ABSTRACT
Two interrelated issues have been discussed in this chapter, the construction and development of Chunghsing New Village and the rise and fall of the provincial government. The former was the 'spatial container' of the local governing body and created a spatial aspiration not only to accomplish but also to visualize the Chinese version of modernity; the latter performed the role of 'Republic of China (ROC) local state' to set an example of a 'Sanminzhuyi Model Province' for the rest of the Chinese provinces. Within this rationally designed and politically symbolic space provincial government staff carried out their everyday spatial practices, set an example of an ideal and modern lifestyle and represented a compliant local state of modern China. The chapter explores not only the ways in which this new place was conceived, designed and lived up to its symbolism, but also how the spatial practices and lived experience of the residents 'made' the place what it was.
