In recent years, we have witnessed the Chinese government’s ambition for datafied governance and rural revitalization under the mind-set of technological optimism. Focusing on an emerging digital platform for rural governance—“ChuanShanZhi” (川善治; CSZ)—as a case study, this study interprets new design-centered techniques in Chinese primary-level governance from three lenses: gamification, datafication, and performativity. Specifically, CSZ’s design integrates motivational elements from games (e.g., upgrade, competition, and collaboration), datafied tracking means (e.g., surveillance), and user-generated content to operationalize political and social goals through the playful engagement of scores, points, and star ratings; streamline and centralize bureaucratic workflows; and perform a state-aligned vision of rurality, one that is harmonious, productive, and morally virtuous. In this process, CSZ reveals a distinct design logic behind China’s digital rural governance, which synthesizes socialist mass line traditions, Confucian moral discipline, digital platforms’ engagement metrics, and contemporary bureaucratic rationalization.
Jie Cui (Wed,) studied this question.