Architecture in East Asia

Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________
MODULE 3. ARCHITECTURE OF EAST ASIA
Module Information
Module Overview
The module introduces the student to the region of East Asia, the various influences on the architecture of the region,
and the notable architectural structures and landmarks of certain periods and the builders/architects behind them.
Module Coverage
The module will be covered for a duration of two (2) weeks with a work output to be submitted on the end of the module
(see course outline schedule). It is scheduled on Week 4 and Week 5 of the semester.
Module Objective
• The module aims to help familiarize the student with the East Asian region.
• The module aims to aid the student in explaining and analyzing the geographical, geological, historical,
climatic, religious and social influences of the countries in the East Asian region to Asian and international
architecture.
• The module aims to assist the student in classifying and categorizing the distinct architectural style of the
countries in the East Asian region.
Module Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, the student should be able to:
• Classify the countries in East Asia and the patterns of architectural thoughts and design thinking developed
in these countries
• Identify key structures, architectural landmarks and notable Asian architects in East Asia
• Explain the contribution of the past architectural styles in the development of high-tech utilities and
construction systems and contemporary buildings and structures of the East Asian countries
Module Interdependencies
This module will serve as the introductory lesson to East Asian Architecture and will be succeeded and reinforced by
Module 4: Architecture of South Asia.
Module Learning Materials
Under this module, the students are provided with the following materials:
• Lecture Note:
Title: Architecture of East Asia Part 1 (China)
The lecture discusses the geographical, geological, historical, climatic, religious and social influences
of the countries in the East Asian region. It discusses the architectural styles, notable buildings and
architects of ancient, colonial and post-colonial and present day China.
___________________________________________________________________________
• Lecture Note:
Title: Architecture of East Asia Part 2 (Korea and Japan)
The lecture discusses the geographical, geological, historical, climatic, religious and social influences
of the countries in the East Asian region. It discusses the architectural styles, notable buildings and
architects of ancient to present day Korea and Japan.
• PowerPoint Presentation:
• Title: Architecture of East Asia Part 1 (China)
The presentation provided in pdf file are the slides used for the presentation of the professor.
• PowerPoint Presentation:
Title: Architecture of East Asia Part 2 (Korea and Japan)
The presentation provided in pdf file are the slides used for the presentation of the professor.
All learning materials can be found in the Canvas > Modules > Week 4 and Week 5.
Additional Readings and Materials
Students may refer to the given lectures under this module. Nevertheless, should the student like to study beyond the
given materials, they may read the books listed in the References below.
Module Output-Based Work
To complete this module, the student shall submit Formative Assessment 2. The details of the assessment can be
found in Canvas > Assignments or Quizzes > Formative Assessment 2.
References
• Ching, F., Jarzombek, M., & Prakash, V. (2017). A global history of architecture. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Cruickshank, D. (2011). Sir Banister Fletcher’s A history of architecture. Twentieth Edition. Oxford:
Architectural Press.
• Ingersoll, R. (2013). World architecture: A cross-cultural history. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Ancient Korea. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Korea/
• Ancient Japan. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Ancient_Japan/
• Ancient Japanese history. Retrieved from https://www.mapsofworld.com/world-ancient-history/japan.html
• Japan Fact Sheet. Web Japan. Retrieved from https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e25_architecture.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________
WEEK 4.
TOPIC: EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE (PART 1)
EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE ANCIENT CHINA
Three large empires dominated world history at the outset of the first century BC. In the East the Han dynasty ruled
China from its capital of over a million inhabitants at Chang'an. Romans centered in the Mediterranean, absorbing the
territory conquered by Alexander while adding the less settled areas to the west of Italy, across the Atlantic, far from
the scrutiny of the Eurasian landmass, the Olmecs and Zapotecs in Mexico achieved great cultural feats, preparing the
way for the religious metropolis of Teotihuacan.
All three cultures perfected the grid in laying out buildings and cities. Chang'an and Teotihuacan both relied on an
orthogonal structure with a broad central boulevard. Religious activity guided the planning of Teotihuacan, with its two
immense pyramids and hundreds of sacrificial altars spread throughout the city. In China the emperor was accorded
semidivine status, and the palace compound was treated like a sacred precinct. (Ingersoll, 2013)
Figure 1 Three great empires dominating the world in the first century
Image source: Ingersoll, 2013
BACKGROUND
The earliest inhabitants of China so far discovered lived at Lantian (Shaanxi province) 600,000 years ago. But the first
forms of civilized life emerged during the Neolithic era. There were two major cultures, the Yangshao based in west
China and the Longshan to the east. The Longshan culture seems to have outlived the Yangshao. The Longshan also
pioneered constructional characteristics which were to be developed during the subsequent Bronze Age. They
surrounded their settlements with walls formed by layers of pounded earth (pise) – a technique which was also used
in the construction of buildings.
The first identifiable dynasty is the Xia (2100 – 1600 BC) of which no cultural remains have been discovered but which
was probably a late Longshan foundation. The succeeding Shang period (1850 – 1027 BC) is divided into three distinct
phases, each represented by a major site – early Shang at Erlitou, middle Shang at Zhengzhou and late Shang at
Anyang, all in Hanan province. The Shang are sometimes called Yin in Chinese.
___________________________________________________________________________
Shang rulers were dedicated builders creating walled settlements around their palaces and suburbs for the use of
specific industries (i.e. manufacture of bronze implements and pottery). Construction still involved the use of pounded
earth although stone columns were used. The rulers also constructed enormous subterranean tombs. It was during the
Shang dynasty that China began its remarkable pioneering technological development.
The Shang rulers were overthrown around 1028 BC by the Zhou from Shaanxi province. The Zhou period (1027 – 256
BC) is complicated to chronicle. Around 770 BC the Zhou came under intense pressure from the nomadic tribes and
moved their capital east from the Wei Valley to Luoyang. This move led to the division of the dynasty into two distinct
periods – Western Zhou (1060 – 770 BC) and the Eastern Zhou (770 – 256 BC). This later phase further subdivided
the political rule resulting to the Spring and Autumn Period of 722 – 481 BC and the Warring States Period of 403 –
221 BC. Eventually Zhou broke down as individual fiefdoms asserted their independence.
Unification came with the Qin who by 221 BC had conquered all the other states. Standardization became a paramount
concern – a process which laid the foundation for great advances in Chinese civilization: weights and measures were
unified, standard copper coins were issued, the Qin writing style was imposed, the road and canal system was initiated,
the Great Wall began to protect the northern frontier, and to ‘unify’ thought all texts – except those on medicine,
agriculture, and divination – were burnt. This soon resulted to a revolt and in 206 BC the Qin army was defeated and
the Han dynasty established. It was to rule until AD 220. During this period China enjoyed one of its ‘Golden Ages’
during which the Chinese culture and commerce flourished and the centralized bureaucratic government was based
on the Confucian ideal of paternalistic rule by educated and moral men. (Cruickshank, 2011)
Figure 2 Dynasties in China Image source: ChinaFashioNation, retrieved from

https://chinafashion.weebly.com/detailed-histories-of-dynasties.html
Physical Characteristics
Chinese civilization originated in the Neolithic period in the cool temperate provinces of the north-east. The primary
locus was in the Huang he (Yellow River) valley and later around the Changjiang.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 3 China river valley civilization: Huang He Valley

Image source: FCPS World I SOL Standards. Retrieved from
https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10599/ERVC%20China.pdf
The region was a rich zone of marshes, lakes and alluvial plains with little natural forest cover. Rainfall was sparse and
the winters harsh, but the cold, arid climate was well-suited to the farming, hunting, fishing and foraging the region
supported from about 3500 BC.
The slash and burn techniques of cultivation used earlier was superseded by permanent field systems during the Xia
Period (2100 – 1600 BC), which also saw the transition from seasonal site to large and permanent villages scattered
over much of northern China.
The Shang period (1600 – 1028 BC) was confined to the northern plains of Henan and its immediate surroundings,
and the heartland of Zhou China (1027 – 256 BC) was along the Wei valley. The extent of the Zhou territory fluctuated
with the pressure from the northern nomads but the density of settlement increased and the pace of urbanization
quickened. Under the Qin (221 – 206 BC) the empire spread west to Sichuan and south to the Guangzhou delta.
___________________________________________________________________________
History and Culture
In the valleys of the Yellow River several compact villages emerged, such as Banpo (near the modern-day city of Xi’an),
which dates to about 4500 BC and was part of the Yangshao Culture. It was surrounded by a ditch or moat 5 to 6
meters wide, probably for drainage and defense.
Along the Yangtze River, farmers had developed rice as their prime staple by around 5000BC, if not earlier. It was a
labor-intensive crop that required level fields and the precise monitoring of water levels. The first culture to master rice
farming was the Hemudu. Given the swampy nature of the land, the people at Hemudu built elevated houses that
served for both living and storage. The houses were also ritual centers. This house type was introduced by rice growers
to other parts of the world, most notably to Japan and the Philippines. (Cruickshank, 2011)
Figure 4 Agricultural emphasis to the south on rice and to the north on millets and pigs
Image source: Ching. F. (2017). A global history of architecture.
The homes were circular structures of mud and wood with overhanging thatched roofs, all raised on shallow foundations
with fire pits at the center. Entrance ramps sloped down into the dwelling. Such pit houses, with furs lying on the floors
and hanging from the inner walls for insulation, were comfortable places to live. If the timber beams could be kept dry
and the thatch was properly maintained, a pit house could last twenty years. The dead were buried in the back of
nearby sacred caves or in simple pits outside the village in a communal burial area. The remains of children, it seems,
were interred in urns just outside their homes. Within the town there were large open plazas and storage holes, and at
the center of the village was a large house, presumed a clan or community center, which was built of a heavy timber
construction. One area of the village was dedicated to the production of pottery, indicating the emergence of craft
specialization. Pottery was used not only in daily life but also in mortuary rituals. (Ching, 2017)
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 5 Banpo village and typical house

