Purpose: This paper explores a district government's role in using school networks to transform turnaround schools in rural Shanghai, China. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative case studies were conducted. Findings: Findings showed that the C District government varied its power in initiating school networks; collaborative networks were developed but addressed local problems in a limited manner and collaborative networks had difficulties innovating to solve novel problems. Originality/value: This article presents an "external-internal context" framework for understanding local government's role in school networks and turnaround school transformation in China.