History and belonging: life in a Chinese mega-city

历史与归属:生活在中国超级都市

Chinese Whispers

2022-09-21

36 分钟
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In the last four decades, hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved into cities. Today, two thirds of the country live in urban areas (compared to just one third in 1985), and many of these are hubs with tens of millions of people – mega-cities that many in the West have never heard of before.What does this fast urbanisation do to communities and tradition? On this episode, my guest Austin Williams (an architect turned journalist and academic) explains how these populations were thrown up into 'vertical living'. ‘If Ayn Rand had created a country, then China would be it’, says Austin. In other words, the family unit matters more than the community surrounding you.This episode is a deep dive into urban life in China. Austin and I discuss the residential compounds that we in the West have seen so much of through reporting of China's lockdowns; the demolitions required to pave the way for this wave of urbanisation, which, sadly, left some towns disembowelled without rebuilding (see Austin's film Edge Town about one such settlement outside the city of Suzhou); and we debate whether it's a good thing that traditional Chinese aesthetics are returning to the country's modern architecture.If you enjoy this podcast, you can now register your interest for an upcoming Chinese Whispers newsletter, at www.spectator.co.uk/whispers.
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  • Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me Cindy Yu.

  • Every episode I'll be talking to journalists,

  • experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics,

  • society and more.

  • There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge and some context as well.

  • How did the Chinese see these issues?

  • In the last four decades, hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved into cities.

  • Today, two thirds of the country live in cities, compared to just one third in 1985,

  • and many of these are urban centres with tens of millions of people.

  • Mega cities that many in the West have never even heard of.

  • On this episode, I'd like to take a look at urban life in China,

  • so new to so much of the population.

  • I'm joined by Austin Williams,

  • who is an architect turned journalist and author of two books on Chinese architecture.

  • What is life like for people living in these dense city centres?

  • Will they prefer a closer relationship with nature?