ABSTRACT
Since the turn of the 19th century, historic Chinese urban form of over 2500 years has been experiencing dramatic change, with fundamental influences from the West. This chapter reviews how such change is reflected in society and represented in physical forms. Modernity as a widely observed phenomenon in human history appeared in China during the late 19th century onwards, which gradually established a social, cultural and political foundation for Chinese modernisation. The process of modernisation was reflected in nationwide urban planning practice conducted by foreign colonisers and the nationalist government during the first half of 20th century. Further changes to urban form were facilitated by the Communist Party after 1949. Since the economic reform of 1978, market forces have pushed Chinese cities into the contested global economy. An unprecedented rapid urbanisation and globalisation of cities have reached a point of crisis that the survival of traditional identity of many Chinese cities is threatened.
