Tag Archives: Kunming

Development and evaluation of a food environment survey in three urban environments of Kunming

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soupecanardJenna Hua, Edmund Seto, Yan Li and May C Wang, (2014) Development and canardsetlegumesevaluation of a food environment survey in three urban environments of Kunming, China, BMC Public Health 2014, 14:235  doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-235

 Abstract

Given the rapid pace of urbanization and Westernization and the increasing prevalence of obesity, there is a need for research to better understand the influence of the built environment on overweight and obesity in world’s developing regions. Culturally-specific food environment survey instruments are important tools for studying changing food availability and pricing. Here, we present findings from an effort to develop and evaluate food environment survey instruments for use in a rapidly developing city in southwest China.

We developed two survey instruments (for stores and restaurants), each designed to be completed within 10 minutes. Two pairs of researchers surveyed a pre-selected 1-km stretch of street in each of three socio-demographically different neighborhoods to assess inter-rater reliability. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the food environments of the neighborhoods to cross-sectional height and weight data obtained on 575 adolescents in the corresponding regions of the city.

273 food establishments (163 restaurants and 110 stores) were surveyed. Sit-down, take-out, and fast food restaurants accounted for 40%, 21% and 19% of all restaurants surveyed. Tobacco and alcohol shops, convenience stores and supermarkets accounted for 25%, 12% and 11%, respectively, of all stores surveyed. We found a high percentage of agreement between teams (>75%) for all categorical variables with moderate kappa scores (0.4-0.6), and no statistically significant differences between teams for any of the continuous variables. More developed inner city neighborhoods had a higher number of fast food restaurants and convenience stores than surrounding neighborhoods. Adolescents who lived in the more developed inner neighborhoods also had a higher percentage of overweight, indicating well-founded construct validity. Depending on the cutoff used, 19% to 36% of male and 10% to 22% of female 16-year old adolescents were found to be overweight.

The prevalence of overweight Chinese adolescents, and the food environments they are exposed to, deserve immediate attention. To our knowledge, these are the first food environment surveys developed specifically to assess changing food availability, accessibility, and pricing in China. These instruments may be useful in future systematic longitudinal assessments of the changing food environment and its health impact in China.

Read the full text on Biodmed central

Photo credit: J. Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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昆明 Kunming by JiKang Lee

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This photo of Kunming, much like Schoenmakers’ two weeks ago, highlights the juxtaposition of traditional and recent architecture that appears so frequently in China’s urban landscape. In the foreground we can see the rooftops around of the historical and cultural centre, which according to the photographer, had been recently renovated. He also explains:

Growing up in Kunming, I felt that it was fast developing city. The pleasant climate makes it a place businessmen want to invest and live in, and it is the rest stop for travelers visiting the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

JiKang Lee is a freelance photographer based in Kunming. You can see more of his work on Fotokon’s blog and his Flickr.

Aurélia Martin

Chargée de communications et des médias pour l'UMR Chine Corée Japon (CNRS)

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Call for papers: International Conference on Migration, Borderlands and Development at Yunnan

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Call for Papers: International Conference on Migration, Borderlands  and Development organized by the Institute of Ethnic Studies (INR) at  Yunnan University and the Interculturalism, Migration and Minorities  Research Centre (IMMRC) at the Catholic University Leuven in  collaboration with the International Metropolis project, to be held at Yunnan University in Kunming, Yunnan, P.R. China, on April 17-18, 2014.

Aims and objectives

We are seeking critical and creative contributions focusing on the topics of migration, borderlands and development from a wide range of disciplines in social sciences and humanities. Within the migration/mobility contexts, borderlands and development are central interrelated concepts. Borderlands refer to both physical as well as imagined places. Borderlands emerge with border crossings by voluntary migrants in search  of a better life.

Contrarily, its emergence might also be the unplanned outcome of political and economic crisis, securitization of borders, and restrictive migration and integration policies of nation states and changing into a temporary in-between buffer zone. Moreover, as imaginary places borderlands refer to the creative and political responses of people who are positioned in the margins of well-established majorities, and therefore in search of recognition. Therefore, an understanding of borderlands must incorporate a link between the emergence, flexibility, and changeability of borders and boundaries (constituting the borderlands), the mechanisms of maintenance and change, and processes of resistance, hybridization, and creativity. It must equally incorporate the variety of linkages between space, body, and objects. The nexus development and borderlands can lead to both human and regional development in bothmaterial and nonmaterial forms as a result of border crossings and borderland dynamics. These might lead to increased marginalization, but under particular circumstances it might also lead to new economic opportunities, such as transnational investments, transnational entrepreneurship, niche developments, etc. Such developmental dynamics evidently impact the well-being or the lack thereof of migrants.

