Tabula Rasa – A Sweep of the Past

The dismantling of traditional Chinese neighbourhoods and the new urban settings erected in their place go together with the reconfiguration of the socialist government in a market economy. It is through this link, acting as a metaphor of the transformation of a power and the concrete realisation of a new framework of life, that I approach the urbanisation of China, focusing on a humane vision of this country that ignores the will of its population.

My main work concerns the urban changes in China and its implications for humans. I consider urbanisation as the most unreported change in China, one that the country had not experienced before. In 20 years of modernisation, China, a traditionally rural empire, has become an urban country for the first time in its history. By focusing on the daily life in the traditional neighbourhoods, he tries to show how impossible it is to influence decisions made because of modernisation and in the name of wealth for the community.

The Chinese government pretends to improve the living conditions of its people, but through this shows it is capable of deciding and building a new living environment without consulting with the people first. I interviewed some people resistant to these changes even though they were already living in the new suburbs, people who were struggling simply for the right to talk and state their opinions.

The direct links between the investors in the construction industry, the development of the country and the people with political power makes it impossible to stop the surging “growth” of the country. In a way, urbanisation is not simply the consequence of the introduction of liberalism in China, but also a way to view the “new clothes” being worn by the government.