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# Project Description New Land: Constructed Territory Yihan Chen Summary Final work Yihan Chen (Zara) is a documentary photographer based in Shanghai. Her work focuses on climate justice and the control of landscape. She studied Architecture at University College London and is now completing her postgraduate studies in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the University of the Arts, London. Her photographic practice maintains a calm and documentary style, underpinned by thorough research. Her most recent project, New Land: Constructed Territory , focuses on land reclamation being undertaken by the Chinese government in nine major bays, examining how these areas have changed and the forces driving their transformation. Through aerial and documentary photography, comparisons of satellite imagery, analysis of government documents and testimonies from local residents, the project visualises the intervention into the control of landscape by humans, and represents the scale of the subject matter and of China’s economic and political ambition. Yihan Chen (Zara) is a documentary photographer based in Shanghai. Her work focuses on climate ju... College London College of Communication Course MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Graduation year 2025 Over recent decades, due to land shortages caused by rapid economic growth and urbanisation, coastal cities in China have experienced extensive land reclamation, which spans its entire terrestrial coastline of 18,000 kilometres. This project focuses on land reclamation being undertaken by the Chinese government in nine major bays, examining how these areas have changed and the forces driving their transformation. Through aerial photography, satellite imagery and testimonies, New Land: Constructed Territory visualises the control of landscape and the scale of China’s economic and political ambition. Final work Salt fields in Laizhou Bay Salt production has been taking place in Laizhou Bay since as early as the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). To create stable evaporation and crystallisation ponds, the ancients began constructing dams and enclosing land on the mudflats. This can be considered the earliest, small-scale land reclamation. With China's rapid economic development, the purposes for land reclamation have diversified. Salt fields are only one of the main drivers. Key driving forces include aquaculture, where the high economic returns of seafood like shrimp and shellfish lead to the reclamation of vast tidal flats into aquaculture ponds, a trend particularly prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s; agricultural land for the cultivation of salt-tolerant crops like cotton and wheat; and industrial and port development. From the 1970s to the end of the 2010s, the total area of land reclaimed along the coast of Laizhou Bay exceeds 2,000 square kilometres. The Listed Beautiful Daya Bay in Huizhou City Land reclamation in Daya Bay is mainly to meet the land needs of infrastructure such as ports and roads, as well as industrial areas near ports including petrochemical zones and nuclear power plants. The main reclamation area in the bay is the petrochemical project area of the Economic and Technological Development Zone, covering approximately 20 square kilometres. These reclamation activities have directly destroyed inter-tidal ecosystems along the coast, such as mangroves, mudflats and coral communities, which are habitats and breeding grounds for many marine organisms. The ‘Beautiful Bay’ policy is supposed to be a reflection and correction of China's past extensive development model, with emphasis on protection, restoration and sustainable use. For example, the local government of Daya Bay has invested over 1.3 billion yuan in ecological protection and restoration: constructed 18 kilometres of ecological seawalls; created a 16.6-hectare coastal leisure belt, with a natural coastline retention rate of approximately 65.7%; established first national-level marine ranch demonstration zone, with 688 artificial reefs deployed and 100,000 corals planted to achieve underwater coral reef cultivation; and released more than 80 million fish, shrimp, shellfish, and other economically important species. However, the beautifully constructed straight seawalls and coastal leisure belts have altered the original natural coastline. Uneaten feed and fish excrement from aquaculture release high concentrations of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the surrounding waters. If marine ranches are located in bays with poor water exchange, such as Daya Bay, pollutants cannot be quickly diluted and dispersed, which leads to high concentrations in local sea areas. This ‘still water’ environment is a breeding ground for red tides, as shown in the images on pages 79 and 83. Not to mention the sewage discharged from the high-density residential areas along Daya Bay. Due to the extreme market downturn, local residents can only rent out their sea-view apartments for 600 yuan per month, and they largely rely on summer tourists to recoup some of their losses. They complain that the real estate development here has been a complete failure, as the 100-metre-high buildings are being eroded by the sea winds, making the houses increasingly worthless. Local real estate agents say that more than 18 residential projects remain unfinished. Yushan Bridge and the Zhoushan Green Petrochemical Base The total area of land reclamation in Hangzhou Bay reaches thousands of square kilometres, which has fundamentally changed its geographical outline and economic pattern. This is a long-term process driven by historical survival needs for agricultural land, and gradually evolves into one dominated by modern economic and strategic demands. Although land reclamation in Hangzhou Bay was not initially undertaken for the Strategy for integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta (one of the highest-level national strategies), it has now become a key carrier for the implementation of the strategy. This strategy covers Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. They accounts for approximately 2.2% of China's land area, supports about 16.7% of the national