Urbanization – Debunking Myths of China

The Colonel Infiltrates China

Sam Jones, Dan Guin / April 15, 2015May 6, 2015 / Food, Urbanization

By Dan Guin and Sam Jones

Fast Food Chains such as KFC and Pizza Hut conjure up many images inside an American’s mind. Usually the latter reminds us of those strange red booths with cracked faux-leather, and a strange 80’s wood theme throughout the restaurant. It is not the most romantic place to go on a date. Dig about 8,000 miles through the Earth, and you would find a stark difference between the Pizza Huts of America, and the Pizza Huts of China.

Unlike its American cousin, usually known for its cheap and passable pizza, Pizza Hut in China is known for its unique and experimental pizzas, an upper-middle class clientele, and as a place that many teens take their dates on. Pizza Hut in China is obviously not the brand we know and (love?) here in America, so we were curious as to the motivation between the sharp shift in branding.

Pizza Hut in China http://www.globalpartnersmba.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Brazil-2011-025.jpg

To understand this however, we need to take a glance at the beginning of the fast food revolution in China. American Fast Food chains, like a modern day manifest destiny with a greasy twist, entered the Chinese restaurant market in 1987, with KFC opening its first Chinese branch in Beijing. McDonalds followed soon after, and these two fast food chains became the number 1 and 2 top fast food restaurants in China, respectively (Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire). By 2002, 80% of Chinese citizens had eaten at one of these fast food restaurants. But why the rapid expansion? Researchers at the Oxford Club speculate that this may be due to the rapid expansion of the middle class, as well as grueling work hours, causing many to not be able to eat at home. Researchers also wonder that if marriages, now happening later in life, are having a meaningful impact on fast food sales.

This brings us back to our original question. Why does Pizza Hut look so different in China? What it comes down to is the demographic. When fast food first came out in China, it could only afford to cater to the upper middle class/upper class citizens. Now that the standard of living and general wealth have increased, a larger portion of citizens are now able to eat fast food without the fast food company having to drop quality or class.

Though growth is slowing, the future of fast food in China is bright, with millions of potential customers ready for a slice of pizza.

Citations

1. D’altorio, Tony. “Fast-Food Culture Grows in China.” – Investment U. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.investmentu.com/article/detail/18380/fast-food-culture-grows-in-china#.VS5xz1yGu2w.

2. “Yum! Global News.” Yum! Brands. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.yum.com/.

3.Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire. DVD. 2007; New York, NY: Films Media Group, 2008.

4. Bankman, Judy. “Western Fast Food Chains Flourish in China.” Food Tank. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://foodtank.com/news/2013/08/western-fast-food-chains-flourish-in-china-rates-of-obesity-and-diabetes-sk.

5. “Pizza Hut in China” http://www.globalpartnersmba.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Brazil-2011-025.jpg

6. “KFC, China” http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Kfc_of_china.jpg

Urbanization of Chinese Villages After Cultural Revolution

ghauver / April 7, 2014May 6, 2015 / Urbanization

By Michael Tan, Claire Mathon and Tommy Hauver

After the catastrophic Cultural Revolution eventually ended in 1976, China began to regain its vitality under the lead of the new government. Chinese economy has been growing at tremendous pace each year ever since the reforming and opening up policies were established in 1978. It is obvious that this development in economy has resulted in the mass urbanization in rural areas. The villages have been so much better off due to changing the type of economy in order to fit in the new lifestyle in more urbanized areas.

The ancient village of Fenghuang is one of the villages that benefited the most from urbanization. The urbanization took place in 2001, where the local authority decided to make good use of its splendid views to turn it into a tourism-specified city. This process was extremely successful, where the annual number of tourists increased from 576,000 to 4,859,500 in 2009, and annual income from tourism increased from 74,000,000 yuan (about 12,333,333 dollars) to 2,609,000,000 yuan (about 434,833,333 dollars). (Zhou, 2011) These dramatic data definitely reveals the great benefits of urbanization; however, urbanization is also causing potential problems to the urbanized area.

