Abstract
Daqing in China is well-known as a, if not the, “Chinese oil city”. However, the reasons behind its importance for the People’s Republic of China and the origins of its current spatial organization remain unclear. “How was such growth achieved against the backdrop of the so-called de-urbanization processes? What was occurring at the local level? What happened to the people of my parents’ generation?” Hou Li, a leading Chinese urban scholar, addresses these questions in her latest book, Building for Oil, explaining how the lowering of urban construction standards to the level of rural ones, the focus of investments on production, and the reliance on individual commitment led to China’s unprecedented growth. Despite the absence (or the concealment) of a critical opinion on the part of the author on the events and decisions described, this contribution is of particular importance to understand the path leading to contemporary China.
I. Introduction
The origins of the Chinese oil industry and its development have long remained lost in accounts of a period of shortages, internal instability and geopolitical tensions. By focusing on Daqing and explaining not only its discovery but also the management behind its rapid success, Hou Li’s book Building for Oil(1) brings to light a well-contextualized story of the Chinese oil history. The paramount importance of Daqing’s oil field success in the shaping of contemporary China deserves this attention. By illustrating the local socio-spatial impacts of Chinese oil leaders’ decisions, this story supplements well-known but more political and internationally focused explanations of developments of the oil industry. These include, among others, Timothy Mitchell’s Carbon Democracy and Daniel Yergin’s The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power.(2) These works do not discuss China’s oil history, except to mention its rising oil consumption. At the same time, Hou’s story complements works that do discuss the Chinese oil history, giving more precision to the national context and its consequences for Daqing’s spatial organization and living conditions.(3) In a broad sense, this book provides another perspective on the notion of “corporate sovereignty” developed by Joshua Barkan, and its origins, although this time in a socialist context.(4) Furthermore, the detailed narrative presented in this book is an excellent introduction to the early development of the People’s Republic of China and its people’s way of life.
II. Addressing fundamental questions about oil, space and sustainability
Hou Li opens her book by presenting the fundamental questions about China’s existence, namely, how to industrialize, urbanize and become self-sufficient. The need for oil was existential. Chapter 1 explains the numerous failures of the first oil investigations in collaboration with Standard Oil in the 1910s, while the narrative around the constant struggle to deal with foreign powers and with internal power conflicts sets the tone for the entire book. Chapter 2 develops the idea advertised by public authorities that Daqing was an inhospitable battlefield that people needed to gain control of. The focus on production and self-sufficiency through frugal livelihoods was the secret behind regular celebrations of Daqing as a model to follow by Chinese leaders. In the following chapter, Hou focuses on the Chinese central authority’s idea to develop and implement an ideal city model throughout the country based on the principle of “shortages now, surpluses tomorrow”, and its consequences for the life of Daqing’s inhabitants. In Chapter 4, the author expatiates on the strategy behind the advertisement of Daqing as a model. Beyond its use for the rapid industrialization of the country at minimum cost, it served as a justification for the creation of other industrial centres in a new context of tensions and food scarcity. In the fifth chapter, Hou elaborates on the changing status of Daqing’s heroes during the Cultural Revolution. In addition to the harsh living conditions, workers had to suffer the political and social impacts of the Cultural Revolution, which contributed to chaos, not only in Daqing, but in the entire country, and threatening the national economy. The book ends with Chapter 6, which spells out how the diplomatic and economic opening of China in 1972, in combination with the post-Mao transition, led to the disappearance of Daqing as a model for the future of socialist production. This “readjustment” in policies prompted a change of focus, with less investment in industrial production, and more on urban development and the needs of citizens.
III. The complex story of China’s oil quest
China’s oil story is complex. The ripples of Mao’s early choice to prioritize industrial development over any other concern are followed throughout the book. The political strategy on the part of the Chinese state to build resource cities like Daqing is evident in the warrior lexicon used by the leaders and transcribed by Hou. The narration involves a continual back and forth in time. Although these interruptions are important to clarify the origin of certain events, they can confuse the reader by breaking up the chronology of the story.
This book contains a double narrative, one of them at an individual level. This device is intended to present the national political objectives and struggles while also illustrating their spatial and social consequences at the ground level. Chapter 2 captures the relevance of this technique when emphasizing the military tone used by Chinese leaders of the time. The value of this “campaign” in times of resource scarcity and instability is communicated in the story of a young urban planner whose ideas were challenged by the political and economic context, as well as by the harsh living conditions during the early stages of Daqing’s exploitation. This allows the author to highlight the need for residents, workers and leaders to develop ingenious, although also precarious ways of living. Thus, beyond the spatial (as it cannot be called only urban) organization of the land, Hou reveals how the use of local knowledge led to the reappropriation of vernacular techniques to provide the mass of Daqing’s workers with “decent” housing conditions. The author further points to the sense of community built through these hardships for a common cause as a factor in Daqing’s success and in the national celebration of its people. Although Daqing is regularly described as a commonly agreed-upon endeavour, Hou does not forget to share the political pressures regularly placed on workers by Chinese political authorities at the time, in addition to the harsh living conditions.
IV. The next gap to fill: critical urban sustainability studies
If this book is an excellent source of information for people with a keen interest in China’s industrialization and the origins of its contemporary industrial power, it also deserves a more critical approach towards decisions taken both locally and nationally. As things stand, the book gives the perspectives of local workers and decision makers without necessarily providing the personal and expert opinion of the author. Although the book is already eye opening for someone with a basic knowledge of Daqing’s importance, a more critical angle could have elevated the discussion in view of the author’s insider perspective. This is especially true when considering the health impacts of the Marxist approach as explained by Hou, not only due to the living conditions but also given the close relationship between industrial, agricultural and domestic activities.(5)
The mix of industrial, agricultural and residential lands in an area swamped by water, poor infrastructure and a sudden demographic explosion must have had dire consequences on people’s health.(6) Hou describes these combined land uses as a survival method both for the people and the nation, and the diseases afflicting Daqing’s residents are mainly explained as the result of malnutrition. However, the intertwined agricultural and industrial production, in combination with urban planning and land use practices, must have polluted the entire region around Daqing.(7) The sudden death by cancer of “Iron Man” at a young age hinted at a far more terrible toll on the other heroes of Daqing. The impact of past polluting activities on health is always difficult to assess, but it must be the next gap to fill, bridging the fissures in critical urban sustainability studies.
V. Conclusion
Within the wider debates on oil cities and sustainable urban development, Hou Li’s book fills an important gap by explaining the development and importance of the oil city of Daqing for China’s successful growth. The documents and arguments, along with the story of Daqing’s inhabitants, represent a great illustration of how relevant the discussion of resource wars and cities is for future planning strategies. Not only is the history of Daqing’s development essential to understand the current shape of the city, but it is also vital to interpret China’s economy and urban evolution.
The book could discuss the health conditions of workers at greater length, but its key questions are addressed fully. A book that touches on such a wide range of disciplines, and in an area where historical documents and data are difficult if not impossible to find, is definitely a welcome addition to the body of work on oil cities, including such earlier books as Oiling the Urban Economy(8) and Kuwait Transformed.(9) I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in understanding the origins of China’s contemporary organization and power.
