21 NOV 2025 (FRI) 11:00-12:00

Departmental Research Seminars Series

Back to the Countryside: Artists, Tourism, and Rural Gentrification in China

Date: 21 NOV 2025 (Friday)

Time: 11:00-12:00 (HKT)

Venue: Chamber, Faculty of Social Sciences, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Registration link: TBC

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Abstract:

In an era where urban expansion dominates global narratives, a contrasting trend in China sees urbanites, especially artists, relocating to the countryside, generating profound socio-cultural and spatial transformations. This talk examines how art-catalyzed gentrification reshapes rural China through two cases: Mingyue Village in Chengdu and Guanlan Village in Shenzhen. The study shows that, under China’s distinctive social and political conditions, rural gentrification diverges from Western models, emerging through the interplay of artists' migration, state intervention, rural tourism, and creative placemaking. Tourism and state intervention play a crucial role in diversifying the socio-spatial outcomes of rural gentrification, as land regulations and tourism participation opportunities have limited large-scale displacement and enabled local villagers to benefit economically. Consequently, rural gentrification in China is often perceived as a positive process, its tensions softened by tourism and creative placemaking. Situated within global gentrification debates, this research challenges urban-centric and Western models of gentrification and offers a broader understanding of creative and touristic rurality in the Global South.

Professor Xueke Yang

Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai Campus)

Xueke (Stephanie) Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai Campus). She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the National University of Singapore. Trained as a tourism geographer, her research focuses on rural tourism, culture-led urban regeneration, and rural restructuring. She has led several nationally funded research projects on rural restructuring, community empowerment, and heritage tourism, and has published in leading international journals. Her work is further enriched by active community engagement and cultural heritage consulting, often in collaboration with government bodies.

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