Image source: Ching, 2017
In terms of religion, the Hongshan and Yangshao cultures were shamanistic. A shaman is an intermediary between
the natural and the spiritual worlds who travels between these worlds in a trance. A tomb at Puyang, dating from about
4000 BC, is likely that of a shaman priest. It was made in the shape of a single, squarish room with a lobed space at
the rear. A man was buried in the pounded earth floor, flanked by a dragon on one side and a tiger on the other, both
painstakingly and beautifully made of hundreds of shells. Dragons and tigers, still central to Chinese Confucian
symbolism, are considered to be prospectors in both life and death. Hill ranges, especially those with prominent peaks,
are considered to be dragons.
Figure 6 Niuheliang ritual center

ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCES
House-building in China dates from the second millennium BC and the Xia dynasty. An architectural style based on
wooden structures gradually took shape and was used to produce a number of building forms related to social needs.
The style was capable of adaptation to various geological and climatic conditions as well as building functions.
Historically the techniques have been widely applied in the construction of palaces, temples and other religious
structures as well as residences and gardens. The early evolution of a unique Chinese style influenced the architecture
of South and Southeast Asian countries and, when better contacts were established with Europe, architecture in
general.
___________________________________________________________________________
An integrated system of architecture was established as early as the first and second centuries AD and continued to
develop under the influence of foreign cultures from the third to the fifth century. In the later years of the sixth century,
Chinese architecture entered a period of maturity during which high artistic level were attained.
In the fourteenth century, greater diversity of building types was created with the application of the traditional wooden
structure to houses and gardens. This period ended with the stagnation of Chinese architectural development in the
nineteenth century and the introduction of Western architecture and building techniques.
China is 9.6 million square kilometers in area. Thirty-three percent of the country is covered by mountains, mainly in
the west, including Tibet-Qinghai Plateau which averages 4,000 m (13,000 ft) above sea-level. Loess plateaus in the
north-west give way to hills which cover the greater part of central southern China to coastal plains in the east. There
are more than 5,000 islands along the eastern and southern coasts, the largest of which are Taiwan and Hainan.
Numerous rivers run through China. Changjian (Yangtze) River and Huanghe (Yellow) River basins are the largest and
formed the cradle of China’s ancient civilization. The 1,794 km Grand Canal, built in the seventh century, connects the
five major water systems, including the Changjian and Huanghe rivers, and played a major role in the economic
development of ancient China as well as directly affecting the location of ancient capitals.
The greater part of China has a monsoon climate. Winter monsoon winds (around September to April) from Siberia
and Mongolian Plateau cross China, becoming weaker as they move southward. This results to a cold and dry winter.
The southeast monsoon brings humid air from over the ocean between April and September, and weather in central,
eastern, south-eastern and south-western parts of China is hot and the precipitation high. The northernmost
Heilongjiang province is near-subarctic and has little summer. Tibet Qinghai mountain is perpetually covered with snow.
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on the other hand, enjoys continuous spring-like weather and Hainan Island semitropical
summer all year long. The hinterland in the north-west has a typical continental climate, the influences of which can be
seen in Chinese architecture. For example, in the north, buildings are oriented southward to the sun; in the south they
are designed for shade and to encourage natural air movement as is common in tropical monsoon climates.
(Cruickshank, 2011)
Figure 7 Different climates in China

Image source: Ancient China.
Retrieved from https://ancientchinaadks.weebly.com/environmentclimate- and-how-life-was-based-around-it.html
___________________________________________________________________________
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Dou-gong, the system of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam (each bracket being formed
of a double bow-shaped arm called ‘gong’ which supports a block of wood called ‘dou’ on each side) had just appeared
during the Western Zhou dynasty (1027 – 770 BCE), and was widely used in buildings constructed in the ‘beam-in-
tiers’ technique. But concave roofs, which characterize China’s wooden buildings, were seldom seen at this early date.
The building style of the period was rough, simple and unadorned. (Cruickshank, 2011)
Chinese wood roofs are described by the number and types of bracket sets and beams deployed. While bracket sets
are a complex addition to the number of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal composite elements, the beams are
designated by their position and the number of rafters they span. Dou-gong bracket sets differ in size and number
depending on their position and location, the size of the roof, and the stature of the building.
Bracket sets of this complexity never developed in India, Mesopotamia, or areas to the west, where walls played a
more important role in the structural stability and expression of a building. In the West, wood beams needed to be
attached with skill, but architects did not have to worry about a building twisting, which is a common problem with
structures set up on columns or posts. The brackets keep the top part of the building stiff against rotational forces while
supplying enough flexibility in case of earthquakes. The technology was developed early on by the Chinese, but it was
by no means static. It went through several developmental stages. By the 15th century, engineers had learned how to
simplify the bracketing systems and began using them more for the purposes of tradition than out of structural
necessity. (Ching, 2011)
China began to evolve its own distinct architectural character in the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE). By that time
commonly used structural techniques included, ‘beam-in-tiers’ and ‘column-and-tie-beam’ methods, either of which
could be combined with ground floors supported on substantial plinths or raised on stilts. Simple, ‘log-cabin’ methods
were still used in forest regions.
It was from the period of the Three Kingdoms to that of the Northern and Southern dynasties (220 – 589 CE) however
that China’s architecture first developed noticeably. As a result of the growth of Buddhism, pagodas and grottoes
appeared in many parts of China and the styles of India, Persia, and Greece were introduced.
The Tang and Song dynasties (618 – 1279 CE) saw China’s building methods maturing rapidly. Examples of the
architectural skill of the period are the Linde Hall, the main building of the Daminggong Palace, which has 188 pillars
and was built in the Tang dynasty, and the 67 m (220 ft) high wooden Sakyamuni pagoda in the Fogongsi Temple built
in the Liao dynasty in Yingxian Province. From the Song dynasty, the architectural use of color and decoration became
more and more exquisite.
In the later periods of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 – 1911 CE), high levels of skill were developed in the
arrangement and layout of groups of buildings.
The five main characteristics of Chinese architecture which emerged in these periods were:
1. Unity of structure with architectural art

This was achieved by beautifying the structural components themselves instead of applying additional
ornament. For example, a pillar might be shuttle-shaped and a beam formed as an arc so that when used with
a concave roof, they achieved harmony of design with construction.
2. Good anti-seismic function

The structural components of a wooden building were connected by mortises and tenons and were thus able
___________________________________________________________________________
to move under earthquake conditions without causing the buildings to collapse. Similar techniques were
applied to the connection of columns to plinths. Chinese wooden buildings have no deep foundation for
columns, so that columns can shift when an earthquake occurs, and many ancient structures still stand even
after exposure to many earthquakes.
3. A high degree of standardization

A building composed of a group of beams carried on columns with curved corbel-brackets forming a kind of
roof truss, or is supported on a series of vertical frames serving the same purpose. The space between two
such beams is called jian (a bay). These two constructional techniques were used in most buildings with
rectilinear plan shapes. The dimensions of structural components are based on standard modules. For
example, buildings of the Song dynasty took ‘cai’ as the basic module. This was the vertical section of the
gong part of ‘dougong’ or of ‘fang’, a piece of wood which had a height : width ration of three : two. Yingzaofashi
(The Method of Architecture) describes in detail the meaning and measurements of cai, of which there are
eight permissible sizes. The module used in the Qing dynasty is ‘doukou’ – the width of gong – and the
supplementary module is the diameter of a pillar. Doukou has eleven sizes, enough to control the
measurements of each single building in a group in such a way as to set off the main building.
4. Bright colors
The practice of painting wooden buildings to prevent weathering and insect infestation and to achieve
decorative effects began in the Early Spring and Autumn period (772 – 481 BCE). Gradually, the Chinese
learned to employ colors appropriate to nature of the building, or the element on which it was used. For
example, in palaces or temples, walls, pillars, doors and window frames were painted red, while the roof was
yellow. Cool colors, often blue and green, were applied under the eaves.
5. Systemic grouping of buildings.

