Emerged as a cutting-edge research agenda in urban studies more than half a century ago, gentrification remains an evergreen and debatable topic in the practices and research of urban and rural governance in contemporary China. In response to the lasting and heated debates within the international and domestic academic communities, it is of vital significance to examine and clarify the prevalent discourse of "Chinese-style gentrification" and conduct in-depth exploration and reflections on its historical evolution, conceptual boundaries, research approaches, and theoretical value. This paper situates Chinese-style gentrification into the broader context of the Global East by highlighting its unique features to be distinguished from the Western contexts. We dissect the historical evolution and contemporary identity of the "gentry" class in China under the framework of state-society relationship. The research contends that studies on Chinese gentrification should grasp three fundamental elements: "dynamism", "scale", and "process", namely, to understand the spatiotemporal variations of "the right to the city" conjuncturally, to develop a multi-faceted comprehension of the multi-scalar relationships in urban and rural governance, and to systematically examine the historical evolution of local experiences. Grounded in the specific "state-market-society" interactions in the Global East and China, the inherent complexity and diversity of Chinese-style gentrification will transcend the paradigms of Western gentrification research and make distinctive contributions to international debates. Currently, the processes of gentrification in China have engendered more profound social and spatial ramifications compared to that in the Global North. Balancing efficiency and equity will be a key task for promoting effective governance in urban and rural communities in China. In this new era, exploring innovative approaches to enhancing urban and rural governance and residents' well-being, engaging in comparative studies and constructive dialogues with international researchers should be our utmost tasks. In light of this, researchers should re-examine Chinese-style gentrification in an open-minded yet rigorous, critical yet scientific manner, drawing on but not being constrained by local experiences to make significant contributions to this ever-green and ever-evolving research field.

Over sixty years of global research on gentrification geography have revealed that there is a "planetary" gentrification phenomenon with diverse forms and regional characteristics. This necessitates local theoretical discussions on gentrification in academic and practical contexts. In China, gentrification research has evolved from an initial concept introduction to empirical analysis. It urgently needs to transition from the stage of phenomenon explanation and Sino-Western comparison to the stage of theorizing Chinese-style gentrification patterns. Addressing the current gaps or inadequacies in discussions about gentrification in the Chinese context, this study undertakes a review and rational reflection on the phenomenon of Chinese-style gentrification from various perspectives, including concept description, phenomenon definition, type classification, driving mechanisms, effect assessment, and guiding strategies. It proposes that gentrification is a phenomenon of class upward replacement and socio-spatial renewal within a certain district. Gentrification processes should be understood from a spatiotemporal dynamic perspective. The complex and intertwined types of contemporary gentrification should be classified based on the spatial resource attributes that act as "attractions" for gentrifiers. The core driving force of the gentrification process is the exploration of the potential rent gap of high-quality and scarce spatial resources. Furthermore, the understanding of gentrification effects, dominated by the critical tone from Anglo-Saxon studies, should be reevaluated. Instead, aligned with China's realities, guiding gentrification should adhere to the principles of not exploiting the interests of the displaced, not encroaching on public resources, and not reducing the comprehensive value of space. This approach aims to achieve a win-win displacement, making gentrification an effective tool for promoting urban renewal, rural revitalization, common prosperity, and high-quality development, which are national strategic implementations. Gentrification is an inevitable product and an insurmountable developmental process at a certain stage of China's economic and social development. Chinese scholars should regard it as an important topic that benefits the implementation of national strategies and delve deeper into it. This study hopes to advance the construction and improvement of the gentrification theoretical system and research paradigm through academic reflection in the context of China. Additionally, it aims to actively guide and expand the social recognition and application fields of Chinese-style gentrification.

