“Don’t kill the dragon” — urban development in China

Abstract

China’s economic, social and even cultural development is moving forward at a speed that is probably unique in history. Something that may be true today could be out of date by tomorrow. This report considers professional experience in the period from 1996–2005 and relates to urban situations. Given the size and geographical and cultural diversity of the Middle Kingdom, and the divide between town and country, it is hardly possible to make general statements. The conditions differ too much in this state, the most populous on earth, extending from Central Asia to the Pacific, from the north-east to the tropical regions in the border area with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. There are 25 different ethnic groups in the south-western province of Yunnan, for example.