The ancient town of Fenghuang https://www.flickr.com/photos/freecu/5591385449/

Behind the gigantic economic growth in Fenghuang, newly emerged problems draws a shade over the bright future of this city. Traditional landscape was the worst drawbacks of urbanization. As the number of tourists increased by a great amount, more and more souvenir shops were set up, which took over numerous ancient folk houses. Meanwhile, more and more contacts between Fenghuang and more developed cities caused some traditional customs and productions to disappear due to the new and more urbanized lifestyle. (Zhou, 2011)

In Fenghuang, urbanization seems to have more drawbacks in the long term than the benefits in the short term because of its harm to the culture itself. So should urbanization be strictly controlled in order to maintain the social welfare? In contrast, the transition in Xizhou, Yunnan is much milder and more sustainable. Xizhou is a village which was ruled by the Bai ethnic minority group, which was known for its handcraftsmanship and tourism. Unlike urbanization that took place in Fenghuang, the transition to a more industrialized society in Xizhou successfully transformed from an agricultural oriented village to a business oriented city. At the same time, its unique culture was enforced, which credited the Bai people’s accurately realizing the tourists’ need and quickly adapt the new style of production within their traditional production (Yang, 2012). This makes Xizhou a good example of a village undergoing urbanization in China.

Girls in traditional Bai costume. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fangyang/4368030626/

If urbanization makes progress under its capability, instead of blindly pursuing economic achievement, it will bring the maximized benefit to the nation and will strengthen the culture and unique tradition of the villages it is affecting.

Continue reading “Urbanization of Chinese Villages After Cultural Revolution”

Urbanization: Chinese Cultural Revolution

cmathon / April 7, 2014May 6, 2015 / Cultural Revolution, Urbanization

By Claire Mathon, Tommy Hauver and Michael Tan

Many societies undergo events that have profound effects on their culture. In China, this event is regarded as the Cultural Revolution. Between 1965 and 1976, Mao attempted to reassert his authority over China through implementation of his beliefs because he feared that China was moving in an inegalitarian direction. Mao was heavily influenced by similar events in the Soviet Union and made the decision to move toward a more ideologically pure society, as the Soviets did. (Cultural).

The objective of the Cultural Revolution was to get rid of old ideas and customs in order to make education, art, and literature more in line with Communist ideology. Anything that displayed feudal or bourgeois ideals was destroyed. Mao was essentially attempting to create a society in which there was no gap between urban and rural, rich and poor, and laborers and intellectuals. (Cultural Revolution)

In an effort to close this gap, many young Chinese were sent from cities to work in the countryside. In fact, the Chinese government ordered that one teenager from every urban household move to the countryside to work on the farms. (CNN: Tracy You) This deprived many young people from receiving educations in the city. Interestingly enough, this period of time in China showed an extreme urban-to-rural migration, or reverse migration, for the Chinese youth. However, soon after the Cultural Revolution, urban populations began to increase again due to an increase in employment opportunities in cities. (Britannica: Consequences of the Cultural Revolution)

This photo was taken in 1967 and shows two Chinese citizens being branded as “Capitalist Roader” and subjected to physical abuse in front of the public. Source

Photo taken by 蒋少武 (translation: Shaowu Jiang)

It is estimated that 1.5 million people were killed during the Cultural Revolution and millions of others suffered from imprisonment, torture, and humiliation. (Cultural) The long-term effects of the Revolution are still prevalent in China today, particularly in Chinese villages. The traditional village social structure was severely affected. Peasants were encouraged to seize landlords’ fields and other property, which was an effort by the government to strengthen support from the poor. Land was distributed equally among all social classes, and in the process, all traditions of the villages’ social structure were lost. The Cultural Revolution paved the way for urbanization, which ultimately transformed village culture. People were forced to move to cities because they could no longer sustain themselves in the villages. They left behind their history, their tradition, and their legacy because the country made such a dramatic shift toward a more urbanized society.

Remnants of a banner from the Cultural Revolution in Anhui Province. Photo taken by: Chang Liu

Before and After the Beijing Olympics: Physical Change

mbaker2 / April 7, 2014May 6, 2015 / Environment, Sports, Urbanization

By M. Baker

When the selection of the city of Beijing as the host city for the 2008 Olympics was announced on July 13, 2001, it sparked a wave of excitement across China and marked a new period of change for the city. This period of change before the 2008 Olympics transformed the city in many ways, but perhaps the biggest changes for the city came in the form of a transformed skyline and new infrastructure.

