Governing through Visibility: Local Government Experimentation with Internet Celebrity Cities in China.

The rise of internet celebrity cities has become one of the most striking phenomena in China since 2021. How do local governments respond and harness this trend to advance their development goals? This study focuses on local experimentation in creating such cities, drawing on the case of the Village...

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Publicado en:China Quarterly Vol. 266; pp. 365 - 385
Autores principales: Liu, Lu, Wang, Yahua
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Jun2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Governing through Visibility: Local Government Experimentation with Internet Celebrity Cities in China.
      aug:
        au:
          Liu, Lu
          Wang, Yahua
        affil:
          School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
          School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
          China Institute for Rural Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
      su:
        China
        Guizhou Sheng (China)
        Local government
        Reputational risk
        Social cohesion
        Social processes
        Economic development
        Political entrepreneurship
        Urban studies
        Internet in public administration
      sug:
        subj:
          Local government
          Reputational risk
          Social cohesion
          Social processes
          Economic development
          China
          Guizhou Sheng (China)
          Political entrepreneurship
          Urban studies
          Internet in public administration
      keyword:
        local government
        policy experimentation
        popular communication
        public attention
        public governance
        公众传播
        公众注意力
        公共治理
        地方政府
        政策实验
        local government
        policy experimentation
        popular communication
        public attention
        public governance
        公众传播
        公众注意力
        公共治理
        地方政府
        政策实验
      ab: The rise of internet celebrity cities has become one of the most striking phenomena in China since 2021. How do local governments respond and harness this trend to advance their development goals? This study focuses on local experimentation in creating such cities, drawing on the case of the Village Football Super League (Cun chao 村超) in Guizhou. We identify policy entrepreneurship as a key driver of local experimentation and highlight three core strategies for creating internet celebrity cities: crafting local symbols, co-producing viral content and mitigating public opinion risk. Further analysis shows that this experimentation, by attracting massive public attention, simultaneously promotes economic growth, strengthens social cohesion, reinforces state narratives and projects China's national image onto the global stage. Overall, the findings suggest an emerging model in which public attention becomes a core resource for local development and governance in China's digital era.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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