“Third Places” in the Communicative Space of China’s Megapolis
In recent years, the communication space of Chinese cities is actively transforming, new forms of human interaction emerge and develop. This transformation is accompanied by the expansion of the variety of “third places”. The article examines the popular “third places” of China's megalopolises, describes new communicative practices, gives an overview of modern tendencies in the development of urban discourse in China. The investigation shows that urban communication is displaying the growth of face-to-face rather than computer-mediated communication. However, it is not yet possible to predict what impact the COVID‐19 epidemic will have on the further development of urban communication in China and what transformations the “third places” of China's megalopolises will undergo after the epidemic end.