PRESERVATION AND REGENERATION VIA HAI PAI CULTURAL RENAISSANCE – A CASE STUDY OF TIANZIFANG CREATIVE QUARTER IN SHANGHAI

ABSTRACT: The intensive modernisation occurring in Chinese cities has been described as “down with character”, however, there is an emergent tendency in which one finds some bottom-up campaigns opposing the mainstream of “the Generic City”. These spontaneous groups are expanding, especially in Shanghai, due to increasing overseas immigration and a regenerated multi-cultural consciousness that resists the predominant processes of stripping urban identity. This paper proposes that the arrival of overseas immigrants and the renaissance of Hai Pai Culture underpin the process of preserving and regenerating the Tianzifang. Foreigners ’ strong appreciation of the place reverses the ideas of the local, coupled with the rise of the “Shanghai Bourgeoisie”, has meant a revival of Hai Pai culture which can be observed in some details of the Tianzifang creative quarter. It is concluded that there are three problems, over-commodification, lack of democratic planning processes for different interest groups and no well-organized system for overseas immigration