Critical Regionalism for Ingratiation: China’s Foreign-Aided Stadiums After 2000

Wei Chang, Yifan Gao, Xiaofeng Guo, Guang Yang, Xue Charlie QL — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:41:47 +0800

Stadiums have been one of China’s most well-known and influential foreign aid projects that attract considerable attention. After 2000, a series of reforms in China’s foreign aid generated significant influences on the designs of China’s foreign-aided buildings, especially on large constructions such as stadiums. The authors aim to explore the development of China’s foreign-aided stadiums after 2000 and analyze the influential aspects on the design processes. Critical regionalism for ingratiation is identified as the main architectural feature. The study is conducted through a detailed analysis of the foreign aid mechanism, case projects, first-hand materials, and interviews with Chinese architects involved. The authors consider these stadiums to represent a unique critical regionalism with cultural and climate elements embedded. It can be regarded as a considerable supplement to the current scholarship on Chinese contemporary architecture and Chinese sports buildings.

Journal of World Architecture

Critical Regionalism for Ingratiation: China’s Foreign-Aided Stadiums After 2000