Introduction

In architecture, scholars have argued that the construction of memory is slippery. 1 Indeed, memory can be seen as fleeting and unreliable. Yet, memory is also indelible in the mind; hence, it remains a constant subject in the debate on the making of heritage, place and identity. In the everyday life and experiences of the city, architecture serves as an agent, storing much historical information about the life and production of people from generation to generation, reflecting the trajectory of urban development, and is an important cornerstone for revitalising the place's character and local urban charm. In this respect, architecture and the city can be viewed as machines performing the act of remembering and the act of forgetting as memories often overlap or replace one and the other. How do remembering and forgetting occur and what is remembered and forgotten? How is the past represented and how does this relate to the future? Does urban memory have a different meaning and method of storing in a society with a different culture and language? The less immediate – but perhaps the most important – question is whose memories are being represented, by whom and for whom? This last question leads us to historicise and contextualise the discourse of urban memory in a particular place. In this book, our focus is China.