IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i2p247-d743658.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Traditional Thoughts and Modern Development of the Historical Urban Landscape in China: Lessons Learned from the Example of Pingyao Historical City

Author

Listed:
  • Xinpeng Li

    (College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Yanta Road 13, Xi’an 710055, China
    College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, China)

  • Wei Hou

    (Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, Lianhuachi West Road 28, Beijing 100830, China)

  • Meng Liu

    (Shaanxi Institute of Urban & Rural Planning and Design, Xintai South Street 1418, Xi’an 710021, China)

  • Zhenlin Yu

    (China Northwest Architecture Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., WenJing Road 98, Xi’an 710018, China)

Abstract

In the past 40 years, China has undergone a rapid urbanization process which has led to a significant contradiction between the desire to develop modern urban spaces and the need to protect historic urban sites. Urban construction has brought not only the destruction of the physical space of the historic urban sites, but also the fragmentation of the natural landscape and its structural disconnection to the historic urban landscape. Ancient Chinese planners had their own thoughts regarding urban construction and the specific patterns of the urban landscape. The urban landscape of Chinese historic cities focuses predominantly on the structural relationship to its neighborhood. This paper aims to explore the value and character of the historic landscape of the ancient city, finding the key causes of its decline in the process of urbanization. The World Cultural Heritage city Pingyao is taken as a case study. Firstly, an analysis of its historical spatial structure and urban planning ideas of the ancient city of Pingyao using ancient maps and historical documents is presented. Then, a quantitative analysis of the urban space expansion in Pingyao city from 1989 to 2016 is conducted and its land use structure further analyzed. Additionally, four editions of the urban master plan in Pingyao have comprehensively shown that modern urban construction and planning tend to focus more on urban economic functions and social needs. In contrast, ancient urban planning relied on the spatial connection between urban space and its natural environment to construct a higher urban cultural connotation. As a result, the different development mode between modern urbanization and construction of ancient cities could be the key reason for the decline of spatial structure and landscape fragmentation of historical cities in China. With respect to the experience and thoughts of Pingyao’s ancient urban planning and construction, technical ideas and suggestions are put forward as reference in future spatial planning for Pingyao’s urban development and cultural protection. Our findings have been incorporated into the relevant sections of the spatial planning of Pingyao.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinpeng Li & Wei Hou & Meng Liu & Zhenlin Yu, 2022. "Traditional Thoughts and Modern Development of the Historical Urban Landscape in China: Lessons Learned from the Example of Pingyao Historical City," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:2:p:247-:d:743658
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/2/247/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/2/247/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhiwei Wan & Xi Chen & Min Ju & Chaohao Ling & Guangxu Liu & Fuqiang Liao & Yulian Jia & Meixin Jiang, 2020. "Reconstruction and Pattern Analysis of Historical Urbanization of Pre-Modern China in the 1910s Using Topographic Maps and the GIS-ESDA Model: A Case Study in Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Guolei Zhou & Jing Zhang & Chenggu Li & Yanjun Liu, 2022. "Spatial Pattern of Functional Urban Land Conversion and Expansion under Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Changchun, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Chengcai Tang & Qianqian Zheng & Pin Ng, 2019. "A Study on the Coordinative Green Development of Tourist Experience and Commercialization of Tourism at Cultural Heritage Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Xin Zhang & Jinghu Pan, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Factors of Urban Sprawl in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    5. Xiaoyan Su, 2018. "Reconstructing Tradition: Heritage Authentication and Tourism-Related Commodification of the Ancient City of Pingyao," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Paweł Pedrycz, 2021. "Form-Based Regulations to Prevent the Loss of Urbanity of Historic Small Towns: Replicability of the Monte Carasso Case," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-23, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shujing Dong & Danjie Shen, 