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Discovering a ‘post-revolutionary’ sense of place in China’s small commodity city of Yiwu

Hulme, A. (2019) Discovering a ‘post-revolutionary’ sense of place in China’s small commodity city of Yiwu. City. 23(3), 327–341. 1360-4813.

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Hulme_Alison_City_2019_Discovering_a_post_revolutionary_sense_of_place_in_Chinas_small_commodity_city_of_Yiwu.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial.
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Abstract:
The ‘small commodity city’ of Yiwu in China specialises in low-end products, enjoying economic success due to its early establishment of private enterprise, yet relying upon traditional forms of solidarity as well as those provided by the structures of the market. It has ‘history’, but one that has been reconstructed beyond all recognition. Drawing primarily upon the work of Doreen Massey, this article explores the burgeoning sense of place in Yiwu and the wider implications this has for thinking on place. The article analyses two specific elements: the ‘Wenzhou model’, on which China’s small commodity economy is built, and the architectural form of the ‘small district’. It argues that the use of the Wenzhou model in Yiwu situates it at the forefront of an economic national historical trajectory, and that the development of small districts, tied as they are to previous historical built forms, provides a sense of the past as an assemblage from which current identity can be forged. A sense of place, it proposes, has arisen precisely due to the unusual assemblage of those elements, but is less tied to traditional notions of place, being more grounded within moments and networks that resonate with current post-revolutionary lived experiences.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Doreen Massey, Wenzhou model, architecture, assemblage, commodities, place
Creators:
Hulme, A.
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
Faculties > Faculty of Business & Law > Economics, Intl Relations & Development
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > China and Emerging Economies Centre
Research Centres > China and Emerging Economies Centre
Date:
1 June 2019
Date Type:
Acceptance
Page Range:
327–341
Journal or Publication Title:
City
Volume:
23
Number:
3
Number of Pages:
15
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1080/13604813.2019.1646029
ISSN:
1360-4813
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
Related URLs:
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