As new information technologies and the advent of “big data” are reshaping societies around the globe, inquiries into the nature and varieties of digital governance and their consequences become increasingly urgent. “Smart cities” are mushrooming particularly quickly in China, which is home to more than half of the more than 1,000 smart cities worldwide. These city governments have begun to experiment with digital technologies to harness the power of big data analytics for governing society. Emerging practices have momentous implications for the organizationof social, political and economic life in China and globally. A systematic study has yet to address the lacking empirical and conceptual understanding of digitalizinggovernance practices in authoritarian China. The project seizes a unique opportunity to witness “natural experiments” of digital government modes as they emerge from China’s advanced smart cities. Mixed methods (surveys, experiments, and interviews) will be used to study the interplay between government, businesses and citizens in local decision-making as digital technologies are increasingly integrated into the process.