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Oriane Pillet has been an intern at the Joint Research Unit China Korea Japan, CNRS, since February 2014 to help with the UrbaChina FP7 project.Her experienceOriane studied international development and received a joint degree in geography and law from Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne). She is currently working for her masters “Local development: social actors and spatial dynamics” at the Institut des Etudes de Développement Economique et Social (IEDES) [Institute of Economic and Social Development Studies] of Paris I.Her interest in Asia started as a result of her travels in Southeast Asia, India and Nepal, where she did a work experience with a Nepalese NGO at Kathmandu. China and its cities are particularly compelling to her as they abound with challenges tied to urbanisation. She is focused on the issues of urban heritage and how it ties in modern day upheavals in Chinese cities. She is also focused on issues linked to the urban practices of city dwellers and their participation in the making of the city.Her role within UrbaChinaOriane contributes to the UrbaChina blog by writing posts and is working on an article on the question of urban heritage and urban rehabilitation and revitalisation in China. She is especially interested in the rehabilitation of industrial heritage in Chongqing and its impact on the urban practices of the zone’s inhabitants. She will have the opportunity to travel to Chongqing where she will be able to do some field surveys to understand today’s challenges for the revitalisation of old industrial areas in a post-industrial city and to analyse how citizens are involved in the project to develop and preserve their urban industrial heritage. ((This article was translated by Aurélia Martin.))