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Amid globalization and industrial transformation, large cities have attracted substantial population inflows and industrial resources, resulting in industrial decline and population loss in small cities, thereby contracting their land markets. This trend is especially evident in China, where many small cities, following a phase of rapid urbanization, have experienced pronounced shrinkage due to the collapse of traditional industries and the extensive abandonment of industrial land. How these cities can achieve low-cost industrial land revitalization—despite limited local consumption capacity—has thus become a topic of global interest. Over the past decade, the emergence of e-commerce live streaming has enabled some Chinese small cities to revive local land markets through cost-efficient online promotion strategies, fostering a new paradigm of urban revitalization centered on traditional handicraft industrial parks.
This study aims to uncover the stakeholder networks underpinning this phenomenon by examining how property developers, local governments, handicraft artisans, and e-commerce live streamers interact. It further seeks to identify new pathways for small city property developers to participate in industrial park revitalization under the influence of e-commerce live streaming. The research focuses on five national-level handicraft industrial parks in Chinese small cities: Taoxichuan Park in Jingdezhen (Jiangxi), Zijiaoyu in Jianshui (Yunnan), Sculpture Park in Quyang (Hebei), Zhongchen Calligraphy and Painting Park in Qingzhou (Shandong), and Zheng’an International Guitar Park in Guizhou. Although these parks are situated in areas where traditional industrial transformations had previously failed, they have successfully revitalized dormant industrial land in the e-commerce live streaming era through innovative property development models, becoming new tourist destinations and industrial hubs.
Employing the Actor-Network Theory framework, this study analyzes the narratives shaping these local contexts through 51 semi-structured interviews, alongside a comprehensive review of government records, statistical yearbooks, and online narratives spanning 2000 to 2024. Preliminary findings suggest that property developers’ success in e-commerce live streaming hinges on four critical factors: (1) providing affordable accommodations to support the creation of new handicraft products; (2) establishing distinctive online sales platforms to attract substantial transaction flows and bolster financing valuations; (3) collaborating with existing factories to lower development costs and lend industrial heritage value to parks and products; and (4) enhancing the tourism appeal of these parks through events such as handicraft markets, supporting on-site hotels and apartments.
Key challenges include securing support from the local community to prevent adverse online evaluations, obtaining sustained policy backing from local governments, and balancing the brand identities of manufacturers, live streamers, and the parks themselves.
By illuminating how small city property developers leverage innovative approaches in the e-commerce live streaming era to revitalize abandoned industrial land, this study offers valuable insights for other localities undergoing similar transformations. Through strategic resource allocation, the development of robust sales platforms, and the promotion of industrial heritage and cultural attributes, property developers can effectively stimulate local economic development and foster urban renewal.
References
Couture, V., Faber, B., Gu, Y. et al. (2018) E-commerce integration and economic development: Evidence from China. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Lin, Z., Guoqing, L., Yiwen, Z., Simin, Y. and Xumin, Z. (2023) ‘Spatializing the emerging geography of urban system in China: Based on live streaming commerce’, Cities, 143, p. 104613.
| Keywords | Small City Revitalization; E-Commerce Live Streaming; Industrial Land Redevelopment |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
