2009—Establish "Stilt-House-Style Modern Architecture" as the City's Main Architectural Style to Rapidly Elevate Its Image (Part 3)
3. Three suggestions. (1) "Stilt-house-style modern architecture" should not be limited to the old city but established as the main style for the entire city. From the city's urban work conference in mid-April, I learned that the municipal government has designated the old city's main architectural style as local ethnic style. Taking this clear step is truly gratifying. But...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
III. Three suggestions.
(1) "Modern architecture in stilted-house style" should not be limited only to the old urban area, but should be established as the main style of architecture for the entire city.
From the city-wide urban work conference in mid-April, we learned that the municipal government has already made clear that the main architectural style of the old urban area is the local ethnic style. To take this step so clearly is truly gratifying and worth celebrating. However, limiting it only to the old urban area is obviously not enough. We solemnly suggest that through legal means such as the city's Master Plan and urban architectural style plan, "modern architecture in stilted-house style" be established as the main architectural style for the entire city.
Reason one: In the "April 1 speech" of 2007, the provincial party secretary proposed that Zhangjiajie should take the Tujia stilted house as the main tone for the architecture of the entire city (not just the old urban area). This was entirely a scientific choice made by assessing the situation from the coordinate system of world tourism and proceeding from Zhangjiajie's actual conditions. Only by deeply understanding the good intentions and far-sightedness of the main leaders of the provincial party committee and provincial government can we break free from the shackles of habitual forces, and when necessary even stand firm against all objections. Mayor Xiaoming once made a very good point: "Architectural style should be 'uniform,' so that scale effects and distinctive features can be formed." A single rapeseed flower may not be very beautiful, but large stretches of rapeseed flowers are dazzlingly beautiful, and a rapeseed flower festival can be held. The reasoning is actually very simple.
Reason two: "putting clothes and a hat on" the old urban area is far more difficult than building new houses in a new urban area. Since there are no technical obstacles to the "new version of stilted houses," it is only necessary to provide corresponding regulations through the city's Master Plan and the urban architectural style plan. Since old buildings all require several times the effort to be renovated into the stilted-house style, yet new buildings repeat the old mistake of "a thousand cities all looking the same," isn't that just pointless fussing! If this issue of the dominant style is not properly resolved, it will inevitably lead to confusion in both concept and practice. The overall appearance of urban architecture will once again become a "half-cooked meal" in the new round of construction, turning into neither donkey nor horse, and the enhancement and improvement of the city's visual image will be greatly compromised! Take the recently designed iconic buildings like stadiums and museums, for example—not a single one of them features a native ethnic architectural style. Even the grand National Art Museum of China is built in a national style—could it be that our city museum alone cannot achieve a local ethnic character? This is certainly due to the design unit's lack of understanding of the stilted building style, but isn't it also related to the functional departments not being vigilant enough and not exercising careful oversight? Before we knew it, our "new version of the stilted house" had missed a chance to fully display its unique charm and thus become a truly iconic building!
Reason three: There are indeed examples both domestically and internationally of old urban areas featuring local characteristic architecture and new urban areas featuring high-rise modern buildings. Among similar tourist cities, Lijiang and Huangshan are such examples. However, we Zhangjiajie people have always had the fine tradition of daring to be first in the world. In addition to the iconic events we take pride in, such as being the birthplace of China's first national forest park, being listed in China's first batch of World Natural Heritage sites and China's first batch of World Geoparks, we have also created China's first tourism rafting, China's first tourism stock, the world's first international tourism festival themed on forest protection, the Zhangjiajie International Forest Protection Festival, our country's first local regulation protecting a World Natural Heritage site, the Hunan Province Wulingyuan World Natural Heritage Protection Regulations, and were the earliest among prefecture-level cities nationwide to launch ecological city creation, and so on. So why must we insist on following in others' footsteps? Why can't we lead the trend and, with bold vision, make both the old town and the new town use stilted houses and modern architecture as the main style, thereby becoming China's first city where both the old and new urban areas are unified under an ethnic-style architecture? As far as I know, there is currently no city in China whose old and new urban districts are unified under a single regional ethnic architectural style. Since the provincial party secretary has asked us to do this, and our existing technical reserves are fully capable of doing it, then we can certainly dare to be first in the world again. Once we do it, we will rightly be China's first, and rightly China's first city!