The conference will address these issues, but will also interrogate local, regional and national policy interventions. Which policies at whatever side of the border, help foster the proliferation of economic opportunities? How do local, regional and national authorities channel transborder mobilities? What ethnic and national diversities are at
play in these borderlands and which policies contributes to the creation of a ‘diversity dividend’ of sorts?

More information on H-Asia

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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Kunming “3015 Action Plan”

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Kunming “3015 Action Plan” launched in March 2015. The number “3015”indicates that the Chinese government is going to reconstruct ten zones ( Pan-Asia Technology New Area at Wuhua District 王家桥泛亚科技新区, Eco-tourism Demonstration Area 世博生态旅游示范区, and eight other zones), ten urban planning projects (Reconstruction Project of Santaishan at Chenggong District 呈贡三台山旧城改造项目, plus nine others) and ten Infrastructure projects (Dian Lake Navigation Construction Project  滇池航运建设工程, highway and freeway construction projects, and others). There are in total thirty projects to be finished by 2015.

The list of the entire plan can be found at the following website.
http://www.kmghj.gov.cn/articledetails.aspx?id=2542&cd=cid-65

Chi-Han Ai

Ph.D. candidate of EHESS ( École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) focusing on regional economic development in China and Taiwan.

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Kunming confronted to the issue of recycled cooking oil

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Luo, Chris. “Kunming struggling to deal with ‘gutter oil’”. South China Morning Post. 27 June 2013.  http://www.scmp.com/article/1270196/kunmings-making-gutter-oil-use-comes-stall [Accessed 27 June 2013]

Kunming, the capital city of China’s Yunnan province, is having problems dealing with recycled cooking oil – often derisively referred to as “gutter oil”. City municipal officials told the Chinese media that the problems with “gutter oil” have existed for centuries.

His comments attracted widespread condemnation from internet users. Some accused city authorities of shirking their responsibilities over the issue.

The use of illegal cooking oil – recycled from waste oil – is rampant in China. And because waste oil contains harmful carcinogens and other pollutants, mainland authorities have been determined to crack down on it for years.

Kunming has a national pilot scheme which converts recycled cooking oil into bio-fuels for vehicles. But the scheme is not working very well, the media also reports […] Read more

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Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Everyday approaches to food safety in Kunming

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Jakob A. Klein (2013). Everyday approaches to food safety in Kunming. The China Quarterly, 214, pp 376-393. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741013000325 [Access restricted]

The article explores how people in Kunming have interpreted and acted upon food-related environmental health threats, particularly within the contexts of everyday food shopping. It is argued that an increasingly intensified, delocalized food supply system and a state-led emphasis on individual responsibility and choice have produced growing uncertainties about food. However, the article takes issue with the claim that new forms of risk and institutional changes have produced “individualized” responses, arguing that many of the practices Kunmingers have developed to handle food-related risks and their understandings of what constitutes “safe” food have been developed within the frameworks of family ties and regional cuisine. Further, shoppers and purveyors of food have forged new ties of trust and re-emphasized connections between people, food and place. Nevertheless, concerns about the food supply are a source of discontent which is feeding into wider ambivalences towards modernization. This is particularly acute among the economically disadvantaged.

  • Special section: “Dying for development”, The China Quarterly, vol. 214, June 2013. Table of contents (some articles are in free access)
  • Jacob A. Klein

 

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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Kunming, a dynamic city

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Crumbling old Kunming, Goulard SébastienThe city of Kunming has extremely changed and expanded for the last ten years. Very few old buildings have remained. A CBD has emerged in the city-centre and new suburbs have grown up.

Most of the older districts have been redeveloped.  Driving forces to this redevelopment include rural flight, increasing real estate or demand for better living standards.

Yes, Kunming has changed, and some of her old charm has disappeared for ever. But this may be the fate of most dynamic cities.

Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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Kunming citizens demonstrate for a clean environment

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Rob Schmitz (2013, May 16), “Chinese protesters oppose petrochemical plant in Kunming”,  Marketplace.

Today, hundreds of protesters shut down traffic in the Chinese city of Kunming to dramatize their opposition to a proposed petrochemical plant. It’s the latest in a series of ‘not in my backyard’ or NIMBY protests in recent weeks throughout that country.

So why are we seeing more of these environmental protests now?

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Hundreds join second protest in Kunming over oil refinery (2013, May 17), South China Morning Post.
 

Hundreds defied police orders and took to the streets of Yunnan’s provincial capital Kunming yesterday to protest against an oil refinery project.

