The other Tianjin and its concession culture: local residents’ perception of the postcolonial identity of Minyuan Stadium

Yanning Xiang, Yat Ming Loo and Jonathan Hale

Planning Perspectives, 2024, vol. 39, issue 2, 347-369

Abstract: With the launch of cultural tourism in Tianjin, the regeneration and heritage preservation of the Five Avenues, the former upscale residential area of the British Concession, has been accelerated. In 2012, the public monumental sports building of this area, Minyuan Stadium, was reconstructed into a leisure hub. Subsequently, several local community residents began documenting their memories of Minyuan and their views on its renewal on online We-media platforms. This article explores the residents’ perceptions of Minyuan as portrayed in the unexplored informal online archives and investigates how they differ from the official discourse. The findings reveal that the residents tend to present a dynamic image of Minyuan that moves beyond a Westernized image by highlighting low-cost temporary spatial practice in which ordinary people participated during the post-concession Socialist Revolution and Construction. These residents’ perceptions challenge the official representation of the local culture of the Five Avenues and the image of Minyuan, and contribute to provide an alternative perspective for understanding postcolonial identity construction in Chinese cities.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/02665433.2023.2230553

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