Abstract
Over the years interlocutors have pointed to the role of elites in the selective utilisation of history, memory, nostalgia and heritage within modern China; particularly, scholars have pointed to the role of Confucianism, humiliation history and totalitarian nostalgia within these hegemonic processes. However, with the exception of work on Shanghai, there is a paucity of investigations on the role of local elites in the utilisation of local historical-geographic discourses within contemporary China. Acknowledging this lacuna in the extant literature, this chapter argues that ‘local elites’ – defined as coalitions of local officials, developers, commercialists and/or urban conservationists – are increasingly coming together to utilise local histories, memory, nostalgia and heritage as a tool of urban marketing and place-branding. To unpack this argument, this chapter therefore explores local state coalitions dedicated to urban development in the cities of Shanghai, Wuhan and Xi’an.
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