Toward Modernity: Roads, Space and the Spirit of Modernity

CHENG Yong-jie, ZHU Ling-fei

Journal of Beijing Jiaotong University(Social Sciences Edition) ›› 2026, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (2) : 140-147.

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Journal of Beijing Jiaotong University(Social Sciences Edition) ›› 2026, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (2) : 140-147.
Transportation and Culture Studies

Toward Modernity: Roads, Space and the Spirit of Modernity

  • CHENG Yong-jie1, ZHU Ling-fei2
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Abstract

In the march toward modernity, transportation plays an irreplaceable foundational role. It is of great significance to elucidate the cultural connotations of transportation as the vanguard of China’s modernization and grasp the cultural dimension of building a country with strong transportation network. From a spatial perspective, generalized modern roadway spaces such as highways and railways constitute key manifestations of modern spirit. Through standardized spatiotemporal discipline and subjectivity-building mechanisms, they constantly take part in the generation of social relations and the formation of values. While erasing geographical imbalances, China’s roadway practices endow modernity with a people-centered implication. These practices encompass universal traits brought by transportation revolutions across the globe, including punctual discipline, panoramic perception and self-restrained subjectivity; more importantly, they embody the value pursuit of putting people at the center and the practical orientation of common prosperity. At present, China stands at a critical historical juncture in its transition from a large transportation country to a country with strong transportation network. We need to value the cultural attributes of transportation from a perspective that transcends instrumental rationality, balance efficiency and equity, uphold the people-first philosophy, and enable transportation to serve as the vanguard of modernization.

Key words

modernity / roadway space / spirit of modernity / building China into a country with strong transportation network

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CHENG Yong-jie, ZHU Ling-fei. Toward Modernity: Roads, Space and the Spirit of Modernity[J]. Journal of Beijing Jiaotong University(Social Sciences Edition). 2026, 25(2): 140-147

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