In reading Chinese cities, as this volume attempts to do, the focus is not primarily on well-known cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an but rather on what it is that is essentially Chinese about the Chinese city — the features and hallmarks that all Chinese cities have more or less in common, their spatial grammar, their syntax, in short: their code. It is only by deciphering their commonalities that we become able to form a clear picture of the Chinese city's internal structure and to intelligently evaluate and organize our diverse impressions. Moreover, deciphering the code of the Chinese city enables the author to «„read“» cities newly designed by Western architects. He thus also helps the reader to arrive at valuable new insights into China's booming process of urbanization and urban development.
