Beyond the Great Wall
Subtitle: urban form and transformation on the Chinese frontiers
By: Piper Rae Gaubatz.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Stanford, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 378
Subjects: Urbanization -- China -- History; Cities and towns -- China -- Growth -- History; City planning -- China -- History; Urban geography -- China -- History
Description: This study of cities on China's inland frontiers from ancient times to the present charts new territory in both geography and Chinese studies. As a work of geography, it integrates the approaches of urban geography, cultural historical geography, and frontier studies to assess the form and function of cities on the Chinese frontiers.

In Chinese studies, it is the first work to explore the nature of urbanism on Chinese frontiers, and the first work in English to present comparative case studies of a group of Chinese frontier cities.

Beyond the Great Wall focuses on five cities, all originally established as frontier garrisons, which now flourish with populations of over a million as capitals of the ethnically diverse regions in which they are located. The cities are Kunming, Lanzhou, Xining, Hohhot, and Urumqi.

The author explores how the urban ideals and practices of eastern China were adapted to the natural and human conditions of the frontier regions, and in the process she analyzes the interaction of Chinese and non-Chinese peoples in frontier cities in outlining the historical development of each city.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [345]-366) and index.