(2) It is necessary to organize forces to begin the work of extracting, defining, and standardizing stilted-house element symbols, as well as technical research on modern architecture in stilted-house style.
Secretary Bojun once proposed the idea of "connecting ethnic culture with urban construction," and a few days ago I also heard Mayor Xiaoming speak of the viewpoint of "culture landing." It should be said that these are miraculous prescriptions for solving the problem of our city's lack of characteristics and individuality. Applying stilted-house element symbols to urban architecture is precisely a pioneering example of "connection" and "landing," and its significance is very great. In the existing practice and exploration, there is experience worth summarizing and lessons worth drawing. It is suggested that the government organize forces to begin the corresponding extraction, definition, and standardization work. First, to select the best plan through this; second, to ensure that there are rules to follow and rules that must be followed in promotion and application. In addition, in response to some highly difficult technical difficulties and focal points in the application process, it is suggested that forces be organized for technical research, so as to continuously raise the overall standard of the "new version of stilted houses" and at the same time avoid the occurrence of trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog.
(3) Establish and strive to embody the characteristics of a small mountain city, so as to create an environmental atmosphere coordinated with the main architectural style of the "new version of stilted houses."
The two banks of the Lishui River, which runs through the city, form a narrow and long river valley landform. Tianmen Mountain and Chongshan standing majestically on the south bank, Fude Mountain and Wohu Mountain stretching along the north bank, as well as natural mountain bodies such as Wuzipo and Huilonggang, are either already integrated into the urban area or serve as natural screens for the urban area. The "small mountain city in northwestern Hunan" formed by mountains encircling and waters winding around, picturesque mountains and embroidered waters, is the basic cognition of the geographical appearance of the central urban area. Many European cities, such as the old urban area of Paris, have an area equivalent to dozens of times that of Zhangjiajie's central urban area, and are basically about five stories high; others such as Rome, Venice, and Florence are all the same; not to mention those mountain cities along the Alpine highways, all with distinctive buildings of red tiles and white walls, blue tiles and white walls, and the like, all around three to five stories, one style all the way through. The visual impact and aesthetic pleasure created are truly breathtaking. For a small mountain city like Zhangjiajie, even for the sake of saving land, it should mainly consist of multi-story and small high-rise buildings. If the entire city blindly builds high-rise buildings, it will inevitably affect and destroy the "showing the mountains and revealing the waters," inevitably affect and destroy Zhangjiajie's "unique ecological environment and cultural traits," and affect and destroy the atmosphere and charm of modern stilted-house-style architecture as the city's main style. Take "Shuixie Huadu" as an example: the building itself lacks beauty, and it stands high and horizontally in a waterfront area, seriously affecting the visual experience, and has long aroused widespread dissatisfaction.
In short, the establishment of the main architectural style of the central urban area is by no means merely a technical or methodological issue, but a matter of principle concerning whether the municipal Party committee and municipal government embody the scientific development concept in the field of urban construction. Looking back and reflecting on the path taken in the construction of the central urban area, I humbly believe that several moves were not made well, running counter to the ideas and concepts of scientific development. First, there was a decision-making error in urban layout at the beginning of the city's establishment; second, the overall lag in urban planning work—the low-level new urban area construction at Nanzhuangping and other places, as well as the increasingly rampant problem of illegal buildings over a long period, are all related to this; third, the low-level old city renovation through massive demolition and reconstruction at the cost of destroying the city's historical and cultural context; fourth, the architectural style of 'a thousand cities with one face,' which has produced a large number of mediocre buildings and even garbage buildings with no distinctive features to speak of. Therefore, I sincerely hope that the municipal Party committee and municipal government, in conjunction with the current campaign to study and practice the scientific development concept, will through scientific decision-making cautiously and resolutely make this key move regarding the main architectural style of the city. What remains is to work year after year and term after term. In this way, our distinctive city construction will have hope, and our tourism city's realization of urban tourism will have hope.