Introduction On a sizzling summer day in 2019, I arrived at a Guangzhou city park for an appointment with Mama Wu.[1] “Come meet me around…

First encounters In January 2016, Mr Zhou tagged me in a WeChat group. I had met the 67-year-old two years before, during my fieldwork among…

Without yellow leaves, there can be no autumn. Ruins are the yellow leaves of a building. People say that the purpose of yellow leaves is…

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…

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…

Introduction China has been very active in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH hereafter) since the ratification of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of…

Introduction Through the standardisation of styles, the study of past models, and the theorisation of gesture, from medieval times to present, the “classical tradition” of…

Introduction The sacred landscape of Inner Asia is constituted, among other elements, by holy cairns called oboo. Built on the top of mountains and hills…