Charlie Qiuli Xue and Arwen Yingting Chen, "American-Designed Shopping Malls in China" (Hong Kong UP, 2026)
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of American-designed shopping malls on China's urban development and consumer culture.
China’s remarkable journey from poverty to becoming the world’s second-largest economic power is marked by extraordinary urban growth and consumption capacity of its urban population. Central to this development fervor are multifunctional commercial complexes and shopping malls, now key features of modern urban districts. The concept of shopping malls, originally introduced to China by American architects in the 1980s, has since flourished on an even larger scale than their American counterparts. American-Designed Shopping Malls in China (Hong Kong University Press, 2026) by Dr. Charlie Qiuli Xue and Dr. Arwen Yingting Chen delves into the origins of shopping mall development in the United States after World War II, tracing how American architects exported this building type into China’s rapidly evolving urban landscapes, particularly in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, and Guangzhou. Using primary sources, statistical analyses, and illustrated case studies, the book explores the evolution of shopping malls as a consequence of China’s profound economic, social, and cultural change over the past four decades. The book also highlights the impact of American consumerism on the…
People in this episode
Host: Miranda Melcher
Guests: Charlie Qiuli Xue, Arwen Yingting Chen
Topics covered
- urban development
- shopping malls
- American architecture
- China's economy
- consumerism
- cultural change
Keywords
- shopping malls
- urban growth
- American architects
- China
- consumer patterns
- architectural practices
- economic change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hong Kong University Press
Books & works: American-Designed Shopping Malls in China
Places: China, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Guangzhou
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