ABSTRACT
This chapter builds on the theoretical premises in order to critically reflect on the making of public space in modern Chinese cities. It argues that the notion of public space, rooted in Greco-Roman legacies and later furnished in the European intellectual enterprise of describing the epochal transition to capitalist modernity is underpinned by specific political and civic ideal. The chapter highlights the importance of addressing the extent to which Chinese society 'idealises' public spaces in geographically and historically contingent ways. It discusses that beyond its Anglo-European underpinning, the centrality of public space to social formations is by no means eclipsed by the absence of normative ideals in cities 'beyond the West'. China's urban modernity, which emerged in the late nineteenth century, was characterised foremost by a socio-political movement orchestrated by the state and elites, under the name of 'municipal government'. The chapter outlines the historical background of public space and public life in urban China.
