Transportation Infrastructure in Yunnan: Repercussions on Cultural Diversity: Fid-Bau Portal

Transportation Infrastructure in Yunnan: Repercussions on Cultural Diversity

Ma, Vanessa

China’s transportation network has burgeoned over the twentieth century, motivated by an ambition to boost its economy with the formation of an extensive high-speed transportation network across the country. As a whole, this initiative has been claimed to be a means of prioritising development in the hinterland and improving the livelihood of communities in the rural areas. In reality, however, the building of such a network bypasses these communities. In their analysis of networked infrastructure, Graham and Marvin (Splintering urbanism: networked infrastructures, technological mobilities and the urban condition. Routledge, London, 2001) suggest that in the course of unbundling infrastructure to suit specific modernisation goals, socio-spatial relationships will inevitably be reshaped, with impacts that vary at different levels across different economic systems and social parameters. Often, a flattened cultural landscape is observed subsequent to the development. This research uses the roads connecting Yunnan to Tibet, a historically controversial link, as a case study based on the discussion points posited in Graham and Marvin (ibid) (Splintering urbanism: networked infrastructures, technological mobilities and the urban condition. Routledge, London, 2001) thesis Splintering Urbanism. The content of this paper comprises a contextual examination of the dilemma aforementioned under a comparative framework which draws upon existing theories and contemporary scholarly discussions on the regional transformations in the past decades. This is aimed at evaluating the discourse on the formation of ‘urban enclaves’ in rural China which has been pointed to be the culprit of cultural segregation and dilution over the course of modernisation. In doing so, insights into inclusive development may also be gathered.