Urban Development and Retail Structure in Beijing A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Geography University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Yinshe Sun Fall ZOO0 O Copyright Ymhe Sun, 2000. All Rights Reserved. Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliogmphk Services sentices bibliraphiques The author has granted a non- L'autem a accorde une licence non exclusive Iicence allowing the exclusive permettant a la Natiod Library of Canada to Bibfiothkque natiode du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reprodtire' p&r, distn'bner ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier on sur fonnat electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the Qoit d'auteur qui prdge cette these. thesis nor substantid extracts hmit Ni Ia th&e m des extraits mbsbntiels may be printed or otherwise de cefle-ci ne doivent &re imprim& reproduced without the author's ou autrement repr0dIlit.s sans son permission. antorisation. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fdfihent of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it Myavailable for inspection. I further agree that pennission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly plrrposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financia1 gain shalI not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for pennission to copy or to make other use of materiai in this thesis in whde or part shodd be addressed to: Head of the Department of Gmgraphy University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon. Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the evolutionary processes of the urban structure and retail pattern in Beijing as the city was transformed from a traditional national capital, through a socialist political centre, to a modern metropolis. The understanding of the processes will allow us to comment on the existing models of Third World urban development. While a theoretical framework was put forward to establish the relationships among the political-economic-social fabrics, urban development and retail structure, analyses were made involving factors at three levels to interpret the spatial processes of urban functions and retail structure reorganization. The study revealed that urban development in Beijing has shown three distinctive stages. Each stage had its prevailing factors, resulting in different forms of urban development. Beijing was originally built according to the concept of traditional Chinese capital city design. During the socialist period, the city was transfonned toward egditarianism in the practices of socialist ideology, planned industrialization, and social controls. Since the late 1970s, the reform and open-door policies have been generating new economic and social forces that have reshaped Beijing's urban development. As a result, competitions and -ormations among urban functions caused by the new forces have led to a series of spatial processes in the city. Along with urban expansion, population increased rapidly in the outer zone of the city, with concomitant depopulation in the inner city. As in other Third World cities, tempomy residentdimmigrants increased significatltIy in Beijing, forming peasant encIaves in the urban fringe areas. Industrial plants were also relocated from the inner urban districts to the industry tracts in the outer regions. The establishment of development zones and industrial parks in the suburbs also changed the industrial Iandscape in the city. Meanwhile, several major business centres have been developed, amoog which the most spectacular are the emerging CBD in the city's east and the Financial Street in the city's west. Based on these processes, a dynamic urban structure model for the Chinese city was derived. The spatial retail pattern in Beijing over the dynasties was basically dictated by the city layout and its social structure. It evolved hma mono-centre to a bipolar structure and was expIicable with the central place theory. The existence of the socialist retailing in the city was a result of its centrally-pIanned system. Since the reforms urban development has resulted in significant changes in the transportation network and the distniution of market factors, which eventuaIIy led to the emergence . of a multi-centre retail pattern. While the relics of the former admiamative structure attempted to fom urban realms of retail activities in the city, major new retail establishments tend to conform to the interceptor ring model. In essence, Beijiig's contemporary retaiI stnrcture represents a mixture of madels based on both the planned system of the past and the prevailing market forces, even though the influence by the latm is growing, DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, with love and appreciation, for their strong support and encouragement in pursuing a Ph.D. degree. I would aIso like to dedicate this to Professor James Cameron for his extensive help, understanding, encouragement, and friendship. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am gratem to my supervisor, Professor Ka-iu Fung, for his he1pfb.I guidance throughout the research and thesis preparation. Special thanks go to my Advisor Committee; Prof'essor James Randall and Professor Li Zong for their constructive comments on the methodology, my external examiner Professor Lawrence J.C. Ma for his vduab[e suggestions, and Professor Avi Akkerman for his comments. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to Professor James Cameron and bye McDonald, Professor Ron Bordessa and Mari-Peepri Bordessa, Professor Shuguaag Wang and his famiIy, Professor Ken Jones, Professor Kok-Chiang Tan, and my fiend George Goetzs and his family for their help in various ways. Appreciations also go to the faculty and staff in the Department of Geography for their generous help and friendship. Financia1 support of b-year University Scholarship hm the College of Graduate Studies and Research is acknowledged. Finally, I want to express my deepest appreciation to my wife Yan, my son Hao, and my daughter Cathy for their patience, understanding and emotional suppoa during my research. TABLE OF CONTEIWS PERMISSION TO USE ABSTRACT DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES GLOSSARY xiv Chapter I The Research Problem and Study Area I. 1 Introduction 1.2 The Research Problem 1.3 Defining the Study Area 1 -3.I The Administrative Structure and the Built-up Area of Beijing 1.3.2 The Beijing Metropolitan Area 1.1 The Basic Structure of Beijing's Metropolitan Area 1.5 Organization of the Dissertation Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Research on Urban Retail Structure 2.2 Urban Spatial Structure of Third World Cities 2.3 Spatial Structure of the Socialist City 2.4 Spatid Structure of Chinese Cities 2.4.1 Urban Morphology and Internal Strum 2.42 Influences of Socialist Ideology and Urban Economic Reforms 2.5 Remaining Problems amp!r3RegescLh~~gporheseSadthe~~ 3.1 Research Objectives 3.2 Hypotheses 3.3 Urban Development and Retail Structure: The Theoretical Framework 3.4 Sociwconomic Factors and Spatial Indicators: The AnalyticaI Elements 3.5 Methodology 3.5.1 GIS-based Exploratory Spatid-Temporal Analysis 3.5.2 Shift-Share Analysis 3 53Multivariate Market Analysis 3.5.4 Point Pattern Analysis 3.6 Data Resources 3.6.1 Data on Urban DeveIopment 3.6.2 Data on Retail Activities 3.6.3 Field Sucveys 3.6.4 Tigof Data 3.6.5 Evaluation of Data Resources 3.7 Applications and Limitatioas of the Research Methods Chapter 4 Beijing: A Traditional Chinese Capital City and Its Markets 4.1 Traditional Chinese Society and the [deal Design for the Capital City 4.1.1 The Political-SociaI System 4.1.2 The Ideal Design of the Capital City 42 The Origin of the City and Yuan Dadu 4.2.1 The Origin of Beijing 42.2 Yuan Dadu 4.3 The hperial Capital in the Ming and Qing Dynasties 4.4 Retail Patterns in Beijing before Socialism 4.4.1 The Retail Pattan in Yuan Dadu 4.4.2 The Retail Patterns in Ming and Qing Beijing 4.4.3 The Retail Pattern in the Late Qing and the Republican Era 4.5 Application of Central Place Theory to the Retail Pattems of Beijing 4.6 Comprehensiveness vs. Speciality 4.7 SlIIIlmary Chapter 5 Socimlist Beijing: Reconstruction ofthe City and Retriling 5.1 The Socialist Politics and Urban DeveIopment 5.2 The Planned Economic System and ladustridization 5.3 Gmwth of the Wallenclosed Work-Units 5.4 Urban Expansion under Socialisn 5.5 Retailing under Socialism 5.6 Retail Organization, Planniag Principle and Spatid Pattecn in Socialist Beijing vii 5.6. I Administrative Organization of Retail Enterprises 5.62 Retail Planuing PrincipIes 5.63 Spatial Distribution of Retail Centres in Beijing 5.7 Summary Chapter 6 Urban Development in Beijiug in the Era of Reform I14 6.1 The Refonns, Opendoor Policy and Urban Development 1 IS 6.1.1 The Reforms: Purpose, Process and