The traditional Chinese method of arrangement was to plan a single building around a courtyard and then to
use courtyards as basic units to form groups of buildings. On a large scale, these consisted of many courtyards
arranged along parallel or other subsidiary axes. There may be free-standing halls within courtyards or linked
to surrounding buildings with galleries or side rooms. Complex planning of this kind is found in palaces,
shrines, temples, mausolea and monasteries. Less formal though still axial arrangements were used for
buildings, such as the pavilions in parks and for gardens.
EXAMPLES Palaces and Villas
Forbidden City
Most of the luxurious palaces of the emperors of China were destroyed when the dynasties fell. Only the Forbidden
City in Beijing, built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, is preserved intact. Construction began in 1406. The battlemented
perimeter wall extends 760 m (2500 ft) from east to west and 960 m (3150 ft) from north to south and encloses an area
of 73 ha (180 acres).
The Forbidden City, called Gugong in Chinese, is located in the center of Beijing, only one kilometer to the north of
Tiananmen Square, facing to the southern gate of Jingshan Mountain. It is protected by a huge rectangle wall which is
12 meters high and over 3 kilometers long, with a gate in each side. To the south is the Meridian Gate (Wu Men), to
the north is the Gate of Divine Might (Shen Wu Men), east is the Donghuamen Gate and west Xihuamen. There are
four uniquely and delicately designed watchtowers standing on the four corners of the wall. Surrounded by the city
moat of 52 meters long and 6 meters deep, the Forbidden City becomes a castle with very strong defense.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 8 The symmetrical Imperial Palaces in the Forbidden City (Beijng, China) with the Three Great Halls are an
important architectural complex, showing the power of the rulers.
Image source: Kathleen Funk on China Trip
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 9 The Forbidden City, Beijing (1406 -) Figure 10 Tiananmen, main gate of the Imperial City (1406 - )
Image source: Viator.com Image source: Viator.com
Figure 11 Hall of the Taihedian (1406 - 20) Figure 12 Wumen or Meridian Gate (1406 - )
Image source: Trip.com Image source: Wonders-of-the-world.net
Summer Palace
The emperors also built country villas and set them in landscaped parks. Most of those existing today were created in
the Qing dynasty. Summer Palace, located on the north-western outskirts of Beijing, is the most famous among them.
Begun in 1750 and restored in 1888 and 1903, the park’s main features are Wanshoushan (Longevity Hill), and
Kunminghu (Kunming Lake), and it covers an area of 2900 ha (7166 acres), the three-quarters of which is water.
Four Sections of the Summer Palace:
1. Nearest the Donggongmen (East Palace Gate). This is where the emperor and empress lived and affairs of
state were conducted. The groups of courtyards in this part of the palace are symmetrical. Although roofs
were not glazed, the section through the building is characteristic of an imperial palace.
2. Southern slope of Wanshoushan, looking down on Kunming Lake, and contains the Foxiangge (the Tower
of Buddhist Incense), an octagonal building, 37 m high, set on a platform. The Foxiangge is the symbol of the
park, and in front of it is the Paiyundian (the Cloud Dispelling Hall) where the court held its celebrations. Both
stand at the middle of the southern slope of Wanshoushan and form an axis which is flanked by more than
ten groups of smaller buildings. A gallery, 760 m long, runs east and west from the Paiyundian and links
together all the scattered buildings to make this section the most beautiful in the park.
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Northern slope of Wanshoushan, together with a stream. All buildings here, except for a religious group, stand
in the center of the area, hidden in a landscape modelled on the private gardens of south China.
4. Consists of Kunming Lake, South Lake, West Lake and its island. The water surface is 1700 m (5575 ft) from
west to east and 2000 m (6560 ft) from north to south. The lakes are separated by embankments, the longest
of which is Xiti (the West Embankment), modelled upon Suti of Hangzhou city in Zhejiang province, south
China. Six bridges of different types stand on Xiti, linking the Summer Palace with the outside world. From
the east bank of Kunming Lake, Xiti links the inside and outside views of the Summer Palace, and hills and
pagodas can be seen in the distance. The scene looks like a traditional Chinese mountain-and-water painting.
Figure 13 The Summer Palace, Beijing (1750, 1888,

1903 Figure 14 The Foxiangge Tower and the
Paiuundian Hall
Image source: Funlifecrisis.com Image source: The Cube, http://dmagicube.blogspot.com/
Figure 15 The Summer Palace: the long gallery Figure 16 The Kunming Lake was decorated by
Image source: Mywowo.net Shiqikong Bridge, temple of Dragon King, and Xiti area
Image source: topchinatravel.com
Shrines
Tiantan Shrine
Shrines were used in ancient China for making sacrifices to ancestors and famous historical personages, as well as
to the gods. The most famous is the group of buildings known as Tiantan Shrine in the southern district of Beijing. It
___________________________________________________________________________
extends over an area of 280 ha (690 acres) and was built for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Two groups of buildings:
1. Huanqiutan for the worship of heaven
Huanqiutan is a three-tiered circular, marble terrace, the uppermost tier of which is 26 m and the lowest tier
55 m in diameter. The height of the three terraces is 5 m. Marble balustrades enclose each tier. The paving
stones and the balusters are arranged in multiples of nine, symbolishing the Ninth Heaven where the god of
heaven lives.
Huanqiutan is enclosed by two walls, the outer one being square on plan and the inner one circular. The walls
are pierced by four sets of doors; that in the north faces the Huangqiongyu, a single-roofed circular structure
about 20 m high and 16 m in diameter set in a circular courtyard.
The buildings of the Huanqiutan also include the Huangqiongyu (Imperial Vault of Heaven), which houses a
sacred tablet.
Figure 17 Tiantan Shrine: Huanqiutan (Ming and Qing dynasties)

Image source: 123F.com
2. Qiniandian for prayers for good harvest
A brick pavement, 400 m long and 30 m wide, to the north of the Huanqiutan leads, to the Qiniandian, the
main feature of which is a circular, wooden Hall of Prayer, 32 m high and 24 m in diameter. It has a triple
conical roof of deep-blue glazed tiles topped with a large gold-plated ball, and red columns, door and window
frames, dark green dougong and beams. It stands on a three-tiered circular terrace 7 m (23 ft) high and
maximum 90 m (300 ft) diameter. The terraces have white marble balustrades.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 18 Tiantan Shrine: the Qiniandian Hall of Prayer (Ming and Qing dynasties)
Image source: China Discovery
Heaven was said to be circular and the earth square. This square courtyards were used to locate heaven on
earth, while high platforms for the buildings, placed behind comparatively low surrounding walls, gave an
impression that the buildings were close to the sky.
Road surfaces on either side of the approach-paths were built to slope from south to north and planted with
pines and cypress to extend the perspective, so that as the road surface continued to rise buildings such as
Qinandian seemed to be built in heaven.
Though Tiantan Shrine was completed in the Ming dynasty, it was subsequently rebuilt many times. Today’s
Huanqiutan, for example, was reconstructed in 1749 and the Qiniandian in 1890.
Mausolea
These structures account for a major part in ancient Chinese architecture since they usually stand for the highest
architectural techniques of the time. They were scattered around places which used to be capitals of different dynasties.
Usually, these were built against hills or mountains and facing plains. Most imperial mausoleums have broad ways
called Shendao (the Sacred Way) at the entrance. Along both sides of the Shendao, there are stone sculptures of men
and animals which guard the tombs. Under huge hills of clay, splendid and superior structures were constructed with
fine facilities such as drainage systems.
Elaborate funerals and lavish tombs were provided for the rulers of ancient China. The imperial tombs are of two kinds
– above ground and below. Those underground are usually only chambers to house emperors’ coffins, and at first were
wood-framed structures, but after the Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220) were built of stone or brick. Later tombs are
either built above ground or combine underground chambers with commemorative buildings above the ground.
Shisanlang Tombs
Found in Changping county, north of Beijing at the foot of Mount Tianshou, the Shisanlang Tombs were used
for the burial of thirteen Ming emperors and empresses.
A stone pailou proclaims the entrance and beyond it the road is line by giant statues of officials, warriors,
___________________________________________________________________________
horse and camels. The designs and layouts of the thirteen tombs vary only slightly, but the Changling
Mausoleum is perhaps the most imposing. It is the tomb of the Emperor Cheng Zu of the Ming dynasty, built
in 1424.
The buildings above ground consist of a memorial hall, the Fengcheng Minglou and the Treasured Crown.
The Lingen Memorial Hall is one of the largest ancient timber-framed buildings existing in China today. Inside
the hall are thirty-two ‘nanmu’ wood pillars, the four largest 1.17 m in diameter and 23 m high. Behind the
sacrificial hall is a burial mound encircled by a massive brick wall – the Treasured Crown. Beneath the mound
is the huge burial chamber, known as the Underground Palace, the Fengcheng Minglou (literally the square
city and bright tower) is a pavilion housing a sacred stone tablet.
Figure 19 The Shisanling, Changping, near Beijing: stone pailou

Image source: Ancient art and archaeology. http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/
Figure 20 The Changling

Mausoleum: Lingen Memorial Hall (1424)
Image source: alamy.com
Underground Palace of the Ding-ling Mausoleum
The tomb of Ming Emperor, Shengzong, is another imperial tomb, the only one that has been fully excavated.
It has three chambers and a long passage leads to the main burial chamber. The palace was built in the late
sixteenth century and is constructed entirely of arched stonework.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 21 Underground floor plan and section of Dingling Mausoleum

