Economic and Cultural Revitalization in the Construction of New Rural Areas in Jiangsu Province

Abstract

Jiangsu, a Chinese province that actively pursues both economic progress and rural cultural protection within China’s new Rural Revitalization Strategy, is both a testbed of social engineering regarding the establishment of modernization and the fusion of economic development and cultural heritage preservation. This work seeks to theoretically examine the dynamics of rural Chinese social, economic, and cultural structures from both macro and micro levels with a micro-level case study, to better understand what is the economic productivity and cultural revival in contemporary China, and more importantly, why they may not have optimal potential. Data came from 3-week trips to Huishan Ancient Town, Hongcun village in Huizhou, Changxing county in Anhui, and Zhouzhuang village in Suzhou, as well as from 18+ primary and secondary literature surveys and country-level data such as annual China’s No.1 Central Document policies. Structural problems (lack of policy enforcement or implementation regarding cultural protection, improper waste and pollution, loose control of building) and well-functioning models of collaboration (relying upon cultures as engines to drive the local economy) of rural areas in China’s urban economy are highlighted here for proper understanding and examination of data sets. Case analysis through quantitative interpretations of policy measures, cross-sectoral model collaborations, and sustainability factors’ impacts are applied in an integrated form to a novel structure of rural governance (bottom-up community innovation, technology-enhanced data capital, monetary reform regarding cultural heritage, adaptive policy design for optimal human well-being) that pushes for rural development in China’s contemporary background.