PLAN261 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Xidi, Hongcun, Siheyuan
Document Summary
The eleventh lecture of plan 261 focused primarily on the conservation of historic districts in china. As china seeks to reinvent itself, several historic districts are standing in the way. While some historic districts are preserved, several have been torn down and reconstructed to promote tourism. Heritage conservation practices began as early as the. Many conservation regulations were a result of the destruction of historic buildings in beijing. The enforcement of zoning laws has been difficult in beijing, as many developers choose to pay a fine rather than preserve historical buildings. Beijing"s urban structure was originally dominated by a large north-south axis. Many building resembled this axis, and it was used as a central vein for the city. In the 1950"s beijing began to industrialize and demolished the wall surrounding the old city. This wall historically was used to separate different zones of the city, and was believed to help encourage development.