Image source: Cruickshank, 2011
Ancient architectural remains in China are mostly associated with religion. They include Buddhist temples, monasteries
and grottoes, Islamic mosques and Daoist monasteries.
Buddhist Temples
Two types of Buddhist temples:
1. First type combined a tall, symbolic feature (a stupa or a pagoda) with a temple-hall
Earliest examples were temples with stupas which had been introduced from India at the time of the Eastern
Han dynasty (first century). The stupas, which usually stood in the center of the group of temple buildings,
were said to contain Buddha’s remains and were objects of homage for his disciples.
By the time of Northern Wei dynasty, temple-halls were combined with pagodas. This kind of temple was built
from the fourth to sixth centuries and later was passed to Japan through Korea.
In the south of China under the Eastern Jin dynasty (317 – 420), a style evolved in which two pagodas were
placed symmetrically in the courtyard of the temple.
During the Tang dynasty (618 – 907) there were independent courtyards for pagodas; from the Song dynasty
(960 – 1279) onwards, pagodas were placed behind the temples, but were built only rarely in the Ming and
Qing periods.
2. Second and later type consisted of buildings arranged around courtyards
This type without either stupa or pagoda evolved in many parts of China between the first and sixth centuries.
Bureaucrats, nobles and emperors donated their palaces and grand residences for use as temples, and as
these buildings usually had a number of courtyards, similar plan arrangements came to be used for new
buildings.
___________________________________________________________________________
It is the pagoda which characterizes the Buddhist temple in China. Most of those still existing are of brick and stone,
and there are more than two thousand of them. Only one wood-framed pagoda has survived.
Pagodas can be classified into six types:
1. Pagodas with closely layered eaves
The oldest pagoda of the Songyue Temple built in 520 at Mount Songshan is the earliest known Chinese
brick pagoda. Externally it is twelve-sided but its interior is octagonal. The temple was 41 m high, its diameter
at the base about 14 m, and its foundation wall 2.5 m thick. Its long slender body had four doors and eight
imitation windows. There are 15 eaves in the upper part, and the total outside contour forms a longer parabola
shape. Its top was a brick spire and it contained an internal staircase, but it is now in ruins.
Figure 22
Songyue Temple, Henan Province (520)
Image source: HelloTravel.com
During the Tang dynasty, the eaves pagoda became very popular and a square plan shape was evolved.
The Lesser Wild Goose Pagoda at Xi’an is an example of the square pagoda.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 23 Lesser Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an, Shanxi province (Tang dynasty)
Image source: alamy.com
2. Storeyed pagodas
The Chinese storeyed building combined the pagoda form with that of the Indian stupa. The earliest existing
storeyed pagodas were built in the Tang dynasty and were square in plan but more popular form, from the tenth
to thirteenth centuries, is octagonal.
The Temple of Kaiyuan in Quanzhou built between 1241 and 1252, is a stone pagoda but resembled earlier
wooden-framed pagodas.
Figure 24 Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda, Quanzhou (1241 – 52)

Image source: enquanzhou.com
___________________________________________________________________________
Some brick pagodas have an outer wooden gallery such as the Bao’en Temple Pagoda in Suzhou built in 1131 –
1162 is of this kind.
Figure 25 Bao'an Temple Pagoda, Suzhou (1131 - 62) Image source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/
The brick pagoda has various structural forms. Some are constructed on a single brick tube, others on twin tubes
or bricks packed together with space inside for only a flight of spiral steps. This kind of pagoda was popular for
more than 1000 years.
3. Vase-shaped pagodas
This type of pagodas evolved directly from stupas: they were first built in the late Tang dynasty, but became
popular after the Yuan dynasty in the temples of Lamaism.
The White Pagoda in the Temple of Miaoying (Divine Retribution) in Beijing was biuilt in 1271 with the guidance
of a Nepalese craftsman. It is 56 m high.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 26 The White Pagoda, Temple of Miaoying, Beijing (1271)

Image source: Diary of a Rambling Antiquarian,
https://www.babelstone.co.uk/BabelDiary/2017/09/beijing-white-stupa.html
These pagodas were usually built in groups, sometimes five or more in a line or arranged symmetrically
around a major building. The surface of the pagodas are faced in glazed brickwork.
4. Groups of pagodas honoring Buddha’s warrior attendants
Popular in the Ming and Qing periods, these pagodas were built in imitation of the Buddha Gaya relic- house
complex in India. Five pagodas were usually placed along the diagonals of a square terrace decorated with
carved statues. Each was a closely-layered eaves pagoda and pyramidal in shape.
Figure 27 Zin Gang Bao Zuo Pagoda at Zheng-jue Temple, Beijing province
Image source: TribHobo
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Single-storey pagodas
These pagodas were built as tombs for monks and nuns. They may be square, octagonal, circular or
hexagonal. They are often found in groups or lines adjacent to temples.
Figure 28 Pagoda Forest at Lingyan Temple in Changqing of Shandong Province

Image source: http://www.china.org.cn/english/TR-e/42675.htm
6. Wooden tower pagodas
These pagodas were built from the third century onwards, but the Shijia Pagoda in the Buddhist Palace Temple,
Shanxi province, built in 1056 is the only surviving building of this kind in China. It is 67 m (221 ft) in height, and
26 m (86 ft) in diameter at its base. Between each of the five outside storeys there is a hidden interior storey. The
storeys diminish in height between the layers from top to bottom. The outside of the pagoda is timber-framed, and
the hidden storeys are trussed. Spiral stairways are arranged along the edges of the pagoda. It has survived some
900 years despite seven earthquakes, as well as bombardments.
Figure 29 Shijia Pagoda, Shanxi province (1056), also named Sakyamuni Pagoda of Foguang Temple Image source:
Chinaculture.org
___________________________________________________________________________
Halls, Pavilions and Monasteries
Foguang Monastery, Wutai Mountain
The Main Hall of Foguang Monastery, Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province (857) is one of China’s earliest
extant wooden structures. Its façade, divided into seven bays is 34 m (112 ft) long, 17.3 m (57 ft) deep and
13.6 m (44 ft) in height. There are framed windows at both ends and in the rear wall. There are five wooden
doors in the front side but none elsewhere.
The columns of the hall are short, about 5 m (16 ft) high, but there is a large cluster of brackets at the top of
each column supporting the eaves. The cantilever length of the brackets is half of the length of the columns.
The hall is in the Tang style, and sculptures, painting and murals of that period are displayed in the building.
Figure 30 Foguang Monastery, Shanxi Province: Main Hall (857)

Image soure: China Dragon Tours
Figure 31 Details of bracket system: Main Hall, Foguang Temple, Wutaishan, Shanxi Province
The Foguang Hall is seven-by-four bayed and has a roof format known as first-class hip style. The columns
divide the hall into an inner and outer cao (“space”). Just as they transformed the stupa to a ta, or pagoda,
the Chinese also transformed the monastery format; in this case, it clearly derived from the palatial
___________________________________________________________________________
architecture of the time. Monasteries generally consisted of a Buddha hall framed by a courtyard within a
colonnaded enclosure, with a north and a south gate.
The larger ones had east and west gates as well. The courtyards were named after their principal buildings -
for example, the pagoda courtyard, the chan (“meditation”) courtyard, the vanaya (“discipline”) courtyard, the
purea (“land”) courtyard, and so on. The overall style of Foguang temple can be described as having low-
pitched roof slopes, deep eaves, and dominating brackets.
The Foguang Temple almost did not survive. In 845, as part of the persecution, the original 5th-century
structure, an important stop for Buddhist pilgrims, was burned to the ground, with only the small yet elegant
Zushi pagoda surviving from the temple’s early history. Twelve years later, however, in 857, a woman named
Ning Gongyu provided funds for a reconstruction led by a monk named Yuancheng. (The current building is
a reconstruction from the 1970s.)
Longxing Monastery in Zhengding
Longxing Monastery in Zhengding, Hebei province, is an important existing example of a Buddhist monastery
of the Song dynasty (960 – 1127). It has an obvious axis, along which lie the main halls, pavilions and
courtyards. There is a rich variety of shapes in the halls and pavilions. The living quarters of the monks are
located on the eastern side, as are the stables. Mo-ni Hall, Chi Shi Pavilion and Zhuan-Lun-Zang Hill
(repository for Buddhist scriptures) are the principal remaining buildings.
The Mo-ni Hall dates from 1052 and has a cruciform plan shape. The roof is a sophisticated structure, light
in form and ingeniously constructed.
Figure 32 The Mo-ni Hall, Longxing Monastery, Zhengding, Hebei Province (1052)
Image source: China Daily
Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet
Built in 1645 – 95, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, is a large-scale Lama Monastery. It comprises the White
Palace and the Red Palaces, and rises 200 m (660 ft) against the slope of a hill. Inside the palace are nine
storeys in wood and stone. A part of the Red Palaces with three wooden-framed roofs inlaid with golden tiles
has been called the Golden Palace and stands beside five vase-shaped towers covered in gold leaf. Against
the red and white stone walls, they form a colorful and splendid scene.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 33 Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet (1645 - 95)

