缅北禁地

Past roles and responsibilities

September, 2022-January 2026: Director of the Confucius Institute at 缅北禁地.

April, 2022-January, 2023: Deputy then Acting Director of Internationalisation and Reputation in APL.

September 2021-March, 2022: Acting Director of the Confucius Institute at 缅北禁地.

December, 2020-January, 2025: Chair of the School's library committee.

September 2013-August, 2018: Degree Program Director of the BA (Hons) Architecture and Urban Planning in APL.

Academic Biography 

My research examines the way in which societies, governments, social movements, sub-cultures, communities and individuals construct their pasts; in exploring these themes I have conducted research on social theory, the history of ideas, historical imaginaries, historical memory, nostalgia, remembering and forgetting, national myths and narratives, the politics of history and the uses and abuses of history and/or the past more broadly. In my career, I have often examined these themes in relation to architecture, townscapes, urban conservation, built heritage, intangible heritage and urban place branding. While my early research explored British/English cases, since 2010 I have investigated Chinese case studies. 

Recent Work: Chinese cultural history and urban studies

In recent years, I have become a very enthusiastic student of Chinese studies (Sinology). I say student because my Mandarin needs to improve and because I am still finding my feet, I often work in teams with other Chinese researchers. Specifically, my research has mainly been concerned with Chinese culture, nostalgia, politics, heritage and urban development.

On my travels to China I have visited the following very interesting places: Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Jining, Macau, Qingdao, Qufu, Shanghai, Suzhou, Tai'an, Wuhan, Xiamen and Xi'an. In the near future, I hope to visit more places in the PRC.

Key words and phrases

Broadly speaking my research interests relate to the following key words/phrases:

Social theory; Sociological theory; The history of ideas; Historical imaginaries; Historical memory; Lived Memory; Collective memory; nostalgia; the politics of history; the politics of the past; the uses of the past; the use and abuse of history/the past; heritage; Faux/plastic history; Historical simulacra; Historical place branding; Nostalgic place branding; nationalism; national myths; national narratives; race and ethnicity; Chinese studies.

Visiting academic positions

I have been a visiting scholar, visiting researcher and/or a visiting lecturer at the following institutions:

Citic Design and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) (August, 2023); Xi'an Jiaotong University (March-April, 2019); Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (July, 2017); Xiamen University (July, 2017); Xi'an University of Architectural Technology (May-July, 2013); Wuhan University (March-May, 2013); Peking University (February, 2013; August, 2013).

Applications for Doctoral Work

I welcome applications for doctoral study; I welcome students, who want to develop projects on urban development, time, memory, nostalgia, identity and heritage; And of course, reflecting my recent work, I am very interested in project students that are keen to study issues in and around Chinese culture, nostalgia, politics, heritage and urban development. 

Languages: Mandarin

Above tourist level Mandarin (but a long way to go yet): On the 6th of January, 2016 I learnt that I passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) level 2 Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test. In the future I shall study for the HSK Level 3 Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test.

Outside of Work

Outside of work I am a keen walker and Chess player. I love reading novels, listening to music and watching movies. When I was younger I enjoyed Skateboarding. While I skate less these days, (injuries take a longer time to heal) I still take an interest in Skateboarding culture broadly.

Creative Writing

Alongside my academic writing, I have also tried to produce some creative writing. Recently, I have had a piece published on Cullercoats, North Shields (with Illustrator Michael Duckett) in an Anthology on the Sea produced by Paper Jam Comics Collective. You can find it here:

Research ID:

My ORCID ID number is: 0000-0002-8403-3971

Research websites and author profiles: 

my research and my author profile can be accessed at the following websites:

Editorial Boards

I am currently on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Architectural/Planning Research and Studies (JARS) (as a consultant).

I am currently on the Editorial Board of the journal Built Heritage (part of Tongji University Press). 

I am currently on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism (JCAU)

Academic networks

April 2021: I am a member of the GU design (genealogy of urban design) network. 

September 2019: I am a member of the Hong Kong Studies Association (HKSA)

December 2017: China ports network – 

July 2014: I am a member of the British Association of Chinese Studies (BACS).

I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.

Current research projects:

At present I am involved in the following projects.

1) research into the history of ideas in China especially traditional ideas and the role of these concepts in the present.

2) research into Ancient and Imperial nostalgia

3) research into the role of humiliation and rejuvenation discourses

4) research into historic place-branding and the use of historical themes and imaginaries in the marketing of Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan and Xi'an; recently, I made a 3-minute video outlining this research for 缅北禁地’s Cities NUCORE: 

5) research into the historic urban branding and industrial heritage of the Guibei area in Hanyang, Wuhan.