Gentrification is a phenomenon characterized by the concentration of high socioeconomic status groups within specific spaces, leading to the upscale reconstruction of social spaces. Existing domestic studies have primarily focused on describing the characteristics and processes of gentrification and analyzing its mechanisms and effects. However, there has been limited research utilizing quantitative methods to identify gentrified spaces at a refined urban scale and to categorize them by type. Taking Beijing's central urban area as a case study for the period 2016-2023, this research employs socioeconomic data from a 100-m grid database provided by Baidu Map's spatiotemporal big data platform, Baidu Huiyan. Indicators related to income level, educational attainment, and occupational characteristics are selected. Using semi-supervised clustering and ensemble learning methods, urban spaces with typical gentrification features are quantitatively identified. The study then applies a genetic growth algorithm to analyze gentrification types and compare differences between types. Key findings include: (1) Gentrified spaces within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road account for approximately 16.8% of the total area, primarily concentrated between the second and fifth ring roads in the northwest, with scattered distribution in southern Fengtai and northern Daxing. These areas mainly consist of high-end gated communities and villa complexes near transit lines (subway stations, urban expressways, and highway exits). (2) By considering social attribute similarity and spatial connectivity, a spatial clustering analysis of nine dimensions and 64 indicators in typical gentrification spaces identifies 14 types without predefining the number of regions. (3) Based on resource dependency attributes, six types of gentrification are proposed for Beijing, including core location-oriented, rapid transit-oriented, landscape environment-oriented, institutional unit-oriented, employment-oriented, and high-quality education-oriented types. (4) An uneven distribution and even polarization trend exists in gentrification spaces, reflecting residential spatial differentiation in Beijing. This study aims to enhance the methodological approach to spatial identification and typological classification of gentrification, advancing the quantitative, standardized, and scientific transition of Chinese-style gentrification. It provides insights for guiding sustainable gentrification development and offers references for identifying and predicting gentrified spaces and their developmental stages.

The operation and impact of gentrification vary significantly across nations/regions. As global scholars increasingly advocate for a governance-oriented approach to gentrification studies, reexamining these disparities becomes urgent. Although Western theories have been extensively cited, the contextual specificities of gentrification in China remain insufficiently explored. This article examines gentrification in peri-urban communities, aiming to bridge the theoretical gap between urban and rural studies by adopting a governance perspective that fosters a comprehensive analytical framework. The case study of Xiaozhou village in Guangzhou provides the empirical evidence for this research. We found that (1) Government, market, and social actors collectively influence the trajectory of gentrification. When the existing state of the community deviates from desired conditions, governance interventions actively reshape the gentrification trajectory. (2) The government's obstruction of local livelihoods and lenient oversight of informal activities set the stage for gentrification. Conversely, administrative measures rooted in laws and planning documents fundamentally suppress the gentrification trend. (3) The market agents, particularly the gentrifiers, propel gentrification through their preferences for cultural or natural landscapes, creating exclusive class environments. However, their respect for local culture, compliance with institutional norms, and involvement in consultative governance mitigate the effects of displacement. (4) Social actors such as villagers may actively support gentrification when it brings them economic benefits. At the same time, place-making actions driven by a strong attachment to their homeland counteract gentrification. China's institutional environment facilitates the acceptable gentrification process, underscoring the urgency for scholars to pay attention to the emerging practices of proactive community-making. Such attention is crucial for informing geographical research that aspires to promote social justice.

Gentrification has emerged as a pervasive phenomenon and driver of urban socio-spatial restructuring globally. Existing studies, however, often rely on a rigid production-consumption dichotomy. While scholars have emphasized the need to integrate both perspectives to fully reveal the mechanisms of gentrification, few have examined the interaction between producers and consumers from a unified rather than simultaneous analytical standpoint. Moreover, despite the centrality of media and communication systems in capitalist societies since the beginning of the 20th century, their role remains underexplored in gentrification research. Despite increasing acknowledgment of social media's impact on urban change, little empirical attention has been paid to its operational role in driving gentrification. Through the theoretical lens of prosumption, a concept blending production and consumption, this paper argues that social media platforms play a distinctive role in promoting and amplifying gentrification. Users of digital platforms effectively become prosumers, actors who simultaneously produce and consume content. This study draws on a case study of a renovated commercial street, Nantaixiang, located in Nanjing's core business district, which has gained popularity through online attention. Findings indicate that social media, particularly Xiaohongshu, one of China's most influential lifestyle platforms that enhances the visibility of these areas and generates rent gaps by reshaping local image and consumer tastes. This process encourages investment and draws consumers back, ultimately accelerating the commodification of urban space. The dynamic interplay between users' offline experiences and their online sharing not only reconstructs the identity of place but also accelerates its physical and symbolic transformation. Consequently, production and consumption practices led by young middle-classes contribute to the territorialization of place, further displacing grassroots businesses and marginalizing long-term elderly residents. This paper contends that, through digital prosumption labor, social media users become embedded in the restructuring of urban space, performing dual roles as both consumers and co-producers. The study contributes to gentrification theory by introducing prosumption as a mechanism that transcends the conventional production-consumption binary. It highlights social media's capacity to reconfigure urban space in the absence of large-scale capital investment or direct state intervention, and calls for greater scholarly attention to digitally mediated urban restructuring and its implications for spatial injustice.