Seeking a Future for the Past, Space; Power; and Heritage in a Chinese City

Author

Demgenski; Philipp

Year

2024

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-0-47290-376-4

Link

Last Update

14-Apr-2026

Keywords

Sociology ; Asian Studies ; Anthropology ; Urban Studies

Description

In October 2016, I returned to Qingdao, an eastern Chinese coastal city with a colonial past located on the southern side of the Shandong peninsula. A little more than two years had passed since I finished an 18-month period of fieldwork in the historical center. In January 2014, I had left behind a bustling two-story courtyard inhabited by over 60 families. Upon my return, just two people remained. The courtyard entrance had been fitted with a locked iron gate. My former neighbor, whom I call Brother Dragon, had to come down and open it up for me. The interior resembled...