Victoria Park in Tianjin: British urbanism shaped by interaction with an evolving Chinese society

Abstract

This article examines the nature of urbanism in British concessions in China from the mid-nineteenth century to the present by investigating the evolution of Tianjin’s Victoria Park, the centre of the largest British concession in China. While existing works often subsume the urban development of concessions under the hegemony of British arrivals, this research explores how residents of the British concession and locals in Tianjin interacted to frame their urbanism, contributing to our understanding of the urban formation of the British concession in China and beyond. It reveals that initially Victoria Park was primarily a place of entertainment, and then, through interaction between the local Chinese and British residents, evolved firstly into the very symbol of British pride in the concession; then into a neglected pocket of parkland – representing the dark side of British settlers; and finally, into an important part of the precious heritage of the city.

Keywords

• british concession
• colonial urbanism
• china
• interaction
• public park