Recasting the rural: Planning the “new” countryside in China

In the post-productivist era of rural research it is increasingly recognised that dynamic and multiple “rurals” are evident, tied to diverse socioeconomic processes which are constantly negotiated and mediated by a multitude of actors in different places. In contrast, rural planning systems often present a single dominant representation of the rural for development and/or revitalisation. The thesis aims to address this paradox by exploring the reforms to the rural planning system in the construction of the Chinese Communist Party’s “new” countryside construction. This is a novel context where rural change is unfolding in rapid ways, and under the auspices of an authoritarian planning system and regime. The thesis examines the dynamic shift in power within Chinese rural planning after the initiation of “new” countryside construction in 2003. Specifically, landscape changes in five case studies in Beibei District, Chongqing, since 2003, are investigated, which constitute a comparative framework focusing on how this relates to the original planning vision based on different representations of rurality. Key findings reveal that in the post-productivist era, multiples representations of rurality have resulted in different models and systems of rural planning across the five case study areas. The thesis shows that China’s “new” countryside construction does not manifest as a singular “new countryside” but rather as “new countrysides.” With the increasing possibilities and uncertainties in the planning process, it is argued that a rapidly differentiating rural landscape is emerging in contemporary China. Therefore, the thesis calls for both a fuller sensitivity to dynamic power relations among different organisations and actors in rural areas, and for the establishment of a more effective and responsive planning system in the Chinese context.