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Liu, Anmeng Final Phd Thesis.Pdf (2.793Mb) An ordinary China: Reading ‘small-town youth’ for difference in a northwestern county town A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Geography at the University of Canterbury By Anmeng Liu October 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this acknowledgement in complete solitude under a two-week quarantine in a Shanghai hotel room, I cannot help but be overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions. Montages of faces, voices and moments constantly form in my head – it is impossible to name all of those who were with me over the course of this challenging yet rewarding thesis journey. First and foremost, my sincere gratitude goes to Dr Kelly Dombroski for being the cornerstone of this PhD project. She was not only a source of academic guidance, but also a caring and inspiring mentor who has seen me through many difficult times both academically and personally. Kelly, thank you for taking me on, cultivating my potential and nurturing me with opportunities of all kinds along the way. I would also like to thank my co-supervisors Dr Zhifang Song and Dr Chris Chen for their priceless feedback and encouragement. My gratitude also goes to all the staff and postgraduates in the previous Department of Geography and the newly merged School of Earth and Environment — Thank you Prof Peyman Zawar-Reza, Prof David Conradson, Dr Kerryn Hawke, Adam Prana, Ambika Malik, Dr Alison Watkins, Benjamin Boosch, Caihuan Duojie, Dr Huong Do, Dr Helen Fitt, David Garcia, Dr Daisuke Seto, Julia Torres, Levi Mutambo, Rasool Porhemmat, Sonam Pem, Rajasweta Datta, Ririn Agnes Haryani, S M Waliuzzaman, Trias Rahardianto, Tingting Zhang, Zhuoga Qimei. I benefited tremendously from the supportive environment you all helped to create. A special thanks goes to Jiawei Zhang, for always being there, fixing my computers among many other things. In addition, my intellectual growth benefited greatly from generous and inspiring interactions with other scholars at various conferences and seminars. I would like to thank Prof Katherine Gibson, Dr Stephen Healy, Dr Katharine McKinnon, Dr Gradon Diprose, Dr Isaac Lyne, Dr. Jamie Gillen, Prof Junjia Ye, Dr Sarah Rogers, Dr Vanessa Lamb, Prof Zhenjie Yuan, Xuegang Fan, Prof Paul Cloke and Prof Longtao He. More importantly, I owe a great deal to the participants, who are now also my friends. Thank you for opening your lives to me — this thesis is as much yours as mine, if you would allow. Also, I am grateful for the help and support of all others during my fieldwork. A tribute to Lu Yao is also in order — although my interpretation of his work has gradually changed over years, the writer has a special place in this thesis as well as in my heart, for sketching an imagination of a faraway hometown, kindling my almost intuitive curiosity of self and place, and time and time again reigniting my enthusiasm with his pilgrim-like dedication. A special shout out goes to my Zumba family. Only if I could tell you how much I treasure that embodied enlightenment — the joy of dancing with you was often what kept me going, especially during the most stressful days. Kirsty, Missy, Tammy, Teddy, Lu, Jo, Li Mei, Marcela and Cristian — I miss your suave moves and bright faces. I am also grateful to Helen and Edwin for being the most generous and kind landlords I could ever imagine — you offered me not a shelter but a home away from home. Finally, I am forever indebted to my parents, without the support of whom this project could have never happened. I love you and I hope to make you proud. 感谢我的父母，你们的爱和支持是我最坚固的后盾和永恒的动力。 II STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION I certify that the work in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of requirements for a degree except as fully acknowledged within the text. I also certify that this thesis has been written by me. Any help that I have received in my research and the preparation of this draft itself has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis. III TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ I STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION .............................................................. III LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. VII ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... IX 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.2. ‘Small towns’: the overlooked side of urban China.................................. 4 1.3. Personal impetus: an imagined hometown and Ordinary World ............. 6 1.4. ‘Small-town youth’ on the rise .................................................................. 11 The marginalised protagonists ............................................................................. 14 The distasteful consumers .................................................................................... 17 The entrepreneurial returnees .............................................................................. 21 1.5. Research Questions .................................................................................... 23 1.6. Thesis Overview ......................................................................................... 24 2. Positioning a ‘small town’ in post-reform China ............................................ 27 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 27 2.2. Entering the ‘small town’ of Wubu .......................................................... 28 Situating Wubu: a county town in northern Shaanxi ........................................... 29 Entering the county town – an ambiguous rural-urban inbetween ...................... 33 2.3. ‘The urban’ and ‘the coast’ – China’s uneven post-reform landscape . 38 Urban-centred development ................................................................................. 39 Uneven spatiality: coastal east and inland west ................................................... 43 2.4. China’s ‘small-town — metropolis’ urban binary.................................. 44 IV 2.5. Reverse mobility of ‘small-town youth’ ................................................... 49 2.6. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 53 3. Reading for difference: ordinary cities from A place of openness ................ 54 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 54 3.2. ‘Ordinary cities’ – urban studies beyond the West ................................ 55 3.3. Reading for difference: from making sense to making possibilities ..... 59 Reading Still Life for difference – critical dystopia ............................................. 62 Diverse economies – ‘ordinary’ economies ......................................................... 65 ‘Ordinary’ workers in ‘ordinary’ dorms .............................................................. 69 3.4. Openness of place lived in everyday lives ................................................ 75 3.5. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 78 4. A responsive methodology for openness .......................................................... 80 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 80 4.2. Methodology: overview and reflection ..................................................... 82 4.3. Four stories ................................................................................................. 88 4.4. Openness beyond binaries ......................................................................... 96 Beyond the researched and the researcher ........................................................... 97 Beyond the imagined ‘there’ and the lived ‘here’ ............................................. 104 Beyond ‘accident’ and ‘data’ ............................................................................. 107 4.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 109 5. From ‘small-town youth’ to ordinary Youth ................................................ 111 5.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 111 5.2. Who are they? Introducing the ‘small-town youth’ informants ......... 113 Life stories ......................................................................................................... 114 Defying structural categories ............................................................................. 118 5.3. Why are they here? Analysing their relocation to the county town .... 122 Narratives of relocation ..................................................................................... 123 V The lure of the ‘iron rice bowl’: danwei as an overarching tale ........................ 127 Breaking the ‘iron rice bowl’: working in a post-reform danwei ...................... 131 Reading for difference: going beyond the overarching
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