Overview

Thinking Heritage Through China explores major themes in international heritage through the lens of heritage practice in China. China is a dynamic proving ground of heritage practice where international ideas are debated, fought over, and realized in many forms within the context of complex economic, political, and reputational forces. Preservation in China engages with many of the central themes of international heritage practice, shedding new light on considerations of authenticity and intangible heritage, politics and nationalism, and tourism and development. These forces lie at the heart of contemporary heritage practice, not only in China but also all over the world. Written by an architectural historian, architect, and heritage professional with experience in China, this book uses an architecturally and spatially focused analysis bridging critical heritage studies and the study of the built environment as shaped through heritage practice, exploring a wide range of contemporary heritage themes for a broad audience including China scholars. This book will be of interest to scholars, practitioners, and both undergraduate and post-graduate students interested in contemporary international heritage practice, heritage studies, theory and methods of heritage, comparative heritage practice, and heritage practice in China and Asia.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andrew Scott Johnston
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
ISBN:  

9781032600970

ISBN 10:   1032600977
Pages:   180
Publication Date:   21 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: Thinking Heritage through China. Part 1: Frameworks of Heritage Practice. 1. The “China Dream”: Heritage Practice under President Xi. 2. “A Chinese Spirit in Modern Strength”: A Foundation Story for Chinese Preservation. 3. A Past of the Mind: The New Suzhou Walls and the Limits of Universal Preservation. Part 2: Nationalism and Heritage Practice. 4. Inventing a World Heritage Site: Time, Nationalism, and Tourism. 5. Searching for Shangri-la: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Unity. 6. Remembering and Forgetting: The Century of Humiliation and the Rise of China. Part 3: Development and Heritage Practice. 7. Imagining the ""Old City"": Creating Places of Consumption. 8. Tourism and the Tourist Experience: The Ancient City of Pingyao. 9. Nostalgia and Rural Heritage. Conclusion: Questions Inspired by Chinese Heritage Practice.

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Author Information

Andrew Scott Johnston is Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Virginia. He is a licensed architect with a PhD in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served as a supervising architect for the Historic American Engineering Record and as an environmental planner for the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans), working with a wide range of experts and stakeholders on the preservation and interpretation of historic cultural landscapes. He was the founding director of both the Master of Architecture degree program and the Urban Design degree program at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China.

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