Image source: Google Maps image by Roger Gardner
Puning Monastery, Chengde
A group of buildings with both Han and Tibetan architectural features is Puning Monastery, Chengde, Hebei
province. It is divided into two sections, one in the Han style, set around a group of courtyards, the other
constructed according to the doctrine of Lamaism on a platform 9 m (29 ft) high. The center of the group is
the Dacheng Pavilion, a T-shaped, five storey building 24 m (80 ft) long and 20 m (66 ft) deep. The space in
the center of the hall is 24 m (78 ft) high, and enshrines a 23 m (75 ft) high Guanryin statue. The hall has five
separate roofs covered with glazed yellow tiles and a golden baoding on the top of each pinnacle. Around the
main hall are several smaller halls, colorful vase-like towers and red and white platforms.
Figure 34 Puning Monastery, Chengde, Hebei province: Dacheng Pavilion

Image source: China.org
Grottoes
The Buddhist grottoes were introduced to China from India. They are shrines carved into cliff faces and inside the
___________________________________________________________________________
caves. The earliest in China are the Mingshashan Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province (353) and the Heseer
Grottoes in Xinjiang, also cut in the fourth century. The practice reached the height of its popularity in the Northern
and Southern, Sui and Tang dynasties between the middle of the fifth century and the beginning of the tenth century.
The sixth century examples had giant columns at their entrances, and ceilings were often carved to resemble wooden
structures. Among the best known grottoes are the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Guansu province, the Yungang
Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi province, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province.
Figure 35 Yungang Grotto, Shanxi province (sixth to tenth centuries)

Image source: visitourchina.com
The development of grottoes in China is an example of the historical merging of Chinese and foreign cultural ideas.
The rock caves of the Yungang Grottoes cut during the Northern Wei dynasty (386 – 534) vary with date.
1. First stage: Grottoes carved on natural cliffs are large and without decoration. The appearance and clothing
of the giant Buddhas reveal the influence of India and Central Asia.
2. Second stage: distinguished by square caves with central columns. Niches for statues of the Buddha were
carved on some of the central columns, while others were shaped into Buddhist pagodas. The grottoes at this
time had many designs taken from India, Persia, Greece, for example flamboyant lions, twin-headed beasts
back to back and Ionic capitals.
Daoist Temples and Palaces
A few ancient Daoist temples and palaces survive. The earliest is the Yongle Palace built in 1262 in Yongi county,
Shanxi province. Its main buildings are three halls and a large gate, aligned on an axis. Each of the buildings is similar,
in traditional Buddhist architectural style. In the 1950s the palace was moved to Ruicheng county to make way for a
___________________________________________________________________________
reservoir.
Most of the existing Daoist buildings are of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They were built mainly in beautiful mountain
areas and are in a free architectural style. The Daoist Temple in the Qingcheng Mountains in Guanxin county,
Sichuan province, is in the vernacular style of the locality.
Figure 36 Tianshidong Daoist Temple, Guanxian, Sichuan province

Image source: http://www.mafengwo.cn/poi/6325182.html
Daoist architecture applies two architectural styles:
1. Traditional Architectural Style

• Symmetric layout
• Main halls will be set up on the central axis, while other religious structures on the two sides
• Usually, on the northwest corner of the complex, Lucky Land to Meet God will be located
• Annexes like dining hall and accommodation will locate at the back or the flank of the complex
2. Bagua Architectural Style

• All structures surround the Danlu (stove to make pills of immortality) in the center according to Bagua's
position request
• The center axis from the south to the north is very long and structures flank the axis
• The style reflects Daoist philosophy that the human cosmos follows the natural cosmos to integrate
energy, qi and spirit
Houses and Private Gardens
Houses in China vary greatly in style due to diverse economic, geographic and climatic conditions and living habits in
different parts of the country. Only a few house remain from the Ming period, but most of the oldest remaining house
are of the Qing period. They vary from the formal to the vernacular.
Variation of dwellings in China:
1. Beijing’s ‘siheyuan’ (compounds with houses around courtyards)

___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 37 Siheyuan, courtyard houses, Beijing (Qing dynasty)

Image by Leon Glicksman, Research Gate
2. Houses or compounds south of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River
Figure 38 Houses at Anhui, south of the Changjiang River

Image source: Alamy stock photo
3. Houses of the mountainous regions south of the Changjiang River
Figure 39 Houses in Sichuan mountainous region, south of the Changjiang River

___________________________________________________________________________
4. Cave dwellings, yurts, Tibetan block houses, houses on stilts or bamboo houses in Yunnan and Guizhou
provinces
5. Adobe multi-storeyed houses in Fujian
Figure 40 Adobe houses at Fujian

6. Flat-roofed houses in Xinjiang
Residences of high officials and rich merchants in Beijing and south of the Changjiang River were constructed with
the finest building materials. They reflect the rigid patriarchal society of ancient China. The siheyuan had a south-
north axis and rooms were strictly laid out on either side of it.
The principal rooms, facing south on the axis, were for the head of the family, those in the wings were for his
brothers and children. Some siheyuan had an outer compound for entertaining guests and another for the private
use of the family.
Figure 41 Siheyuan, general layout

___________________________________________________________________________
大门:Front gate, a siheyuan only has one front gate, with scale depending on the status and wealth of its
owner. Normally, a richer owner's siheyuan would have a larger front gate with more exquisite ornaments on
the wooden door, and almost always protected by two stone lions. In wealthy homes, there would even be a
gatekeeper's room next to the gate.
影壁:A spirit screen, also called a spirit wall, is a shield construction that can be either positioned on the
outside or the inside of the gate in traditional Chinese architecture. Its function is to protect the front gate.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties officials and rich merchants in south China built magnificent residences. Some of them
had two or three axes and a dozen courtyards, and some had more than two storeys. Small courtyards were used to
provide shade and ventilation to counteract south China’s tropical climate.
Many private gardens were provided in south China and in the north, mainly in Beijing. Private gardens in Suzhou are
typical of the south – Zhuozhengyuan (The Humble Administrator’s Garden), Liuyuan (Garden to Linger In),
Shizilin (Lion Grove), Wangshi (Fishermen’s Garden) and Canglangting (Pavilion of the Surging Waves) were
among the most famous.
The Humble Administrator's Garden, built 1509 during the Ming Dynasty , is located in the No.178 Northeast
Street of Suzhou City. It is the largest and most renowned classical landscape garden in Suzhou, covering an
area of 78 Mu. As one of four most famous gardens in China, it is a 5A tourist spot and listed in the Key
National Historical Conservation Units and valuably cultural relics in the world.
Figure 42 Humble Administrator's Garden (1509)

Image source: Chinatourguide.com
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 43 Wangshi Garden, Suzhou (Ming and Qing dynasties)

Image source: China Discovery
History of gardens in China:
• Shang (1600 – 1046 BC) and Zhou (1045 – 256 BC) dynasties, when monarchs began to build parks for
their own leisure and pleasure
• Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), private gardens appeared
• Northern and Southern dynasties (420 – 589), private gardens came into vogue as the rich and powerful
sought to express their sentiment in landscaping
• Tang (618 – 907) and Song (960 – 1279) dynasties, a poetic touch was added to the layout and scenes of a
garden, and became a general feature
• Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912), garden architecture reached its peak
Four Categories of Chinese Gardens
• Imperial gardens — usually spacious, exquisite and grandiose, were built for royal families by thousands
people
• Private gardens — usually built in urban areas, neighbored with residences. Since land is expensive in cities
private gardens are generally small and simple but delicate and look tasteful and play multiple functions
• Monastic gardens — commonly found in monasteries against quiet and verdant mountains. With natural
beauty, these gardens are solemn within the sacred atmosphere
• Garden architecture in scenic resorts — usually occupy large public areas since they are based on the
combination of natural scenes and man-made landscape and structures in suburb area or mountains
___________________________________________________________________________
Bridges
China has a long history of bridge building, and tens of thousands of bridges still exist. They assume many different
forms and structural systems. Most of the surviving ancient bridges are made of stone and demonstrate a high level
of bridge-building skill, such as the Jade Belt Bridge, Summer Palace.
Figure 44 Jade Belt Bridge, Summer Palace, Beijing

Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Forms and structural systems for bridges:
1. Wooden bridges
2. Arched stone bridges
3. Beam bridges (including those with wooden beams carried on stone pillars)
4. Bamboo, rattan and steel cable bridges
Anji Bridge in Zhaoxian
Found in Zhaoxian county, Hebei province, built during the Sui dynasty (605 – 17), is the world’s oldest arched
bridge with open spandrels: it was constructed 700 years earlier than the first example of this type in Europe.
Its span is 37 m (121 ft), the height of the arch 7 m (23 ft) and the total length 51 m (167 ft). The two ends of
the bridge are wider than the middle section, tapering from 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) to 9 m (29 ft 6 in). The bridge has
twenty-eight stone arches.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 45 Anji Bridge, Zhaoxian, Hebei province (605 - 71)

Image source: China.org
Wanan Bridge in Quanzhou
Found in Quanzhou, Fujian province, built at the end of the eleventh century, is a stone beam bridge of forty-
eight arches, 540 m (1770 ft) long. It spans the Luoyang River, which is deep with swift currents. It is said the
builders bred oysters to hep stick together the stone blocks of the bridge foundations, which for this bridge
are similar to raft foundation in modern bridge design, constructed some 800 years before the establishment
of the theory.
Figure 46 Wanan Bridge, Quanzhou, Fujian province (11th C)

