Vernacular Architecture in Historic Chinese Cities

Chinese cities today are in the midst of a profound architectural transformation. Many of the most rapidly developing cities are centuries old, and possess distinct local building traditions. Today, the urban environments produced by these traditions frequently face wholesale demolition.

This Web site presents images and descriptions of traditional urban neighborhoods in selected Chinese cities, based on urban planning work undertaken by Tsinghua University in Beijing. The aim of the presentation is to broaden appreciation for Chinese vernacular environments now undergoing rapid change; in other words:

to raise awareness of the diversity of China's urban building traditions and the threats they face;
to deepen understanding of the process of architectural change;
to expand and clarify the definition of "building tradition" itself.

We focus our attention on the historic centers of two cities: Quanzhou, a medium-sized coastal city, and Beijing, the capital metropolis. Together, they present an eye-opening view of the varying traditions and conditions that characterize two of China's most rapidly developing regions.

Vernacular Architecture in Historic Chinese Cities

The Beijing pages are currently under construction. Please follow this link to view the contents of the Quanzhou pages.