong to pur-
sue business enterprises. This connection remains
significant in China' s new economic landscape.
In 1949, Shanghai accounted for one-quarter of
China' s industrial production. The city housed a
highly educated population and continued to be a mi-
gration target in Mao' s era. However, when large num-
bers of people were forcibly moved out of Shanghai to
populate China Frontier as part of the xiafang (hsia-
fang ) movement (from 1958 to 1976), the city experi-
enced a net out-migration of more than 1.2 million.
With its educated population, Shanghai had a tremen-
dous impact on development in the northeast and
western regions. With the end of the Cultural Revolu-
tion, the city once more experienced net in-migration.
Since 1992, when liberal policies were “given”
to Shanghai, the city has undergone substantial
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