Image source: Chinadaily.com
Guangji Bridge in Chaozhou
Found in Chaozhou, Guangdou province, built during the Song dynasty (960 – 1279), is the world’s earliest
bascule bridge. It is 5 m (16 ft) wide and 518 m (1700 ft) long, divided into three sections. The middle section,
a 93 m (310 ft) long floating bridge, consists of many wooden boats linked by cables to a stone bridge at each
end.
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 47 Guangji Bridge, Chaozhou (Song dynasty)

Image source: Trip Advisor
The Great Wall
The Great Wall is 6000 km (3726 miles) long, was built between the seventh and fifth centuries BC. In the
fourth century BC, the states of Yan, Zhao, and Qin built separate sections to resist the incursions of nomadic
peoples from the north. It was the Qin empire (late third century BC), however, which unified the country,
connected the walls together and expanded them into the present Great Wall.
Figure 48 Great Wall (seventh to fifth centuries BC)

Image source: https://www.archdaily.com/
The wall was continuously strengthened and extended right up to the Ming period, when the eastern section
was refaced with stone blocks and bricks. Generally the wall was 7 m to 8 m (23 ft to 26 ft) high, but at the
strategic points it was 14 m (46 ft) high. At its base the wall was between 6 m (20 ft) and 7 m (23 ft) thich and
at the top 5 m (16 ft).
Guard houses and armories were built on the wall and there were beacon-towers for communication purposes.
Garrision towns, such as Jiaguguan Pass, Pingxingguan Pass and Juyongguan Pass, were constructed to
___________________________________________________________________________
house the troops manning the wall and their weapons. The scale of the Great Wall is unparalleled in the
history of the architecture of fortifications.
COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL CHINA
BACKGROUND
By the end of the fifteenth century some European powers began to seek eastward colonial expansion. The Portuguese
were the first Westerners to come up the coast of Guangdong (Kwangtung) Province. They negotiated a lease of
Aomen (Macao) from the local official of the Ming dynasty in 1561. In Aomen, they built fortifications and houses in the
Western Style – the earliest Western Architecture to appear in China.
In 1715 the Emperor Kang-xi (K'ang-hsi) of the Qing (Ch’ing) dynasty granted the East India Company the right to trade
in Guangzhou (Canton). With the permission of the Qing government a special agency, 'Kohang', was established to
take charge of the trade. Meanwhile, the Kohang constructed special buildings, the Thirteen Factories, as they were
called, served as the living and trading center for foreign merchants. After 1757 more Western merchants came to
Guangzhou, among them, besides the British, the Dutch, the Americans, the Portuguese and the French. As a result
the Thirteen, Factories in Guangzhou were renovated and expanded many times.
During the same period Western missionaries also came to China. In 1581 Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit, arrived
Guangdong by way Aomen, and reached Beijing (Peking) in 1601. European missionaries brought with them the
Catholic Christian faith as well as advanced science and technology. Roman Catholicism spread far and wide in China,
and many churches appeared in different parts of the country. In the years 1745 to 1759, in the northern part of the
Chang Chun Yuan (Garden of Everlasting Spring) of Yuan Ming Yuan (Garden of Perfection and Brightness), the
famous imperial garden, a Western-style palace, known as Xi Yang Lou, was designed and built for the Emperor Qian-
long (Ch'ien-lung) under the supervision of F. Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit and his colleagues who were
serving in the imperial court.
The Opium War in 1840 marked the beginning of the modem history of China. The Western world succeeded at last in
opening the door of ancient China with the help of its gunboats. China's 2000-year-old feudal society began to
disintegrate and gradually became a semi-colonial one. After being defeated in the second Opium War of 1858, in the
Sino-French war in 1884 and the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, China was compelled to sign a series of treaties, which
reduced its sovereignty. Through the Nanking Treaty, signed in 1842, China opened five ports for foreign trade:
Guangzhou (Canton), Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou (Foochow), Ningpo and Shanghai and ceded Hong Kong to Britain. By
1895, the number of open trading ports was increased to over thirty including many of the major cities along the Yangtse
River, on the seacoast and even some inland and Taiwan was ceded to Japan.
The foreign powers also seized many settlements and concessions in the cities of Shanghai, Tianjin (Tientsin), Hankou
(Hankow) among others, and thus reduced these cities to semi-colonial status. In the following years Western-style
buildings were constructed in the open ports and leased territories: these were consulates, municipal offices and trading
companies, warehouses, banks, churches, schools, luxurious residences, restaurants, clubs and so on.
In the 1860s a number of bureaucrat-landlords, represented by Li Hong-zhang (Li Hung-chang), initiated the so-called
'Westernization movement' for national defense and established munitions industries and other civil enterprises. After
the Sino-Japanese War some forward-looking intellectuals led by Kang You-wei (K'ang Yu-wei) and Liang Qi-chao
(Liang Ch'i advocated the reformation of the political system and the encouragement of Western science and
technology. Supported by the Emperor Guang-xu (Kuang-hsu), they started a reform movement but were opposed by
the Empress Dowager Ci-xi (Tz'u-shi) and her followers. After experiencing the Yihetuan Movement (the Boxer
___________________________________________________________________________
Uprising) and invasion by the Eight Power Allied Force,' however, she was forced to change her attitude and acted in
favor of reform. The educational system was altered, new schools were set advocating preparation for constitutional
government. New governmental organs and provincial political consultative bureau were founded. Most of the buildings
constricted during this period imitated Western architectural models.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century traditional methods of building, in traditional
building materials, were still maintained in most parts of China. In the trading ports and the leased territories Western
building technology and more effective way of using traditional materials were introduced, notably the wider use of
load-bearing walls, timber trusses and beam and joist floors. China began to produce cement and steel at the turn of
the nineteenth century in small quantities, but for some considerable time these materials were imported.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
1900 to 1950
Steel-framed structures were used in Shanghai from 1916 onwards, originally for eight- to ten-storey buildings, but by
the 1930s for up to twenty-four storeys. Reinforced concrete frames were introduced in the 1920s in buildings up to
ten storeys in height. Urban developments of the period including banks, commercial premises, clubs, post offices and
customs houses were mainly in the Classical Revival style, but higher buildings soon reflected the influence of the
Chicago school – massing was simple and decoration was Art Deco in character. By the 1940s the International Style
had appeared in Shanghai, some other cities.
The first buildings referred to as 'Chinese Classical were the work of foreign architects. They were normally load-
bearing masonry buildings, Classical in feeling but with large Chinese concave roofs, often covered with colored glazed
tiles. Missionary schools, hospitals, and libraries were usually designed in this way in such cities as Beijing, Shanghai
Nanjing, Guangzhon and some provincial capitals.
The first conventionally qualified Chinese architects returned to China in the 1920s after being educated in Europe and
America. Some of them had started their professional careers abroad and were soon playing an important role in the
development of architecture in China. At first they were more at ease with the Western Classical Revival but, under the
'National Rejuvenation' movement initiated by the Nanjing National Government at that time, some of them began the
revival of Chinese traditional monumentality, and designed a number of major buildings, such as government offices,
auditoria, museums and libraries, in this manner. Others adopted the flat roofs of the International Style while
decorating their buildings with Chinese details and motifs. The office buildings commissioned by the Manchu regime
in the 1930s in Changchun were by Japanese architects and usually combined Western eclecticism wiki the Japanese
style of the period.
In the 1930s and 1940s houses became more comfortable and their forms more Westernized, Terrace houses with
small gardens and multi-storeyed apartment houses appeared, and high-quality private houses with gardens in various
styles were built for officials and mean of wealth in cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Tianjin. But from this time, in
spite of the influence of some of the old houses, traditional Chinese architecture as whole tended to decline.
In 1929, the Society of Research in Chinese Architecture was established in Beiping (Peiping), as Beijing was called
from 1928 – 1949. Under the direction of architects and architectural historians Liang Si-cheng (Liang Su-Che’ng,
1901 – 72) and Liu Dun Zhen (1897 – 1968), the Society carried out a series of investigations and studies on ancient
Chinese architecture which were of great value to the development of the subject. The Society also played an active
role in exploring and disseminating traditional Chinese architectural precedents in the hope of enhancing and promoting
the quality of architectural design in China. At this time there were two architectural magazines, The Chinese Architect
and The Builder, both first published in 1932 in Shanghai, continuing until the outbreak of the war of resistance against
___________________________________________________________________________
Japan. Also in the 1920s, a formal architectural education system came into being in China. At the end of the 1940s,
there were ten and more university departments of architecture, the most prominent being those of the Central
University in Nanjing, the Tsinghua University in Beiping and S. John's University in Shanghai.
1950 to the Present
In the 1950s, the development of architecture in mainland China developed in the context of urgent post-war
reconstruction. At that time, the main building materials were masonry and concrete or reinforced concrete. Owing to
the lack of steel, brick and timber, and even rammed earth, were used as structure materials. To save steel and cement,
pre-stressed reinforced concrete and shell structures were also used. Although construction was still largely
handcrafted, the prefabrication and field-assembling of standardized elements were experimented with and partially
adopted. As part of the post-war recovery process many new factory buildings were erected. In the new industrial
bases and large cities also, a vast number of workers' homes were built in response to solve the sudden need for
housing. At the same time, in many large cities, especially in the capital Beijing, various types of public buildings were
also built.
At the beginning of the 1950s, most of the new public buildings reflected the influence of the called International Style
of the Modern Architecture, which had been accepted in the main cities since the 1940s, before the revolution. From
1953, in response to an ardent patriotism aroused by the founding of a new China and the influence of the Soviet
revivalism, a so-called 'National Style' emerged. This style found abundant expression because of the many large-
scale construction programmes then underway. The main character of the National Style is a large curved roof inspired
by old Chinese palaces. Beijing was the center of the style and the style prevailed, for Modern Architecture was severely
criticized and rejected as an expression of bourgeois culture.
From 1955, the 'National Style' was subject to nationwide criticism because of its expense. From then on a large
number of public buildings were simply constructed of brick and reinforced concrete and decorated with Chinese
details. The major public structures built to celebrate the tenth anniversary of new China in 1959 are of this kind. During
the 1960s, much attention was paid to the problem of economy and technology. Suspension cable structures and
space frame structures were used for large-span buildings, but the ordinary public buildings and mass housing
remained economical in construction and simple in form with little decoration. It is not until the 1970s that the southern
part of China, especially Guangzhou, began to break away from this monotony of expression. Attempts were made to
create modest buildings within simplified Chinese landscape design, to enrich new buildings with Chinese traditional
character and to relate buildings in specific regional traditions.
Since the end of the 1970s, China's 'open-door policy' has stimulated architectural development to an unprecedented
degree. Constructions in cities and towns have boomed and buildings of high quality have emerged. Taking housing
as an example, there is an average of 127 million built each year since 1980, and the floor areas of new houses built
in 1980 – 90 made up 72 per cent of the total areas of that built since the establishment of the People's Republic.
Architects benefit from the easier political atmosphere of the new era. Free from the ideological yoke, they are able to
pursue the courses they desire and to indulge in open academic debate. As a result of the 'open-door policy', Chinese
architects can now renew friendships and come into contact with their colleagues all over the world. Books and
theoretical monographs on famous architects are translated into Chinese, and international academic exchanges take
place in conferences both abroad and in China. All these developments have broadened the horizons of Chinese
architects and have played an active role in urging them to evolve a contemporary Chinese architecture. The
consequence has been a large number of public buildings with rational layout, good function and organization and
utilizing progressive technology. However, the forms and styles of these buildings are diverse. Some are neo-Chinese