Ignoring warnings that any gathering would be illegal, they started congregating near the provincial government headquarters at about 10am despite a heavy police presence.

They dispersed only after the city’s mayor talked to them.

At least one demonstrator was briefly detained when he unfolded a banner, witnesses said.

It was the second demonstration in Kunming about the controversial project this month, after more than 1,000 protesters took part in a rally on May 4.

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Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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Kunming, an allied base during WW2

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Kunming played a major role during WW2. Before Japanese  invaded British Burma, the capital city of Yunnan was the terminus of the “Burma Road” that was used by the UK to supply Chinese Nationalist forces. After the fall of Burma to the Japanese, the Allied continued to supply Kunming by air. Wujiaba, the former airport of Kunming1, became a base of American and Chinese air forces, including the “Flying Tigers”, and American volunteer group.

To know more about the strategic role of Kunming during this tragic episode, please have a look to Franklin Evans’ 600 Days in Kunming China, 1944-45 ((Evans F. B. (2005), 600 Days in Kunming China, 1944-45. AuthorHouse, Bloomington)). The author tells us his personal story as US soldier in Kunming.
  1. Last year, this airport was replaced by the new Kunming Changshui international airport. [↩]

Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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Walmart in China

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Anita Chan (2011), Walmart in China, Ithaca; London:  Cornell university press, 2011. vii, 294 pp.

Walmart and “Made in China” are practically synonymous; Walmart imports some 70 percent of its merchandise from China. Walmart is now also rapidly becoming a major retail presence there, with close to two hundred Walmarts in more than a hundred Chinese cities. What happens when the world’s biggest retailer and the world’s biggest country do business with each other? In this book, a group of thirteen experts from several disciplines examine the symbiotic but strained relationship between these giants. The book shows how Walmart began cutting costs by bypassing its American suppliers and sourcing directly from Asia and how Walmart’s sheer size has trumped all other multinationals in squeezing procurement prices and, as a by-product, driving down Chinese workers’ wages.

China is also an inviting frontier for Walmart’s global superstore expansion. As China’s middle class grows, the chain’s Western image and affordable goods have become popular. Walmart’s Arkansas headquarters exports to the Chinese stores a unique corporate culture and management ideology, which oddly enough are reminiscent of Mao-era Chinese techniques for promoting loyalty. Three chapters separately detail the lives of a Walmart store manager, a lower-level store supervisor, and a cashier. Another chapter focuses on employees’ wages, “voluntary” overtime, and the stores’ strict labor discipline. In 2006, the official Chinese trade union targeted Walmart, which is antilabor in its home country, and succeeded in setting up union branches in all the stores. Walmart in China reveals the surprising outcome.

Contributors: Diana Beaumont, coeditor of China Labor News Translations; Anita Chan, University of Technology, Sydney; David J. Davies, Hamline University; Nelson Lichtenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara; Scott E. Myers, Monterey Institute of International Studies; Eileen Otis, University of Oregon; Pun Ngai, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Katie Quan, University of California, Berkeley; Taylor Seeman, Hamline University; Kaxton Siu, Australian National University; Jonathan Unger, Australian National University; Xue Hong, East China Normal University; Yu Xiaomin, Beijing Normal University

Review of the book in Pacific Affairs by John A. Donaldson (Singapore Management University, Singapore)(Pacific Affairs: Volume 86, No. 1 – March 2013)

 

 

 

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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Dian Lake – Recovering a sparkling pearl embedded in a highland

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Dianchi-Kunming, Hu Ying
Dian Lake, also known as Kunming Lake, is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province. Dian Lake is located south of Kunming city, 5 kilometers from the city centre. Because of its magnificent scenery, Dian Lake has always been a popular holiday resort. It is an important asset not only for tourism, but is also for econmic activities such as shipping, fishing, irrigation, water provision, etc. In 1988, Dian Lake was awarded a status as one of the National Scenic Areas by the State Council1. However, tourism has not always been a blessing for Dian Lake. Since 1980, as a result of rapid urbanisation in China, water pollution in Dian Lake has been progressively increasing2.

The reasons for the deterioration of the water quality include the following:

  • As Dian Lake has aged, it has evolved to become a semi-enclosed lake, and its rate of flow has slowed down. This has caused a large quantity of pollutants to be deposited at the bottom of the lake.
  • Discharges from domestic and industrial sewage are the second reason. Studies show that domestic sewage has been the main source of pollution in recent years. The urbanized area of Kunming accounts for 5% of the drainage area of Dian Lake, but its output of pollutants amount to more than 50% of the pollution in the lake. The main sources of pollution are the fast growing  population and the increasing number of factories3.
  • The overdevelopment of coastal Dian Lake is the third reason. Tourism and industrial activities, as well as the daily activities of Kunming citizens, have seriously effected the Dian Lake ecosystem.  As a result of the exploitation of land resources, Dian Lake has lost its natural defenses; it therefore cannot fight against pollution from domestic wastewater, and other types of pollution.

