ABSTRACT
The arts sector in most countries used to receive far less attention than other areas of the public sector and was generally considered to have ‘a minor status within the political system’. This chapter addresses some general patterns of the cultural turn in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei as part of probing the influence and implications of ‘imported’ cultural policy initiatives on the cultural landscape of Chinese cities. Culture-led urban development is commonly linked with growing inter-urban competition for investment, a skilled workforce, and other means of capital accumulation. The cultural turn in urban development can be broadly characterized by the widening scope of the instrumentalization of culture, where particular focus rests on those cultural policy strategies that are seen as ‘useful’ to the city’s promotion, regeneration, and economic growth. The rise in public expenditure on culture in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei indicates the growing interest of the local governments in the cultural affairs of their cities.