6) research into Occidental consumption in China;

7) research into a nostalgic social movement in China known as the Hanfu movement (a movement of young people who wear pre-Qing Dynasty clothing) (with Qianqian Qin). Specifically, on this topic, we have been involved with a project regarding infrastructures of memory. 

We were also recently interviewed by the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) on the subject of the Hanfu movement. This interview is now available as a podcast in the following formats:

Funded Research projects:

In 2023 I was involved in another large EU project called Consider. Like PUMAH, the project was tied up with a series of academic exchanges between Universities in the EU and one University in China - HUST - Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The projected aimed to look at the sustainable management and conservation of industrial heritage globally.

In 2014, I was awarded a Sino-British Fellowship Trust and British Academy Award - (BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants SRG 2014 Round) £9,863.75. /heritage/research/reconstructing-han-identities/

In 2012 I was an active participant in a very large EU F7 grant known as PUMAH - Planning, urban management and heritage; this grant saw staff exchanges between European and Chinese institutions. Overall the project was a complete success and these exchanges have now served as key spaces in the formation of new joint research projects and teaching opportunities.

Recent academic Presentations:

2026

22^nd of January 2026: Short 4-minute presentation on my research to the Architecture, research collaborative (ARC).

2025

10th of September 2025: ‘Beyond discourse: the role of materiality, embodiment, performativities, practices and affects within the Hanfu movement’. My talk was part of Panel 9 (slot 1): ‘Popular Confucianism: Exploring the Confucian Revival in China and Beyond through the Lenses of Social Science’; Talk given to 5th Conference on Asian Studies; Biennial conference of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Asienkunde (DGA); 9–11 September 2025, Bonn (Germany).

16th of July 2025: “Potential research projects: Thinking through several issues relating to dark and uncomfortable heritage”. Presentation for Professor John Pendlebury and Dr Yiwen Wang’s workshop on uncomfortable heritage.

2024

6th of July 2024: ‘China’s link to 缅北禁地 upon Tyne, UK’, talk given to the 21st International Conference on Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education. This is the 2024 Annual International Conference of the British Chinese Language Teaching Society (BCLTS). Title of the conference: Critical Perspectives on International Chinese Education: Synergising Language, Culture, and Technology in the Era of Digital Intelligence.

2023

30th of August 2023: 'Industrial historical imaginaries and heritage in Hanyang, Wuhan'. Talk given to staff from Citic Design (an urban design company located within Wuhan) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, (HUST) in the New World Building, Wuhan.

28th of August 2023: 'Different theoretical interpretations of cultural heritage in the west'. Talk given to staff and students at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China.

2nd of August 2023: ‘China’s link to 缅北禁地 upon Tyne, UK’ as part of the "Preserving the Maritime Cultural Heritage", UCMSR Summer Program. Xiamen University. Recorded Zoom lecture sent to Dr Han Jie of the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xiamen University.

7th of July 2023: ‘Hegemonic Han identities and alternative subjectivities: the contemporary Hanfu movement and broader national narratives of decline and rejuvenation’ – which is part of the panel ‘Building Narratives and Deconstructing Hegemony in Northeast Asian Memorymaking’ – which is part of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Memory Studies Association (MSA) “Communities and Change” 缅北禁地, 3-7th of July 2023.

22nd of June 2023: ‘Chinese Migration to 缅北禁地’ The Politics of Remembrance: The Commemoration and Heritagization of Colonial Occupation in Contemporary China – a workshop organised by Professor John Pendlebury and Dr Yiwen Wang. School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. 缅北禁地.

21st of June 2023 – “Representing humiliation and collective remembering in China: colonial architecture on Gulangyu and the construction of an ‘exotic space’ for Chinese tourists” – The Politics of Remembrance: The Commemoration and Heritagization of Colonial Occupation in Contemporary China – a workshop organised by Professor John Pendlebury and Dr Yiwen Wang. School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. 缅北禁地.

11th of April 2023: “Narratives of Han Ethnic, Moral, and Behavioural Decline: The Contemporary Hanfu Movement in the cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Wuhan and Xi’an”; invited by Dr Valerie Pellatt to give a talk to the Scotland Chinese Association (SCA) in Edinburgh.

