TRADE CENTRES (MAIMAICHENG) IN MONGOLIA, AND THEIR FUNCTION IN SINO–RUSSIAN TRADE NETWORKS

Abstract

The development of transit trade between China and Russia after the eighteenth century led to the growth of prosperous Chinatowns in Mongolia. These maimaicheng (lit. “trade towns”) along a Chinese merchant network that reached Siberia and Turkestan displayed distinctive urban spaces, where a multicultural mixture of people – Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan and Hui Moslem – created new architectural styles and produced unique streetscapes. Unlike urban formations before the eighteenth century, these new towns absorbed nomadic and religious elements into their residential and secular spaces. This did not however imply assimilation. The landscape of northern Chinese towns clearly shows how different cultures were able to preserve their original styles and simultaneously adapt themselves to coexist with others.