A critical-holistic approach to the place-specific geographies of inhabited river islands on the ruralurban fringe of Inland China

Abstract

River islands have been a relatively marginal topic in Island Studies literature for diverse geographical and disciplinary reasons. Critically engaging with past literature, this article is an attempt to examine this hitherto neglected island type based on the local experiences of inhabited river islands located on the rural-urban fringe of inland China. Through a comparative analysis of Chongming Island (Shanghai), Baguazhou (Nanjing) and Dongzhou Island (Hengyang), the article proposes a critical-holistic approach to understanding the place-specific geographies of these river islands. It is argued that inhabited river islands on the rural-urban fringe of inland China are characterised by a geography of paradox insofar as they are at once super-connected to mainland environments and utterly unconnected with kindred islands in the fluvial system. The former trait implies greater assimilation, with uncertain consequences, for such islands, while the latter indicates the virtual impossibility of them forming larger non-mainland collectivities. It is proposed that identity culture-rather than identity politics-is a more viable, and also urgently needed alternative for these islands in face of mass homogenisation. It is also proposed that studying locations that Island Studies may have cast as atypical presents several benefits for the interdisciplinary field.