17th of February 2023:‘The uses of the past in Chang’an: selective remembering and the discourse of rejuvenation’; invited by Dr Marichela Sepe, to give a talk to the GU Design Network. –

Research led teaching

Stage 3: Chinese Cultural history and urban development: With Ms Qianqian Qin and Prof Rose Gilroy, I now run a stage 3 AUP course which explores the cultural history of Chinese city making and planning. As well as examining ancient city planning, we also investigate in detail the contemporary status of the Chinese city and the social, cultural, economic and political processes that shape it.

Stage 2: Study visit: In 2019 with Ms Qianqian Qin, I ran an undergraduate fieldtrip to Beijing. During this fieldtrip we visited scholars, practitioners and town planners at Peking University, (Professor Bin Lu and Professor Pengjun Zhao), the Tsinghua Institute and the 798 art zone. We also visited the Forbidden City and the Yuanmingyuan Gardens along with other places.

Teaching awards, nominations and prizes

10th of March 2026 - I was nominated for a Teaching Education Award (TEA).

9th of March 2022 – I was nominated for a Teaching Education Award (TEA).The category for which I was nominated was ‘Outstanding Contribution to HASS faculty’.

12th of March 2020 – I was nominated for a Teaching Education Award (TEA). The category for which I was nominated was ‘Outstanding Contribution to Student Employability’.

14th of May 2013 – I was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award (TEA). The category for which I was nominated was “Innovative Teaching Method of the year”.

15th of May 2012 – I was awarded a prize for ‘Innovation in postgraduate supervision/teaching’ by the School of Architecture, planning and landscape

Current PhD/MPhil Supervision: 7 students

Helen Cui - Smart Cities with historic heritage

Shawn Qiao - Aesthetic Response: Mu Xin and Chinese Literature in the Post Mao Era (with Dr Joe Lawson and Professor Jianfei Zhu).

Zhan Zhang - The politics of public space in China (with Professor Ali Madanipour).

Gobi Guo - UNESCO Notions of peace within World Heritage interpretation and the way these ideas are understood in China and Gulangyu (Xiamen). (with Professor Areti Galani and Dr Bruce Davenport).

Minghe Ma - Collective memory and heritage in Jing De Zheng - China's porcelain city (with Dr Dariusz Gafijczuk)

Paul Zhou - Chinese migrants in the EU. Documentary film practice (with Dr Alastair Cole and Dr Caleb Johnston)

Tiancheng Ren - Urban identities, migration and Shenzhen (with Professor Ali Madanipour). Pass with 6 months corrections.

Completed PhD's:

I have successfully supervised 10 candidates (in conjunction with other staff in APL, SELL and the University's Culture Lab) to completion.

Dr Lu Bao - Spatial contest across Scales: a study of transportation nodes at Dalian and Taipei and multi-scalar spatial politics in Japan's colonial project in East Asia (1895-1945) (with Professor Jianfei Zhu).

Dr Mohanad Alfelali - The history, sociology and heritage of Mecca (with Dr Josep-Maria Garcia Fuentes and Dr John Kamara)

Dr Amelia Joicey - The history and sociology of the Northern Stage Theatre - DTC AHRC awards - AHRC Funded - (with Dr Rosalind Haslett and Dr Helen Freshwater).

Dr Asmarani (Rani) Februandari - Power and discrimination in a space: The role of cultural built heritage in identity construction of Chinese Indonesians - Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education - (with Prof. Pendlebury).

Dr Ang Gao - Reading Jiaoxing Village - PhD by Creative Film Practice - (with Dr Ian McDonald).

Dr Lu Wang - Facilities for ageing middle class subjects in China (with Prof. Rose Gilroy). 

Dr Rorie Parsons - Social Practice theory and networks of cycling - ESRC Funded - (With Prof Vigar).

Dr Xi Chen - Colonial heritage on an island in Wenzhou - PhD by creative practice - (with Prof Chiles and Dr Beattie).

Dr Zhang Su - Feng Shui, urban design and planning (Self-funded). (with Prof Madanipour).

Dr Tom Brigden - The Richmond View: transatlantic landscapes (AHRC Funded) - 2014. (With Prof. Sharr). 

Completed PhD's (where I made a short term contribution to their supervision. i.e. 6 months)

Dr Pattamon Selanon

Total teaching contribution

I am a module leader for 3 modules and I am a contributor (depending on the academic year/circumstances) on another 10 modules - see below.

