Chinese Cities in Africa

China’s influence in Africa is growing quickly on many levels: politically, economically and even militarily. This increasing Chinese presence is often urban in nature and large in scale; all across the continent, Chinese companies are creating new highways, light rail systems, Special Economic Zones and mass housing projects.

Such development simultaneously takes advantage of and contributes to Africa’s ongoing process of rapid urbanization. Cities have brand new skylines “made in China”: designed by Chinese architects, developed by Chinese real estate firms, financed by Chinese banks and built by Chinese contractors – regularly with materials sourced directly from China.

Furthermore, China’s influence extends beyond the realm of the built environment and is changing African cities in soft ways. China’s state-owned CCTV Africa is broadcasting through the continent, and many African capitals have Confucius Institutes, at which an increasing number of African students are learning Mandarin Chinese. Through media, education and language, China’s presence is shifting the dynamics of Africa’s urban population.

Facing East: Chinese Urbanism in Africa investigates Chinese development in seven fast-growing African cities and is built around personal stories of individuals involved in the urbanization process. Using a journalistic approach, the research project spanned four years in which Michiel Hulshof and Daan Roggeveen worked with academics, curators, photographers to produce essays, exhibitions, lectures and a magazine.

Facing East: Chinese Urbanism in Africa creates associations between narratives, navigating existing and new relationships, and attempts to tie these together to comprehend the next chapter of globalization: one in which many African cities will face eastward.