Expectations distorted

: an ethnographic study in and beyond Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanic Garden

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the Botanic Garden in Shenzhen, a city that has transformed from a small town to one of the four largest cities in mainland China over the past 40 years. Unlike other botanic gardens in China, which were founded either by royal families or botanists, the Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanic Garden was administratively proposed by the city's mayor in the early 1980s. The development of the Botanic Garden was a process of the “humanisation of nature,” accompanied by ancient Chinese and Socialist aesthetic practices.

Meanwhile, administrative intervention sought to create a submissive environment, realised through consistent watering, trimming, and other horticultural activities, which were resisted by the natural characteristics of the species. Within and beyond the Botanic Garden, five trees planted by Chinese paramount leaders received different levels of care, reflecting the relationships between leaders and those between the leaders and Shenzhen society. Occasional overprotection revealed the local administration's anxiety, though this tension could not be resolved by conscious intervention.

Additionally, the Hongfa Temple was established in the 1980s within the Botanic Garden. The opening of the Buddhist temple bore the expectations of senior religious leaders who aimed to socialise Buddhism. However, 30 years later, these expectations were distorted by both the incumbent abbot and lay visitors, whose imaginations and expectations were shaped by their everyday lives rather than by slogans and doctrines.

The topics discussed above imply that interventions from administrations or bureaucrats can shape everyday practices, but they cannot override the laws of nature or fully suppress individual self-consciousness. Therefore, there may be an alternative approach that acknowledges everyone as a Benjaminian ragpicker, illuminating themselves lyrically.

Date of Award	30 Jun 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Huon Wardle (Supervisor) & Nigel Rapport (Supervisor)