Masters teaching: MSc in Town Planning

TCP9004: Community building module - marking (Contributor)

TCP8911: Research design module – 1 x 2-hour workshop (Contributor)

TCP8099: Master’s Dissertation – supervise approximately 3-4 students a year plus marking. (Contributor)

TCP8902: Reflexive practitioner module: contributor: 1 x 2-hour lecture on Deontological ethics. (Contributor)

Undergraduate teaching/supervision

Level 3 Modules

TCP3054 - Planning theory - Marxism, post-modernism, critical pragmatism etc - (contributor and sometimes module leader - was module leader for this course previously for many years) (Contributor)

APL3007 - Dissertation in Architecture and Urbanism - contributor to tutorials, crits and supervision (Contributor)

APL3004 - Chinese Cultural History and Urban Development - (Module leader).

Level 2 modules

TCP2028 - Understanding cities - Lecture on the Cultural City and seminar - (Contributor).

APL2007 - Creative and visual research methods (Contributor)

APL2001 - Theories of Alternative Practice module - Lectures on Marxism, anarchism, feminism, post-modernism, alternative professionalism(s) - (Module leader)

Level 1 modules 

APL1003 - Planning Contexts - (Contributor)

APL1002 - Histories of the City - (Module Leader) 

Past modules

HSC8007 - MSc Global Health in the Anthropocene - (Contributor)

TCP8942 - Reflexive practitioner (Mplan) version. 1 x 2-hour lecture on Deontological ethics. (Contributor)

TCP7024 - Conservation and the Historic City - 2 x Lectures (Contributor)

TCP3099 - Planning undergraduate dissertation module - Have been a contributor to dissertation workshops (and sometimes supervision) (Contributor)

TCP2035 - Study Visit - Within this course I ran a fieldtrip to Beijing with Ms. Qianqian Qin; this field trip ran for the first time at the end of March, 2019 - (Contributor)

TCP 2027: Research skills – Contributor: 3 x 2-hour sessions (6 hours in total) (Contributor)

TCP1025 - Social Worlds - Lectures on identity, class, sexuality, gender, race and ethnicity - (Contributor)

• Articles

  • Law A, Qin Q. . Built Heritage 2025, 9, 68.
  • Davenport B, Zhang Y, Law A. . Built Heritage 2025, 9, 34.
  • Law A, Qin Q. . Bulletin of the Costume Society Scotland 2024, 64.
  • Law A, Qin Q. . Sine. The Publication of the Scotland-China Association 2024, Summer 2024(1), 12-21.
  • Li Y, Liang J, Huang J, Shen H, Li X, Law A. . Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 2024, 60, 127-140.
  • Wang L, Gilroy R, Law A. . Plos One 2023, 18(3), e0283533.
  • Law A. . Built Heritage 2023, 7, 1.
  • Li Y, Du Y, Yang M, Liang J, Bai H, Li R, Law A. . Heritage Science 2023, 11, 199.
  • Law A, Qin Q. . Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 2022, 52(2), 230-255.
  • Law A. . Dialogues in Human Geography 2021, 11(2), 257-260.
  • Li Y, Huang J, Law A. . Built Heritage 2021, 5, 6.
  • Li Y, Xie J, Gao X, Law A. . Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 2021, 26(2), 183-199.
  • Lyu Z, Tang J, Wu X, Law A. . The Architect 2019, (6), 64-76.
  • Law A, Qin Q. . METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 2018, 35(2), 173-195.
  • Pendlebury J, Wang Y, Law A. . International Journal of Heritage Studies 2018, 24(3), 211-229.
  • Law A, Veldpaus L. . Urbanistica Informazioni 2017, 272(Special issue, part 4), 400-408.
  • Li Y, Xiao L, Ye Y, Xu W, Law A. . Tourism Management 2016, 52, 30-43.
  • Li Y, Ye Y, Xiao L, Xu W, Law A, Wang D. . Urban Design International 2016, 22(3), 127-149.
  • Brooks E, Law A, Huang LJ. . Urban Planning International 2014, 2(139), 29-35.
  • Brooks E, Law A, Huang L-J. . disP - The Planning Review 2014, 50(3), 66-75.
  • Law A. . Intertrade 2012, 11(371), 4-13.
  • Law A. . Intertrade 2011, 8(356), 55-62.
  • Ballantyne A, Law A. . Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 2011, 32(3), 301-313.
  • Law A. . Municipal Engineer 2010, 163(3), 127-130.
  • Grisola JM, Willis KG, Wymer C, Law A. . Cultural Trends 2010, 19(3), 225-244.

• Authored Books

  • Law A. The uses of the past in China. 2026. In Preparation.
  • Ballantyne A, Law A. . London: Reaktion Books, 2011.

