This book explores China's urban development, examining the history and culture of Chinese cities and providing a cultural background to the rapid urban development of contemporary China. It offers a new perspective on Chinese urban history, showcasing the traditional culture which underpins the emergence of the modern city and highlighting how traditional Chinese philosophical thought is reflected in the culture of urban planning and architecture in China, notably examining such issues as 'the integration of man and nature', yin and yang, bagua, and the Wu Xing.

Chonglan Fu is a Research Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and has served successively as the Director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at CASS, the Director of the Urban Development Department of CASS Graduate School, and Professor at the Department of Sociology of GSCASS. He is also a member of the Urban Planning Society of China, Dean of the Institute of Modern Urban-Rural Development Planning of CASS and member of the Beijing Municipality Specialist Counsel Body.