Prior to the selection of Beijing as an Olympic host city, the physical landscape of Beijing was similar to many other cities across China. Buildings were either old holdovers from dynasties past or distinctly utilitarian high-rises built in the communist era when waste and extravagance was severely frowned upon. These communist-era buildings were often bland and made of brick or stone or other cheap materials.

For the Beijing Olympics, government officials strove to present Beijing as a truly international city. In order to fulfill this goal, Chinese government officials embarked on a huge campaign to change the landscape of Beijing in several ways. First, they set about improving the overall infrastructure of the city: hundreds of miles of subway lines were added, the airport was expanded and updated, and new facilities for the Olympics were built, including the Water Cube and the famous Bird’s Nest Stadium.

Next, the Chinese government decided to preserve—at least artificially—some distinctly Chinese structures from the pre-communist era as a tribute the China’s past. This move was vastly different from the previous actions of the government in the communist era, who tended to emphasize progress over cultural history—see the Cultural Revolution.

Finally, new development and architectural innovation was strongly encouraged as China attempted to turn Beijing into a truly international city akin to New York, London, or Paris. Buildings were made to impress and show “face” for China: the new National Theatre, the Bird’s Nest Stadium, the Water Cube, and the CCTV building are all examples of this new age of Chinese architecture that came about because of the preparations for the 2008 Olympics.

The Beijing National Stadium, a.k.a. “the Bird’s Nest” during the Olympic Ceremonies, 2008.
(“国家体育场,” by 老黄瓜/nPhoto.net/licensed with CCBY 2.0)

Overall, Beijing was radically transformed physically for the Olympics. These changes have had a lasting impact on Beijing, particularly because of the new infrastructure and new skyline filled with modern, architecturally distinct buildings. However, some argue that the changes made for the Olympics have not done much for the city. In an article for The New York Times, Michael Wines details how the flagship stadiums built for the Olympics stand mostly empty four years later: “By most accounts, the vendors hawking trinkets outside the stadium outnumber the foreigners who go there to gawk.”

On the other hand, most residents of Beijing had positive feelings for the changes brought about because of the Olympics: even Grandma Gao, a woman who had previously lived in a hutong village within Beijing and was forcibly relocated to make room for the new National Stadium, reported that her life had “changed for the better”.

The changes brought about by the Olympics have drastically transformed Beijing, even years after the Olympics. While the urgency for such change has slowed, today Beijing continues to change its landscape in its continuing quest to present the best “face” to the world.

A look at the different periods of architecture in China, mixed together: in the foreground, Communist high-rises are visible, with the Imperial Forbidden City in the middle, and the new, architecturally distinct skyscrapers in the background.
(“View of Beijing, China,” by ahenobarbus/Flickr/licensed with CC BY 2.0)

Early Education in China: Effects on Higher Education

gfilipski / April 4, 2014May 6, 2015 / Education, Urbanization

By Grace Filipski, Emily Martin, Matt Turner, and Adam Becklehimer

As the film Education, Education discussed, in China, a child’s performance in early education has a significant effect on all aspects of his or her life. At the end of their early school training, kids take a universal test which determines where they are able to attend school. The top students are offered spaces at subsidized universities, while the students who did not perform as well are forced to attend expensive private colleges, if anything at all. The students who did poorly are often from rural communities, as the schools there are not well funded, and therefore not very functional. The private institutions that they attend to attempt to escape the difficulties of rural life are extremely corrupt, as they function more like companies than colleges. The teachers are not qualified for their positions and are forced to spend their summers presenting to these underprivileged families. In these talks, they lie about the existence of facilities and the proficiency of professors, as the students will likely learn nothing during their time at the university. Since the families are so desperate to free their kids from the woes of rural life, they will do anything to provide them with the money to attend these institutions to get a skill or certificate and, eventually, a job. Though having a degree can help get the students’ foot in the door for a job, often they find themselves inadequately prepared for the workplace and are therefore fired. The inability for students who are born into bad living situations to succeed is a major flaw of the Chinese education system and will only create more problems of poverty in rural China.

For more information on Early Education in China, check out these blogs:

Early Educaiton in China: Progression of Society

Early Education in China: The Exciting History

Early Education in China: Culture

Weijun Chen, dir., Don Edkins, prod. “Education, Education.” Part of the Why Poverty project. Steps International. Video file, 58 min. January 4, 2013. Accessed March 4, 2014. http://www.whypoverty.net/en/video/education-education/.