Variegated Rural Gentrification in China
DETAILS
CALL FOR PAPERS
Variegated Rural Gentrification in China
Journal: Journal of Rural Studies
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission Deadline: 1 September 2026
Introduction
This Special Issue examines the complex and uneven processes of rural gentrification in China — exploring how state policies, urban-rural dynamics, and tourism development reshape rural spaces. Contributions investigate diverse manifestations — from elite enclaves to cultural tourism villages — while addressing displacement, inequality, and spatial polarization.
By bridging urban and rural studies, this collection advances theoretical and empirical debates on gentrification in the Global South — welcoming interdisciplinary perspectives on governance, resistance, and sustainable alternatives.
Scope & Significance
Rural gentrification in China presents a distinctive and variegated set of processes — shaped by the country's unique institutional context, rapid urbanization, state-led rural development policies, and the commodification of rural heritage and landscapes. Unlike Western gentrification narratives, China's rural transformation involves the complex interplay of state power, capital investment, rural tourism, and urban-rural migration — producing highly uneven spatial and social outcomes across regions.
This Special Issue provides a dedicated platform for interdisciplinary research that theorizes these processes, documents their diverse manifestations, and critically examines their implications for rural communities, governance, and sustainable development.
List of Topic Areas
Manuscripts are invited on themes including, but not limited to:
State policies and their role in driving or mediating rural gentrification in China
Urban-rural dynamics — capital flows, in-migration, and rural space transformation
Tourism development and the commodification of rural landscapes and heritage
Elite enclaves, second-home development, and affluent in-migration to rural areas
Cultural tourism villages — heritage, authenticity, and gentrification dynamics
Displacement, dispossession, and the social costs of rural gentrification
Inequality, spatial polarization, and socio-economic stratification in gentrifying villages
Governance and planning responses to rural gentrification in China
Resistance, community agency, and alternative development pathways
Sustainable alternatives — equitable rural development beyond gentrification
Comparative perspectives — China's rural gentrification in global and Global South contexts
Theoretical contributions — advancing gentrification theory through Chinese rural cases
Urban-rural integration policies and their gentrifying effects on the countryside
Environmental and landscape change associated with rural gentrification
Gender, ethnicity, and intersectional dimensions of rural displacement and transformation
Guest Editors
Assoc. Prof. Hao Gu Hunan University, Changsha, China
Assoc. Prof. Cheng Liu China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China
Asst. Prof. Jin Zhu The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Prof. Sainan Lin Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Prof. Darren Smith Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Key Deadlines
Manuscript Submission Opens: 1 January 2026 Manuscript Submission Deadline: 1 September 2026
Submission Guidelines
Submit your manuscript via the Journal of Rural Studies editorial system:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/rural/default.aspx
When submitting, select Article Type:
"China's Rural Gentrification"
to ensure your submission is correctly grouped under this Special Issue for the review process.
All submissions must be original and must not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission.
For author guidelines, visit the official Journal of Rural Studies page on the Elsevier ScienceDirect website.
About the Journal
The Journal of Rural Studies, published by Elsevier, is a leading international peer-reviewed journal with a CiteScore of 11.3 and Impact Factor of 5.7. It supports open access publishing and is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research on rural spaces, communities, economies, and governance — providing a global platform for scholars exploring the social, cultural, political, and environmental dimensions of rural change and development worldwide.
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