Classicism, some are vernacular ore regional in character, while others are neo-Modern or reflect the influence of Post-
Modernism. In housing, the International Style still prevails, but enriched in composition and form.
___________________________________________________________________________
Since the 1980s, young architects have played an important role in the modernization of Chinese architecture. They
have remained in their own country but have kept in touch with international architectural developments and have
obtained new information mostly from architectural publications. Architects from Taiwan and Hong Kong have begun
to take part in construction projects in mainland China, and have introduced a certain amount of Western expertise.
Exchanges of scholars and specialists between the mainland and Hong Kong constantly take place, and architects on
both sides of the Taiwan Straits have held an annual conference since 1989 with the aim of encouraging the evolution
of a new Chinese architecture. Foreign architects and architectural firms are also now regularly invited to practice in
China. Their work has introduced new means of architectural expression and prompted the modernization of Chinese
architecture. Architectural education has also developed greatly in recent years. In order to enhance the quality of
architectural design and to enable architects to meet the new demands put upon them by the changing world, Architects
Registration will be carried out in China and the first experimental Registration Examination was undertaken in 1994.
EXAMPLES 1900 to 1950
Figure 49 Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Figure 50 Shanghai Post Office Building,
Corporation Building, Shanghai (1921 - 1923) Shanghai (1924)
Image source: https://www.gpsmycity.com/ Image source: https://www.tripstoshanghai.com
attractions/hsbc-building- 22956.html
Figure 51 Continental Bank, Beijing (1924) Figure 52 Sun Yet-sen's Mausoleum, Nanjing (1926-31)
Image source: www.drben.net Image source: Getty Images
___________________________________________________________________________
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Building, Shanghai
The HSBC Building, Shanghai (1921 – 1923) by Palmer and Turner, and used as government offices from the 1950s
to the mid-1990s, is a five storey building of reinforced concrete construction, and approximately square in plan.
Symmetrical on the ground floor, it has a circular lobby which leads to the main hall clad in Italian marble. The façade
is Classical Revival in character, built in solid granite, rusticated to first-floor level. Above the triple-arched main
entrance a Corinthian colonnade rises through three storeys, above which is a steel-framed dome carried on a two-
level drum, the treatment of which is reminiscent of the Pantheon.
Continental Bank, Beijing
The Continental Bank, Beijing (1924), was designed by Bei Shou-tong (1875 – 1945) and Guan Song- sheng
(18922 – 1961), two of the earliest of China’s qualified architects. The former studied architecture in Germany; the
latter, who was the leading member of the Kwan, Chu, and Yang practice, studied in America. Now used as the central
office of the Bank of China, it is one of the earliest examples of Western Classical architecture designed by Chinese
architects.
Shanghai Post Office Building, Shanghai
This was designed by Stewardson and Spence. The building is a reinforced concrete structure of five storeys. A
colonnade of bluish-grey polished granite Corinthian columns make the main façade monumentally Classical. A grand
marble staircase leads to a marble-clad business hall on the first floor.
Sun Yet-sen’s Mausoleum, Nanjing
The earliest building group in Chinese traditional form designed by a Chinese architect (1926 – 1931) by Lu Yan-zhi.
It is situated at the foot of the Purple Mountain and covers an area of over 8 ha (20 acres). A stone pailou is used for
its entrance, from which a path leads towards the mausoleum gate and to the tablet pavilion. At the top of a grand
staircase of 290 steps, divided into eight flights, there is a platform on which the Memorial Ceremonial Hall with the
coffin chamber is located. The Hall is in white marble and is covered with a roof of blue glazed tiles in traditional Chinese
Style.
Figure 53 National Hall, Nanjing (1935) Figure 54 The Palace Hotel, Shanghai (1906)
Image source: Wikimedia Commons Image source: Wikimedia Commons
___________________________________________________________________________
Figure 55 The Grand Theatre, Shanghai (1933) Figure 56 Broadway Mansions, Shanghai (1930-34)
Image source: Trip.com Image source: http://www.ecns.cn
National Hall, Nanjing
The National Hall, Nanjing (1935) by Xi Fu-quan and Li Zhong-kan, where the first National Congress of the
National Governent was held in 1946, was designed using a new national style.
Grand Theatre
Theatres were built in Shanghai in the 1930s and early 1940s in the then popular International Style. The façade of the
Grand Theatre (1933) by L.E. Hudec, was faced in vertical and horizontal slabs, lining up with large windows, and a
square translucent glass tower stood at the center of an asymmetrical composition.
Palace Hotel, Shanghai
There was also an active hotel-building period in Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s, presaged perhaps by the Palace
Hotel, Shanghai (1906) by Walter Scott, a British architect, which is one of the earliest multi-storey buildings in China,
and one of the first to install lifts.
Broadway Mansions
Broadway Mansions (1930 – 1934) by B. Flazer, now the Shanghai Mansions, is an early example of mixed
development. It is a hotel, office and apartment block of twenty-two storeys with Art Deco motifs.
1950 to Present
In the early 1950s, Professor Liang Si-cheng (1901 – 72), an earnest advocate of the so-called ‘National Style’
postulated that the key feature of the National Style of Chinese architecture is the profile of its roofs: a form derived
from traditional palace architecture.
In consequence, a large number of buildings, mainly in Beijing but in other cities as well, were erected in the National
Style with large and curved roofs. These were mainly governmental office buildings, guest houses for receiving foregin
visitors, cultural exhibition centers and buildings located close to historic sites.
___________________________________________________________________________
Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, Beijing
Cultural Palace of the Nationalities (1958 – 9), built by Zhang Bo, with fifteen-storey tower containing multi-
storey exhibition halls at its center, was the first high-rise building in the National Style.
Xingiao Hotel, Beijing
The building is a typical example of the attempt to achieve a National Style without recourse to the use of
large roofs. Designed also by Zhang Bo in 1954, it was characterized by cubical blocks of concrete decorated
with Chinese details.
In the 1950s, there were also buildings erected in the International Style such as a group of Exhibition Halls
in the Local and Special Products of South China Exhibit, Guangzhou (1951), by Xia Chang-shi and his
colleagues, the Peace Hotel in Beijing (1952), by Yang Ting-bao, the Beijing Children’s Hospital, Beijing
by Hua Lan-hong, the Hospital of Tongji Medical University, Wuhan by Feng Ji-zhong, and the Wen Yuan
Lou, a classroom block in Tongji University, Shanghai by Huang Yu-lin and Ha Xiong-Wen. Some of them
incorporated traditional details.
In the 1960s and 1970s communication buildings pioneered functional design and simple forms, such as the
Beijing Telegraph Building (1958) by Lin Le-yi, the CAAC Building, Beijing (1960) by the Beijing Municipal
Institute of Architectural Design, the Terminal Building of Hangzhou Airport (1971) by Zhejiang Provincial
Institute of Architectural Design, and several others.
Since 1980s, construction in China has rapidly increased to reflect the economic expansion spurred by political
reformation and the ‘open-door’ policy. In consequence, hotels, commercial and financial complexes, cultural
centers and sports buildings have been erected in many cities throughout the country. Initially, joint venture
projects were designed by foreign architects to introduce new architectural ideas, but the Chinese architectural
profession has begun to make major contributions after experiencing depression for almost twenty years.
The Jianguo Hotel, Beijing (1982), by Clement Chen and Associates from San Francisco, is the first joint
Sino-American project in China and the first to incorporate modest Post-Modern idioms. The Great Wall
Hotel, Beijing (1980 – 4), designed by Becket International, USA, is another Sino-American joint venture. It
has twenty-two storeys, is clad in reflective glass and has glass-enclosed scenic lifts, both motifs used in
China for the first time.
Since the mid-1980s pluralism has begun to characterize current Chinese architecture. Buildings situated in
historic cities or historic sites are in traditional idiom expressed in contemporary manner. The Queli Hotel,
Qufu, Shandong Province (1985) by Dai Nian-ci and Fu Xio-rong, is located in the center of Qufu with the
Confucian Temple to its right and the Confucian Mansion at its rear. It has a multiple-court layout with two-
storied buildings, matching the Confucian complex. The central interest of the building complex is the atrium
covered by a traditional crossed gable-and-hipped roof which, seen from the exterior, is clearly a modern groin
vault.
Architects working in the region with minority nationalities in old cities or in mountainous regions in many
instances take native national and vernacular styles. The Xinjiang Guesthouse, Urumqi (1985) by Gao Qing-
lin, has a series of pointed arches on its façade and a pair of water towers linked with a latticed pointed arch
reflecting a style of local Islamic architecture. The Wuyi Mountain Villa, Chong’an, Fujian Province (1984),
by Qi Kang and Lai Ju-kui, situated in the scenic area of the Wuyi Mountain reflects the characteristics of the
___________________________________________________________________________
locality.
In addition there is a contemporary architecture which favor allusionism and symbolism. For example, Lhasa
Hotel, Lhasa (1985) by Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Architectural Design, is composed of white geometrical
cubes trimmed with some Tibetan canopies and demonstrates the consequences of combining Modern
architecture with traditional details from the nearby Potala Palace.
Recently constructed office / apartment complexes are mainly modern in style. Beijing International
Building (1984) by the Beijing Municipal Institute of Architectural Design, an early expression of the
commercial building type in China, looks somewhat like Level House in New York built more than thirty years
ago. Shanghai Centre (1990) by John Portman and Associates, has a façade alluding to Chinese traditional
wood structures. The China World Trade Centre, Beijing (1990) by Sobel and Roth from the USA, has a
sunken garden surrounded by an office tower, an international guest house and an exhibition hall, all of which
aim to evoke the quality of the traditional courtyard house.
During the 1980s, many exotically designed cultural buildings were constructed. The Shaanxi Historical
Museum, Xi’an (1991) by Zhang Jin-qiu, with a symmetrical layout and reinforced concrete structure, gives
a new expression to the bold and monumental manners of Tang dynasty palaces. The Museum of Nanyue
King’s Tomb, Guangzhou (1989) by Mo Bo-zhi, is of a neo-Modern style but combines with certain
references to the region vernacular traditions. The Memorial Museum to the Big Massacre Victims in
Nanjing (1985), by Qi Kang, is a complex with an exhibition hall, a memorial park and a sunken pavilion
containing the victims’ remains. The main building, enclosed with greenish-white marble standing on a grey
platform, is a clean-cut geometrical form to express the solemnity of the place.
The construction of schools, hospitals, sanitoriums, offices, department stores, shopping malls, railway
stations, airports and bus terminals has rapidly expanded in recent decades and reflects the same spirit of
pluralism that characterizes other building types.
The large amount of residential development that has taken place in the last decade has improved living
conditions of city dwellers. Also the appearance of housing development has changed with the stereotyped
monotonous form of former years being replaced by an architecture of greater diversity and regional character.
Experimentation with the development of middle-class housing has begun, for example the Liulitun
Residential Area, Beijing (1993), planned and designed by the Beijing Institute of Textile Industry, the Kang-
le Residential Quarter, Shanghai (1992), by the Shanghai Municipal Institute of Architectural Design, and
the Experimental Well-to-do Housing in Shiziaz-huang, Hebei Province (1993), by the China
Development Centre of Construction Technology. Particularly interesting schemes are the Terrace Garden
Housing, Beijing (1985-7), by Lu Jun-hua which is low, rise and high density, and creates an interesting
layout using standardized building construction, and the Ju'er Hutong New Courtyard House, Beijing
(1989- 92) planned, designed and supervised by Professor Wu Liang-yong, Tsinghua University. This is part
of a successful experimental project which combines new houses with the rehabilitation of courtyard houses
in the old city.
Responding to the principle of organic renewal, old buildings that are still in sound condition and with historic
value are retained, those in average condition renovated, or extended as necessary, and those badly
dilapidated are replaced by new courtyard houses designed for this project. This helps to preserve the
neighborhood's cultural atmosphere and establishes an organic structure for the old city's fabric. Since old
houses still represent a large percentage of city dwellings, this project offers an effective and culturally
sensitive model for the solution to China's housing shortage. For this achievement, Professor Wu won the
___________________________________________________________________________
ARCASIA 1992 Gold Medal Award and the World Habitat Award 1992 on World Habitat Day 1993.
References
• Ching, F., Jarzombek, M., & Prakash, V. (2017). A global history of architecture. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Cruickshank, D. (2011). Sir Banister Fletcher’s A history of architecture. Twentieth Edition. Oxford:
Architectural Press.
• Ingersoll, R. (2013). World architecture: A cross-cultural history. New York: Oxford University Press.

