Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
his grandmother in the island's interior, walking more than seven hours to
get there.
h ose almost empty roads that I experienced on the way to Dongtan in
the summer of 2009 are already gone. Just months after the bridge opened,
the highways on the island were, not surprisingly, noticeably more crowded
with cars. And my 2010 bus trip to Chongming was indeed spectacular,
especially the long ride over the bridge. It is an epic view with an aesthetic
payoff , though at what ecological and social costs is not clear.
localizing identities, debating
development
Given the o' cial Shanghai policy to develop Chongming Island as a “model
ecological place” and its handing off of much of the master planning of the
island and various eco-development projects to global fi rms (as discussed in
the next two chapters), what are the general reactions of Chongming resi-
dents to Dongtan and their island's development? Of course, there is no sin-
gular voice with which the islanders speak.
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h e easiest reactions to track
are probably those of highly educated, highly technologically adept youths,
many of whom have left the island. h ese youths express their feelings,
thoughts, ideas, happiness, and anxiety about their hometown through the
Chongming Club. In this online forum, they call themselves “Chongming
people” (Chongming ren) or “indigenous” (tuzhu min). h is strong Chong-
ming identity, in fact, has been reinforced by Chongming's “second-class”
status based on the long-held stigma of Chongming being a poor, alien
island. h is stigma is, paradoxically, a source of pride. As one indignant
“voice” states, “Why do we love [our hometown] so much? Because we have
taken enough Shanghai people's arrogant looks. h ey look down upon us
Chongming people.” “Hometown is beautiful in everybody's heart. Chong-
ming is my hometown and her position cannot be changed in my heart. I can
speak even better Shanghai dialect than Shanghai people, but it will not
