Category Archives: Fieldwork

Back to the field!

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Finally, after a far too long break, field research in China was possible again. Together with collaboration partner Song Yu from Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University in Suzhou (China), in August and September 2023, Elena Meyer-Clement was able to re-visit fieldsites in peri-urban areas of Suzhou (Jiangsu Province), and Huzhou (Zhejiang Province), and discover new sites in the surroundings. The focus lay on grassroots governance changes in the urbanization process that in China mostly takes the form of resettlement of rural residents to new urban residential areas. At the same time, current policies focus on rural revitalization and the remodeling of villages for tourism. The simultaneity of both processes is fascinating and provided us with lots of food for thought about how policies attempt to prompt and steer societal change in China. We look forward to formulating our thoughts in upcoming publications!

A peri-urban area in Suzhou, 2018…
…and 2023 (same place, different angle) (Photo credits: Elena Meyer-Clement)
How to turn a village into a tourist attraction? An attempt in Zhejiang Province, 2023 (Photo credit: Elena Meyer-Clement)

Visit to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Guangzhou

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In October, Elena Meyer-Clement met with researchers at Nanjing Agricultural University, Fudan University (Shanghai) and Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou) to discuss first findings of the project and talk about possible future research collaboration.

Here are reports on her lectures at Nanjing Agricultural University and at Sun Yat-sen University (in Chinese).

She also participated in field trips with Prof SONG Yu (Xi’an Jiaotong – Liverpool University) to model villages and an urbanizing town in the region of the prefectural city Huzhou, Zhejiang Province.

A “beautiful village” in Zhejiang Province

A residential community in an urbanizing town close to the prefectural city of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province

(Photo credits: Elena Meyer-Clement)

 

Fieldwork in Gansu Province

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In March 2019 Elena Meyer-Clement and René Trappel, in cooperation with Lanzhou University, conducted fieldwork in Gansu province. The team visited villages, village relocation spots, and urban villages in Lanzhou, Zhangye and Dingxi and conducted interviews with local cadres and residents. The fieldwork provided important insights into the goals, processes and mechanisms of the modernization and urbanization of rural China under the “Rural Revitalization Strategy” in Gansu province.

Elena and René also held lectures (in Chinese) at the Gansu University of Politics and Law.

(photo credit: author)