Architecture in East Asia

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Architecture in East Asia

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Far Eastern University

Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts

MODULE 3. ARCHITECTURE OF EAST ASIA

Module Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, the student should be able to:

Module Learning Materials

Additional Readings and Materials

Module Output-Based Work

EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE ANCIENT CHINA

Figure 2 Dynasties in China Image source: ChinaFashioNation, retrieved from

Figure 3 China river valley civilization: Huang He Valley

Figure 5 Banpo village and typical house

Figure 6 Niuheliang ritual center

Figure 7 Different climates in China

1. Unity of structure with architectural art

2. Good anti-seismic function

3. A high degree of standardization

5. Systemic grouping of buildings.

EXAMPLES Palaces and Villas

Four Sections of the Summer Palace:

Figure 13 The Summer Palace, Beijing (1750, 1888,

Two groups of buildings:

1. Huanqiutan for the worship of heaven

Figure 17 Tiantan Shrine: Huanqiutan (Ming and Qing dynasties)

2. Qiniandian for prayers for good harvest

Figure 19 The Shisanling, Changping, near Beijing: stone pailou

Figure 20 The Changling

Underground Palace of the Ding-ling Mausoleum

Figure 21 Underground floor plan and section of Dingling Mausoleum

Two types of Buddhist temples:

2. Second and later type consisted of buildings arranged around courtyards

Pagodas can be classified into six types:

1. Pagodas with closely layered eaves

Figure 24 Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda, Quanzhou (1241 – 52)

Figure 25 Bao'an Temple Pagoda, Suzhou (1131 - 62) Image source:

Figure 26 The White Pagoda, Temple of Miaoying, Beijing (1271)

4. Groups of pagodas honoring Buddha’s warrior attendants

Figure 28 Pagoda Forest at Lingyan Temple in Changqing of Shandong Province

6. Wooden tower pagodas

Halls, Pavilions and Monasteries

Foguang Monastery, Wutai Mountain

Figure 30 Foguang Monastery, Shanxi Province: Main Hall (857)

Longxing Monastery in Zhengding

Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet

Figure 33 Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet (1645 - 95)

Puning Monastery, Chengde

Figure 34 Puning Monastery, Chengde, Hebei province: Dacheng Pavilion

Figure 35 Yungang Grotto, Shanxi province (sixth to tenth centuries)

Daoist Temples and Palaces

Figure 36 Tianshidong Daoist Temple, Guanxian, Sichuan province

Daoist architecture applies two architectural styles:

1. Traditional Architectural Style

2. Bagua Architectural Style

Houses and Private Gardens

Variation of dwellings in China:

1. Beijing’s ‘siheyuan’ (compounds with houses around courtyards)

Figure 37 Siheyuan, courtyard houses, Beijing (Qing dynasty)

2. Houses or compounds south of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River

Figure 38 Houses at Anhui, south of the Changjiang River

3. Houses of the mountainous regions south of the Changjiang River

Figure 39 Houses in Sichuan mountainous region, south of the Changjiang River

5. Adobe multi-storeyed houses in Fujian

Figure 40 Adobe houses at Fujian

6. Flat-roofed houses in Xinjiang