Topics include but are not restricted to: Land Reform (1930s–1950s); Land Rights and Management before 1949; Land, Landscape, and Border in Northern China; Land and Water; Rural Land and Capital; Rural Land and Modernization; and Land, Urban Space, and Literature.

Three CUHK faculty members, including Prof. Pierre Landry from the Department of Government and Public Administration, Prof. Kristof Van den Troost from CCS, and Prof. Vivian Zhan from the Department of Government and Public Administration, were invited to serve as discussants. Four professors from other local universities were also invited to serve as external moderators, including Prof. Kang Yi from the Department of Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, Prof. Wang Shiru from the Department of Social Science at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Prof. Zhang Jun from the Department of Public and International Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong, and Prof. Zhang Yu from the Department of Chinese History and Culture at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. CCS Interim Director Prof. Carole Hoyan was invited to deliver an opening speech for the Seminar.

To further encourage academic exchange, Prof. Carolyn Cartier, a specialist in urban China and geographical thought from the School of International Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, was invited to give a keynote lecture on the theme of “Land, Cities, and Shifting Currents in China Studies: Five Problematics” on the first day of the Seminar. The lecture was engaging and insightful. Prof. Cartier received numerous questions from the participants, and her extensive experience in research and career development provided valuable insights and guidance to the participants.

In addition, Dr. Miriam Seeger, Librarian of the USC Collection, generously offered to arrange a tour to the collection for the participants. Besides, an award-winning documentary Lost Course was screened. The film chronicles a grassroots democratic movement in a southern Chinese village that took place in 2011, where the villagers fought for their rights to retain land ownership. Both the tour and the screening event provided new materials and perspectives to the Seminar’s participants, thereby enriching their understanding of the subject matter.

The Seminar received 52 applications. 28 applicants were invited, with eight withdrawals due to scheduling conflict. The selected participants came from different regions/countries–four from mainland China, 11 from Europe and North America, two from other countries in Asia, and three from Hong Kong–reflecting the Seminar’s effort to enhance international communication in Chinese studies.