• Book Chapters

  • Pendlebury J, Wang Y-W, Law A. . In: Li, Y. González Martínez, P, ed. Re-creating Shanghai: Heritage Conservation and Urban Regeneration. Berlin: Springer, 2027. In Press.
  • Pendlebury J, Wang Y-W, Law A. . In: Saloul, I; Baillie, B, ed. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025.
  • Law A, Qin Q. . In: Emily Williams, Loredana Cesarino, ed. China from the Margins. New Narratives of the Past and Present. London: Routledge, 2025.
  • Law A. . In: Lixinski, L and Zhu, Y, ed. Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building. London: Routledge, 2024.
  • Qin Q, Law A. . In: Abdulai, RT; Azuah, KGB, ed. Sustainable Real Estate in the Developing World. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2021, pp.83-114.
  • Law A. . In: Ludwig C; Walton L; Wang Y, ed. The Heritage Turn in China: The Reinvention, Dissemination and Consumption of Heritage. Amsterdam University Press: International Institute of Asian Studies in association with Amsterdam University Press, 2020, pp.215-238.
  • Law A, Chen X. . In: Hein C, ed. Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage. Berlin: Springer, Cham, 2020, pp.272-289.
  • Law A. . In: Richardson, D; Castree, N; Goodchild, MF; Kobayashi, AL; Liu, W; Marston, R, ed. The International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology. New York: Association of American Geographers; Wiley, 2017.
  • Sturzaker J, Law A. . In: Verdini G; Wang Y; Zhang X, ed. Urban China's Rural Fringe: Actors, Dimensions and Management Challenges. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2016, pp.33-60.
  • Law A. . In: Convery, I; Corsane, G; Davis, P, ed. Displaced Heritage: Responses to Disaster, Trauma and Loss. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2014, pp.165-173.
  • Law A. . In: Rajagopalan, M; Desai, M, ed. Colonial Frames, Nationalist Histories: Imperial Legacies, Architecture, and Modernity. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012, pp.285-304.
  • Ballantyne A, Law A. . In: Guillery, P, ed. Built From Below: British Architecture and the Vernacular. Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2011, pp.123-144.
  • Ballantyne A, Law A. . In: String, TC, Bull, M, ed. Tudorism: Historical imagination and the Appropriation of the Sixteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy, 2011, pp.155-181.
  • Law A. . In: Ballantyne, A, ed. Architectures: Modernism and After. Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, pp.202-226.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Law A. . In: Asia in Motion: Beyond Borders and Boundaries, as part of the Association of Asian Studies. 2017, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
  • Law A. . In: Heritage of China International Symposium. 2016, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Suzhou.
  • Law A. . In: The 2016 International Symposium on Reclaiming Identity and (Re)Materializing Pasts: Approaches to Heritage Conservation in China. 2016, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
  • Law A. . In: AESOP 26th Annual Congress. 2012, Ankara, Turkey.
  • Law A. Searching for Entrepreneurial and Economic Legacies in the 'Golden Age' of the Tang Dynasty. In: International Conference on China Urban Development. 2010, The University of Hong Kong.

• Note

  • Law AM. . Built Heritage 2023, 7(1), 4.

• Online Publications

  • Law A. . Wenhui Xinmin United Press Group, 2018. Available at: .
  • Law A. . 2016. Available at: .

• Report

  • Law A. . 缅北禁地 upon Tyne: 缅北禁地, 2015.

• Reviews

  • Law A. . Europe-Asia Studies 2023, 75(7), 1236-1238.
  • Law A. . International Journal of Heritage Studies 2021, 27(4), 423-425.
  • Law A. . Anthropos 2019, 114(2), 573-574.
  • Law A. . Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 2018, 24(1), 201-202.
  • Law A. . Architectural Research Quarterly 2018, 21(3), 281-283.
  • Law A. . British Journal of Industrial Relations 2016, 54(3), 673-675.
  • Law A. . International Journal of Heritage Studies 2015, 21(3), 306-308.
  • Law A. . Journal of International Development 2014, 26(2), 297-298.
  • Law A. . Landscape Research 2013, 38(1), 154-156.
  • Law A. . Planning Perspectives 2011, 26(2), 325-327.
  • Law A. . Landscape Research 2010, 35(1), 139-141.
  • Law A. . European Spatial Research and Policy 2009, 16(1), 159-161.
  • Law A. . Geografiska Annaler. Series B. Human Geography 2005, 87(3), 241-242.
  • Law A. . Area 2002, 34(2), 221-222.
  • Law A. . Progress in Human Geography 2000, 24(4), 673-674.