Harbin in comparative perspective

Gamsa, Mark

doi:10.1017/s0963926810000106

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Despite the fact that Harbin had become “the second biggest city in Asia after Shanghai” by the 1920s (Yu, 2017, p. 76) and was “far ahead” of China's historical capitals of Beijing and Nanjing (Lattimore, 1935, p. 260, as cited in Gamsa, 2010, p. 143), the city lost its geopolitical importance and suffered from radical deindustrialisation and impoverishment when the reformed China started to enjoy an overall economic boom. Although both Shanghai and Harbin were once colonised and have many similar postcolonial problems and demands nowadays, unlike the prosperous and ambitious global city of Shanghai, today's Harbin is still searching for a way to the future.…”

Section: Postcolonial Cities Towards the Future: Challenges And Prosp...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritage making and interpretation in postcolonial Harbin: contemporary urban memory of the Russian-built Harbin Railway Station and beyond

Zhang

2021

JCHMSD

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PurposeThis paper critically analyses the urban memory and heritage interpretation of postcolonial Harbin, a city in China that was founded by the Russians in 1898. It investigates the role and making of Russian colonial heritage in contemporary Harbin with a detailed case study of the Harbin Railway StationDesign/methodology/approachResearch methods include archival analysis, observation and semi-structured interview. In-depth interviews were conducted with local people, architect/urban planners and officials.FindingsLocal people of different generations with different backgrounds have different interpretations of the recently made colonial heritage of the Harbin Railway Station. The urban memory of Harbin has been consistently re-forming with both nostalgia and amnesia. Younger generations tend to regard the colonial heritage as their own heritage and a symbol of Harbin's cultural character without considering much about its related colonial history. In today's Harbin, colonial heritage as the “colonial past presencing” is more about a feel of the Europeanised space rather than the actual historical events of the period, and colonial heritage making becomes a tool for urban development and revitalisation at the institutional level. However, due to the paradigm shift in China's urban development, Harbin is facing new challenges in dealing with its colonial heritage.Originality/valueHarbin is an under-researched case in terms of urban heritage studies. This paper offers a new entry point for understanding the westernisation and colonial heritage making in the contemporary China more deeply and thoroughly and helps to see the trend of China's urban development more clearly.

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Section: Postcolonial Cities Towards the Future: Challenges And Prosp...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritage making and interpretation in postcolonial Harbin: contemporary urban memory of the Russian-built Harbin Railway Station and beyond

Zhang

2021

JCHMSD

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“…At its peak there were 2502 foreign owned shops. Commercial and trading connections had been established with more than 100 cities in more than 40 countries and regions (Gamsa, 2010;Yue, 1993). Even today, a large amount of Chinese Baroque style architecture, which combines the Baroque style and Chinese elements such as crane and peony designs, is preserved in the city's ChineseRussian legacy district (see Figs.…”

Section: The Contested History Before 1946mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), the opening of port cities, and the arrival of international immigrants, especially Jewish people, on the eve of WWII. This remarkable development continued as the Northeast became a base of state-owned heavy industry of the PRC after the country was founded in 1949 (Gamsa, 2010). The Socialist elite workers enjoyed cradle-to-grave benefits with jobs guaranteed for life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harbin: A rust belt city revival from its strategic position

Xie

Yang

Cai

et al. 2016

Cities

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Rust belt cities are a special but important phenomenon in the world's industrialization landscape and city development trajectory. This profile analyses the struggling process and revitalization initiatives of Harbin, which was the first city established after the liberation of China, featuring the largest land area and highest latitude among all Chinese cities. The remarkable history of urban and industrial development once made Harbin the cradle of manufacturing in China, strongly supported by national government with concentration of SOEs. The city however has been suffering during the transition to a market economy. Its transition is painfully challenged by the strong socialist legacies of SOEs. This paper emphasizes that the new initiatives of Harbin, based on local endowments, cold climate condition and geolocation, demonstrate great potential for successful revitalization. Such strategic choices provide experiences and alternatives for other rust belt cities.

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“…Arbitrarily separating the contributors to Harbin's history and development obscures the point that the mixing of these various influences is what made Harbin unique. 7 However, looking at these strands separately can help facilitate analysis, and I have chosen three.…”

Section: Harbin's Past Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Harbin's Past

Carter¹

2011

Itinerario

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Much of Harbin's early history revolved around struggles over the city's identity and also for control of the city's colonial legacy. The city's Russian past, in particular, has existed uneasily alongside its development as a Chinese city, and nearly a century after Russian control over the city ended, the competition over Harbin's identity continues to evolve. After many decades of denying and dismissing Harbin's colonial past, local, regional, and national Chinese governments are now exploiting that past as an asset for the city's economic development. Building on trends that first emerged in the 1990s, Harbin's Chinese rulers are now turning to the city's non-Chinese past as a means of competing in a global cultural and economic environment. More than attracting foreigners focused on nostalgia, however, Harbin seems eager to present itself as example of the “occidental” exotic for Chinese domestic tourists.

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Harbin in comparative perspective

Cited by 6 publications

References 19 publications

Heritage making and interpretation in postcolonial Harbin: contemporary urban memory of the Russian-built Harbin Railway Station and beyond

Heritage making and interpretation in postcolonial Harbin: contemporary urban memory of the Russian-built Harbin Railway Station and beyond

Harbin: A rust belt city revival from its strategic position

The Future of Harbin's Past

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