Planetary Gentrification of Rural China: the case of yangjiale

Abstract

Yangjiale is a form of homestay in Mount Mogan Village, Zhejiang Province, China. Newcomers from surrounding metropolises rented abandoned village houses in the local area, turning them into BnB, thus initiating a form of rural tourism called Yangjiale. Later, Indigenous Mount Mogan people, who lived in the surrounding cities, returned to their places of origin to exploit the new opportunities given by yangjiale. After a fast period of initial growth, such a new form of rural tourism began to cool down, possibly due to the progressive loss of the quality experience made available in the early years of yangjiale. This paper offers an overview of the phenomenon since its inception, focusing on the land use change associated with it associated. First historical data about the location of yangjiale homestays was retrieved from local administrations and verified by fieldwork conducted in 2024. The complied dataset allowed for longitudinanl understand of the locational patterns in the evolution of yangjiale services from 1934 to 2022 second the land-use change analysis with a focus on Mout Mogan Town administrative area was made possible via secondary data provided by the local administration, rendering the territorial transformation occurring from 2006 to 2020. Further investigation considered the planning scheme, released in 2021 with 2035 horizon. The findings reveals a progressive shrinkage and fragmentation of agricultural land. In contrast, the areas designated for orchards, tea plantations, and gardens have shown a notable increase. Rural residential areas have continued to expand, indicating a growing trend in continue expansion. The emergence and development of yangjiale can be explained in light of a global gentrification process, which shows the urban entrepreneurial consciousness generated by the combination of international market forces and the new possibilities given by digital platforms. Thus, the process of touristification in rural China can be discussed as a form of counter-urbanization driven by the platform economy.