In order to preserve the environment of Dian Lake, the Kunming city government enstated the “Dian Lake Protection Act” in 1998. The objective was to improve water quality and reduce pollution. This act was modified and re-enstated in 20134. According to the new terms, the government regulates the sewage discharge and also is responsible for setting up a special fund to administer the ecological compensation. The purpose is not only to reduce water pollution in Dian Lake, but also to restore its original natural appearance.

Water pollution is the accumulated damage to water resources over many decades. Generally, it takes at least 10 to 20 years for environmental management to show significant results. In addition, there is no precedent in history of a lake that is being polluted fully recovering. This means that  the management of lake water pollution is a difficult and complex project requiring a long period of time to be completed; it indicates that Kunming Dian Lake still has a long way to go.

 

  1. Dianchi jianjie 滇池简介, http://special.yunnan.cn/feature3/html/2011-05/23/content_1627042.htm, Retrieved May 6, 2013 [↩]
  2. Ma Wei et al. (2007) Investigation on countermeasures for water environment management and water pollution prevention in Dianchi Lake, Journal of China institute of water resources and hydropower research. Vol. 5(1), pp. 8-14. [↩]
  3. Wang Yuchao, Peng Yongan, Li Yimin (2004), The Characteristic of water pollution and engineering-oriented prevention on Dianchi, Areal research and development, Vol 23(1). pp88-91. [↩]
  4. Guowuyuan guanyu dianchi liuyu shui wuran fangzhi “jiuwu” jihua ji 2010 nian guihua de pifu 国务院关于滇池流域水污染防治“九五”计划及2010年规划的批复, http://www.hflib.gov.cn/law/law/falvfagui2/JJF/FLFG/NL%20ZRZY%20HJBH/1160.htm, Retrieved May 6, 2013 [↩]

Chi-Han Ai

Ph.D. candidate of EHESS ( École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) focusing on regional economic development in China and Taiwan.

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Kunming – a strategic “bridgehead city” facing Southwest Asia

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Kunming occupies a strategic position. It is the Chinese city which is nearest to several ASEAN countries (479 km from Vietnam, 789 km from Laos, and 858 km from Myanmar). Because of this geographical advantage, the Chinese government has put a great deal of effort into the construction of transportation networks connecting Kunming with its foreign neighbours.Kunming111

In 2011, the construction of the Trans-Asian Railway (with Kunming as a starting point) was officially begun. This is the first high-speed railway connecting China and Southeast Asia. Its four routes include the eastern line (from Kunming to Singapore), the mid-eastern line (from Nanning to Vientiane), the middle line (from Dali to Bangkok), and the western line (from Kunming to Yangon). This network also links up with railway lines in Burma and India. The terminal stations on these lines (Ho Chi Minh and Singapore on the eastern line, Bangkok on the middle line, and Yangon on the western line) are all international ports.  The economic impact of the railway will also boost the economy of the Indo-West Pacific area, and as a result, Kunming’s economic importance in Southeast Asia will increase.1.

In addition to the railway, all the highways in Yunnan connecting with South-East Asia start from Kunming. The Kunming-Bangkok Expressway, built jointly by the governments of Laos, Thailand and China, was open to traffic in 2012.2. The China-Vietnam highway (from Kunming to Hanoi) is expected to open in 2013. Other highways (from Kunming to Kyaukpyu, Myanmar and from Kunming to Ledo, India) are also in the planning stages.3

In 2010, with the launch of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China’s average tariff for ASEAN countries dropped significantly from 9.8% to 0.1%, and the commercial relationship between China and the ASEAN countries became closer. Because of the important position of Kunming, the Chinese government sees Kunming as a strategic “bridgehead city” facing Southwest Asia.

 

  1. Fan ya tielu zhi yi dongnanya zoulang 泛亚铁路之一「东南亚走廊」http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/daniel-ni/article?mid=729, last accessed 29 April 2013 [↩]
  2. Kunming zhi mangu gonglu yixian quanmian guantong 昆明至曼谷公路一线全面贯通, Retrieved from http://www.moc.gov.cn/xinxilb/xxlb_fabu/fbpd_yunnan/201212/t20121214_1338955.html, last accessed 29 April 2013 [↩]
  3. Zhongyue gaoss gonglu yuji 2013 nian guantong 中越高速公路预计2013年贯通, http://www.gxjtsjy.com/news.asp?ky=78&mid=80&id=358, , last accessed 29 April 2013. [↩]

Chi-Han Ai

Ph.D. candidate of EHESS ( École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) focusing on regional economic development in China and Taiwan.

