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Located in Guangzhou, Shamian Island was leased as a foreign concession to the British and French forces in the mid-nineteenth century. The island has been granted the highest heritage protection status. Through the lens of the Fragmented Authoritarianism framework, this paper examines the bureaucratic structure of the Chinese state, bargaining activities, and policy outcomes related to conserving Shamian Island. The following conclusions are drawn: first, coordinated conservation efforts have been hamstrung by the fragmented heritage management system that is tier-differentiated and jurisdiction-based; and second, the two most concerned agencies – the Planning Bureau and the Cultural Bureau – have not been able to agree on the appropriate approach to conserving heritage and historic buildings on the site. Deadlock has resulted, as no agency can really push for better, and more compatible, policies. Nor have sustained conservation practices for the site been viewed as politically significant enough to prompt higher-level government officials to step in and end the bureaucratic squabbling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the representation of micro-narratives in contemporary Chinese art by examining the multi-layered narratives in Cao Fei's Pearl River Delta Anti-heroes performed at the opening of the 2nd Guangzhou Triennial in 2005. I consider Cao's work as a hyper-realistic portrayal of the micro-narratives of the Pearl River Delta region in a mediated form highly influenced by the media, entertainment industry and popular culture of the region and Hong Kong. Theatricality, kitsch and the distinctive local essence of South China are revealed in the form of a TV soap opera and the use of colloquial Cantonese throughout the performance, along with occasional Putonghua or Mandarin. Language as a signifier of cultural politics has been deployed as an indispensable tool to empower the region within the broader body politic of the People's Republic of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]