population, and generates nearly a quarter of the national economic output. It is one of the most economically vibrant, open and innovative regions in China. The core objective of this strategy is to break down administrative barriers and promote a closer ‘community of shared future’ among these three provinces and one municipality, to achieve coordinated planning, industrial collaboration, infrastructure connectivity, shared public services, and joint environmental governance. The Zhoushan Cross-Sea Bridge system is a crucial and strategically significant component of the Yangtze River Delta integration, particularly in the integration of transportation infrastructure. The Zhoushan Archipelago, comprised of 1,390 islands, has long relied entirely on ferries for transportation to the mainland. This has severely restricted its economic development and resource flow, and placed it at the end of the transportation network. This situation changed with the successful completion of eight cross-sea bridges over 21 years: Cengang Bridge (793 metres, 2000), Xiangjiaomen Bridge (951 metres, 2004), Taoyaomen Bridge (888 metres, 2006), Xihoumen Bridge (5.3 kilometres, 2009), Jintang Bridge (21.02 kilometres, 2009), Yushan Bridge (8.2 kilometres, 2018), Fuchimen Bridge (2.01 kilometres, 2019), and Zhoudai Bridge (26.8 kilometres, 2021), with a total investment of approximately 26.8 billion yuan. This cross-sea bridge system directly connects Zhoushan Island and its main islands to the mainland highway network. It enables efficient cross-island allocation of port equipment, materials and personnel, and integrates previously scattered island port areas into a highly efficient super port cluster. Without this bridge system, the cargo throughput of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port would hardly have reached such an astonishing scale - ranking number one in the world for 16 consecutive years. These bridges also connect the Zhoushan Green Petrochemical Base located on Yushan Island in Zhoushan City. The base is the world's second largest green petrochemical base. It requires a large amount of raw materials and produces chemicals products, all of which need to be closely connected to the mainland's supply chain and markets through these bridges. While the construction of cross-sea bridges brings enormous economic and social benefits, it also comes with drawbacks that cannot be ignored. The bridge piers are essentially obstacles in the ocean, which alter tidal currents and their speed, potentially causing erosion near the piers while accelerating siltation in other areas. This alters the natural shape of the coastline and leads to the degradation of tidal flats and wetlands. For marine life, the dense array of piers fragment their habitats, and affect the migration and exchange of migratory fish and benthic organisms. Exhaust fumes, particulate matter, oil spills, heavy metals, and other pollutants emitted by vehicles on the bridges are directly discharged into the sea with rainwater, which becomes a continuous source of pollution. Mangroves in Beibu Bay The mangrove forests of Beibu Bay have historically been very abundant, mainly distributed on the mudflats of Beihai City, Qinzhou City, and Fangchenggang City of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. For a long time, these mangroves have formed a natural green wall along the coast. They effectively resist the erosion of seawalls and land by typhoons and storm surges, and protect the farmland, villages and aquaculture ponds behind them. Their intricate root systems provide excellent spawning, feeding and nursery grounds for fish, shrimp, crabs and shellfish. Many migratory birds also inhabit and forage here, resulting in extremely high biodiversity. In the era of traditional agriculture and fishing, local residents coexisted harmoniously with the mangroves. They obtained firewood and catching seafood from the forests, but on a limited scale, with a relatively small impact on the ecosystem. The large-scale destruction of mangroves in Beibu Bay mainly occurred from the 1950s to the late 1990s, especially after the 1980s when the pace of destruction accelerated with rapid economic development. In the 1960s and 70s, guided by the policy of ‘taking grain as the key link’, a large-scale land reclamation campaign was launched, which transformed mangrove mudflats into paddy fields or salt pans. However, much of the newly reclaimed land became severely salinised and thus unsuitable for grain cultivation, which caused both ecological and economic losses. After the 1980s, with the development of the market economy, the demand for aquatic products such as shrimp boomed and brought extremely high economic benefits. Pond aquaculture became the main culprit in the destruction of mangroves. People cut down mangroves and dug aquaculture ponds, which was seen at the time as a quick path to wealth. Through land reclamation, vast areas of mangroves were directly filled in and converted into land. According to historical data and satellite imagery, the mangrove area in Qinzhou City once decreased by more than 50%. Even without complete reclamation, large-scale coastal engineering projects, such as roads and dikes, fragment large areas of mangroves into isolated patches, which disrupt their ecological connectivity and affected species migration and exchange. Since the beginning of the 21st century, especially with the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Belt and Road Initiative, reclamation activities in the Beibu Bay have entered a new stage dominated by industrialisation and urbanisation. Based on various reports and satellite imagery analysis, the area of land reclaimed in Beihai City, Qinzhou City, and Fangchenggang City in Guangxi Province alone likely exceeds 300 square kilometres, primarily concentrated in the industrial port areas of Qinzhou City and Fangchenggang City. Research and process Share this project Over recent decades, due to land shortages caused by rapid economic growth and urbanisation, coastal cities in China have experienced extensive land reclamation, which spans its entire terrestrial coastline of 18,000 kilometres. This project focuses on land reclamation being u... 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