Introduction An abandoned coal town: Kouquan Located on Datong’s outskirts, Kouquan Town used to be an important coal centre, surrounded by mines and miners’ settlements….

Introduction This article is a reflection on urban ruins, fieldwork, and photography. In line with this special issue, its purpose is to explore how these…

Jean-Yves Heurtebise’s essay explores various aspects of the crossed history of intellectual and cultural relations between European and Chinese worlds since the Renaissance. It is…

Charlotte Bruckermann’s book is set in Sweeping Cliff, a village that has been developed into a tourist site in the mountainous Shanxi countryside. As the…

Li Jie’s new book is an intriguing study of a series of objects that can be understood as cultural texts in a broad sense, spanning…

Introduction – Following Chinese children far from urban centres: The trail of ruins There exist many areas in China today characterised by their decaying buildings,…

Beyond the exceptional lens: Ruination and the shaping of ordinary spaces in China Urban ruins constitute ubiquitous spaces in contemporary China: from neighbourhoods and areas…

“Xinfang” (信訪, literally “letters and visits”) can be described broadly as a method of “appealing to those at the top to clear up problems left…

Marriage is one of the social institutions that is still playing an important role in many Asian countries. At least, that is what is shown…

Reviewing research whose subjects echo one’s own work is a fascinating and stimulating exercise. Des lieux en commun resonates in fact with two ethnographic studies…