Manzhouli or Manchzhuriya? Linguistic and Cultural Hybridization in the Border City

Abstract

This chapter, based on my own field research (2008-2010), deals with the case of Manzhouli-a Chinese city on the border with Russia. Manzhouli positions itself as a tourist-oriented city, a crossroads of different cultures and styles. Eclectic architecture dominates the city center; some buildings and sculpture compositions are built exclusively to represent Russian architectural history. In other aspects of the city's life adaptation to `European tastes' (as perceived by Chinese) also results in hybrid forms. Hybridization on a linguistic level is evident as well, both in the linguistic landscape and in face-to-face communication between Russian and Chinese speakers. Most importantly, Chinese and Russian interpretations of Manzhouli are virtually diametrically opposed: whereas the former see it as a European/Russian city, an adjustment to the needs of Russian tourists, for the latter it serves as a representation of `the true China'.