Beijing transforms: Urban infrastructure, public works, and social change in the Chinese capital, 1900-1928

This dissertation is about the physical and social transformation of an important Chinese city during the early twentieth century. Focusing on the first three decades of the twentieth century, during which time major public works were undertaken, essential elements of a modern infrastructure came into existence, and a new metropolis took shape, it investigates four aspects of urban infrastructure: modern waterworks, mass transit, electrification, and public parks. It also examines the development of municipal institutions and the public works sponsored by the city government, especially urban planning, street paving and sewer repair. The seven chapters each deal with one major aspect of urban infrastructure; together they address three related questions: what was the city like before these changes occurred? How and why was it transformed? What does the change mean? Relying heavily on archival sources, I give equal treatment to the city's spatial transformation and its implication for social change. Through this case study, I explore the diffusion of Western technology in China, the role of municipal government and entrepreneurship in the context of rising Chinese nationalism, and the impact of technological change on the urban environment and on the everyday life of ordinary Chinese city dwellers. Although the focus of this study is on the tradition and transformation of an Asian city, I attempt to compare and contrast Beijing's path to urbanization with urban development in North American and European cities. By examining the role of Western technology in Chinese public works and by documenting a conscious attempt by the Chinese to combine the strengths of their own urban heritage with Western experiences, I hope to initiate an international dialogue in comparative urbanism, and to contribute to the lively historical debate over whether urbanism displays common characteristics throughout the world or whether Chinese urban development charts its own distinctive course.