Visuality and Infrastructure: The Case of the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the largest infrastructure programme in history, and has become a symbol in itself of growing significance of China and its power. This chapter aims to analyse visual representations of the BRI and will focus on the visual politics of the spatial imaginary of the BRI. Considering BRI as a representational discourse (Sykes & Shaw, 2018) the chapter will interrogate the immediate materiality of the BRI and the symbolism of its “spectacle.” The chapter will fill the existing gap by focusing on the visualization of BRI, identifiying iconic elements, and narratives, and putting them to a visual sociological scrutiny. The chapter uses the existing visual material (photos, drawings, and documentary films as well as promotional material as the sources of data).