Historical imaginaries, historic urban branding, and the local state in China: rejuvenation discourse, manufactured heritage and simulacrascapes

Abstract

This intervention examines the extant literature on historical imaginaries and historic urban branding in China. It suggests that while research in this field has increasingly moved away from an economic (or an implicit neo-Marxist) model, there is still a lack of research on the role of broader cultural and state led discourses of nationalism in the construction of historic urban imaginaries and historic urban branding within Chinese cities. In unpacking one nationalistic discourse a – narrative of rejuvenation – this article argues that more needs to be done to examine the role of these themes in the construction of historical imaginaries at the level of the local state (including related state networks of developers, retailers, tourist officials, town planners, architects, and designers). It is suggested that an analysis of these discourses and imaginaries is important if we are: 1) to appreciate the role of these themes in the construction and/or the reconfiguration of existing or emerging historic brands within Chinese cities; 2) to comprehend the construction of ‘authorised heritage discourses’, (AHDs) practices and materialities at the level of the local state; 3) to understand the politics of the past (including the uses of history, memory, nostalgia, and heritage) at the level of the local state; 4) to be aware of the way in which these themes inform the preservation, conservation, and/or the demolition of heritage space at the level of the local state; 5) to recognise the manufacture of ‘heritage’ or simulacrascapes within Chinese cities.