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A basic understanding of Kunming city

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Kunming-Green Lake, Ai Chi-HanKunming : location and weather

Kunming is located in the southwest of China and is the provincial capital of Yunnan province. The abbreviation of Kunming is “Kun”. Kunming is also known as the “city of eternal spring” because of its perpetual spring-like weather and its annual average temperature of 15 ° C (The average temperature of June is 19° C)1

Kunming’s Population

Kunming has a population of 7.26 million.  Its resident population is 6.43 million. 64% of its resident population lives in Kunming city and 36% in the rural areas of Kunming. As for the age distribution of the resident population, 15.5% of the members of this population are under 14, 72.41% are between 15 and 59, 12.09% are between 60 and 65 and 8.37% are more than 65 years old. The United Nations considers a society to be ageing when 10% of its population is over the age of 60. So, according to this standard, Kunming is an aging society2.

Immigrants : numbers and origins

There are 1.98 million immigrants in Kunming from other provinces or from other cites in Yunnan province. Most of the immigrants from other provinces hail from Sichuan, Guizhou, Chongqing, and Hunan. The other major influx comes from other cities in Yunnan province, including Qujing, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, and Honghe3.

The urbanisation rate in Kunming

In 1953, the urbansation rate in Kunming was about 9.06%. In 2010, it had reached 34.72%. However, compared to the overall rate in China, which is 49.68%, Kunming’s urbanisation rate is relatively low4.

The output value of primary to tertiary sector of Kunming

Kunming’s GDP reaKunming 產業ched 301.114 billion yuan in 2012. Primary sector: In 2012, the growth of the primary sector represented 15.916 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 6.4%. Secondary sector: In 2012, the growth of the secondary sector represented 137.848 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 16.1%. Tertiary sector: the growth of the tertiary sector represented 147.35 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 13.0%5.

 

In our next article, we are going to discuss Kunming’s importance in economics and communications in the eastern Asian area.

  1. Kunming luyou 昆明旅遊, Retrieved from http://www.yntrip.net/big5/yunnan/kunming/qihou.htm , last accessed 23 April 2013 [↩]
  2. Kunming shi di liu ci quanguo renkou pucha zhuyao shuju gongbao昆明市第六次全国人口普查主要数据公报. Retrieved from http://yn.yunnan.cn/km/html/2011-05/26/content_1632518.htm , last accessed 23 April 2013 [↩]
  3. Kunming shi di liu ci quanguo renkou pucha zhuyao shuju gongbao昆明市第六次全国人口普查主要数据公报. Retrieved from http://yn.yunnan.cn/km/html/2011-05/26/content_1632518.htm , last accessed 23 April 2013 [↩]
  4. Cong liu ci renkou pucha kan yunnan renkou chengzhen hua fazhan zhuangkuang六次人口普查看云南人口城镇化发展状况Retrieved from http://www.yxstats.gov.cn/xxxs.aspx?id=2013031909584078 , last accessed 13 April 2013 [↩]
  5. 昆明GDP突破3千亿大关 同比增长14.1% Kunming GDP tupo qian yi da guan tongbi zengzhang 14.1%. Retrieved from http://yn.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2013-01/29/c_132135024.htm, , last accessed 23 April 2013 [↩]

Chi-Han Ai

Ph.D. candidate of EHESS ( École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) focusing on regional economic development in China and Taiwan.

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China’s “Look South”: China-Myanmar transport corridor

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Fan, Hongwei (2011). China’s “Look South”: China-Myanmar transport corridor. Ritsumeikan international affairs 10, 43-66.

This article discusses the plan and construction of SinoMyanmar transport corridor and analyzes its implication from four dimensions: history, regional cooperation, China’s overall strategy and Yunnan’s perspective. The corridor is one part of an ambitious scheme that will put the provincial capital of Kunming at the centre of a regional free trade zone. The project is mainly motivated by China’s economic and political-cum strategic considerations, and will draw closer bilateral geopolitical and economic bond. It will not only further integrate two countries’ economy but combine both political and strategic interests. Thus, it contains India’s influence in Myanmar, and finally expands its strategic influence into Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. Also, Naypyidaw’s isolation by western countries and the project of China-Myanmar oil & gas pipelines have given China favourable opportunities to realize its old dream of China-Burma/Myanmar transport link.

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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