Abstract
Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Chinese nationals working in Mongolia, this research note explores various forms of gardening that unfolded as side-projects at sites where Chinese enterprises were engaged in the extraction of oil, zinc and fluorspar. At first, the organisation and activities of these Chinese operations appeared to stem from a penchant for walled compounds and gardening. However, on closer inspection, the horticultural enclaves were not really a unilateral imposition of a culturally determined aesthetics, but rather the outcome of a negotiation, informed by prevailing ethnic stereotypes, of the proper form a Chinese presence could assume in Mongolia.
Highlights
It was only when we got out of the car to take a closer look that we noticed the stones and saplings that seemed to trace a faint perimeter around the Chinese fluorspar mine
Knowing how vegetables are associated with China in Mongolia, we found it difficult to dismiss them as apolitical
The idea of gardening as an instrument devised to expand Chinese influence in Mongolia proved to be untenable, but our tour did leave us with two distinct impressions of the nature of Chinese extractive enclaves
Summary
It was only when we got out of the car to take a closer look that we noticed the stones and saplings that seemed to trace a faint perimeter around the Chinese fluorspar mine. Morten Pedersen and I had recently set out to do ethnographic research on relations between Chinese nationals and locals in sites where state-owned enterprises and small private companies from China engaged in natural resource
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