2023. "A Study of Historical Urban Landscape Layering in Luoyang Based on Historical Map Translation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Sishi Wang & Xin Tan & Fenglei Fan, 2023. "Changes in Impervious Surfaces in Lhasa City, a Historical City on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xu Yang & Xuan Zou & Xueqi Liu & Qixuan Li & Siqian Zou & Ming Li, 2023. "The Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in China’s Counties," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Xiaoyan Su & Changqing Song & Gary Sigley, 2019. "The Uses of Reconstructing Heritage in China: Tourism, Heritage Authorization, and Spatial Transformation of the Shaolin Temple," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Hung-Ming Tu, 2020. "Sustainable Heritage Management: Exploring Dimensions of Pull and Push Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Mónica de Castro-Pardo & Pascual Fernández Martínez & Amelia Pérez Zabaleta & João C. Azevedo, 2021. "Dealing with Water Conflicts: A Comprehensive Review of MCDM Approaches to Manage Freshwater Ecosystem Services," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-32, April.
    5. Jiangsu Li & Weihua Li & Bo Li & Liangrong Duan & Tianjiao Zhang & Qi Jia, 2022. "Construction Land Expansion of Resource-Based Cities in China: Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Driving Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Wenle Yang & Jinghu Pan, 2024. "The role of vegetation carbon sequestration in offsetting energy carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Basin, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 22689-22714, September.
    7. Zhenzhen Qin & Yao Song & Yao Tian, 2019. "The Impact of Product Design with Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) on Consumer Behavior Through Cultural Perceptions: Evidence from the Young Chinese Generation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Asad Aziz & Muhammad Mushahid Anwar & Hazem Ghassan Abdo & Hussein Almohamad & Ahmed Abdullah Al Dughairi & Motrih Al-Mutiry, 2023. "Proximity to Neighborhood Services and Property Values in Urban Area: An Evaluation through the Hedonic Pricing Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-12, April.
    9. Yongjun Su & Junjie Xu & Marios Sotiriadis & Shiwei Shen, 2021. "Authenticity, Perceived Value and Loyalty in Marine Tourism Destinations: The Case of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Chengcai Tang & Ziwei Wan & Pin Ng & Xiangyi Dai & Qiuxiang Sheng & Da Chen, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Carbon Emissions and Their Influencing Factors for Tourist Attractions at Heritage Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Yuqing Geng & Hongwei Zhu & Renjun Zhu, 2022. "Coupling Coordination between Cultural Heritage Protection and Tourism Development: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.
    12. JungHoon Kim, 2022. "Urban Air Mobility Noise: Further Considerations on Indoor Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    13. Liyin Shen & Lingyu Zhang & Haijun Bao & Siuwai Wong & Xiaoyun Du & Xiaoxuan Wei, 2023. "An Empirical Study on the Mismatch Phenomenon in Utilizing Urban Land Resources in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-29, June.
    14. Xiaoyan Su & Gary Gordon Sigley & Changqing Song, 2020. "Relational Authenticity and Reconstructed Heritage Space: A Balance of Heritage Preservation, Tourism, and Urban Renewal in Luoyang Silk Road Dingding Gate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-21, July.
    15. Shuyi Xie, 2019. "Learning from Italian Typology- and Morphology-Led Planning Techniques: A Planning Framework for Yingping, Xiamen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-29, March.
    16. Chong Wu & Mengling Yang & Hang Zhang & Yafang Yu, 2023. "Spatial Structure and Evolution of Territorial Function of Rural Areas at Cultural Heritage Sites from the Perspective of Social Space," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Xin Jin, 2023. "A Review of Cityscape Research Based on Dynamic Visual Perception," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Tianchen Dai & Taozhi Zhuang & Juan Yan & Tong Zhang, 2018. "From Landscape to Mindscape: Spatial Narration of Touristic Amsterdam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, July.
    19. Marwan Omar Hassan & Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling & Noradila Rusli & Safizahanin Mokhtar & Walton Wider & Pau Chung Leng, 2023. "Urban Sprawl Patterns, Drivers, and Impacts: The Case of Mogadishu, Somalia Using Geo-Spatial and SEM Analyses," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, March.
    20. Wei Pan & Jing Wang & Zhi Lu & Yurui Li, 2023. "Swelling Cities? Detecting China’s Urban Land Transition Based on Time Series Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:2:p:247-:d:743658. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.