Chinese cities

CHINESE CITIES XIAN CITY

BEIJING CITY

PEKING CITY

Tiananmen;Beijing

CH I N E S E C I T I E S • Ruled by different rulers in different time periods • Document of

rituals ,Spring and Autumn Annals ,

Changes or reform such as leveling of ground and erection of post with water by using plumb line.

Generally, Chinese City consists of : Characteristic ritual and functional spaces— 1.Palace Place 2.Ancestral Temple 3.Altar of Soil and Grain 4.Altar of Agriculture 5. Altar of Heaven 6.Altar of Earth Temples and Shrines 1.Buddhist temples 2.Taoist Temples 3.Shrines for Heroes a.Confucious—Kong fu zi b.Military Hero—Guangdi c.City god Secular Functional spaces 1.Educational Institutions—National Academy & Imperial Library 2.Observatory 3.Bell and Drum Tower (Time keeper and warning in emergency) 4.Imperial Gardens 5.Market areas

Xian • Planning and construct-

Palace City

ion done on 582 by Emperor Wendi of Sui The capital city consists of three cities— 1. The city of commoners

Imperial City

2. The Imperial city 3. The palace city

• City wall length—36.7 km • Population: about 1 million

Commoners City

• The planned capital cities populated by transferring thousands of people who worked as city builders, office workers and traders.

N 1. Symmetrically laid with the city wall

Palace Temple

measuring 36.7 km in length.

2. The wall of pounded earth measuring 9-12 m in thickness.

3. Palace-city in North, the imperial city in south of palace city which consists of

Soil & Grain Altar

220 m

Ancestral temple

offices and monasteries, the Ancestral Imperial City

temple on the east and the altars of soil and grain on the west.

4. East-west road width of the imperial city= 220 m 7. The central north south connected to the imperial city gate =150-155m

West Market

East Market

8. East west Vermilion Bird Street are smaller while those at north to the imperial cities are larger.

9. 108 quarters in addition two blocks one at east and one at west as market places.

10. The residential quarters enclosed by walls with four gates—one at each side.

12. Exclusive quarters for certain trade and ethnic communities, foreigners at the western

Fig: Xian Wall

quarters, citizens reside at the eastern.

14. There is the documentation of planners, architects and engineers who worked in planning and building the city.

Fig: Bell and Drum tower of Xian

Dadu(Peking) •Khubilai, 1267 •Planner—Liubing Zhong •Replanned from Zhongdu •Kao gong ji principles on capital city Triple city walls •Construction starts with the building of outer wall (28.6 km) •3 city gates on each side a)Primary street -37m b)Secondary streets-18 m c) Small alleys-9m •50 wards

Fig: Plan of Peking City

According to Marco Polo description •City surrounded by earth wall about 10 paces thk at its base and 3 paces at its top in tapered form •3 principal gate in each side with armies to guard city. Gates straight opposite to each other •Stalls and shops along the side of main streets •Each dwelling on square plot with courts and gardens

Fig: Outer wall of Dadu (Peking)

•Large and high palace in the middle of city with great clock and bell

Fig: Clock tower

Fig:12thc painting depicting the Chingming festival day in Bianliang (Peking).

•On the right is the city gate rising high with watch tower. •A view of a restaurant in the upper story of a shop house in theright.

Beijing(Ming-Qing Dynasty) •The outer city at south built 100 years later completed in 1553.

•The total city wall length = 62 km •Encased by walls in four sides with towers in four corners with troops •Within outer walls ,one or more set of walls forming rectangular enclosures •Until 14th c outer wall of rammed earth later faced With bricks •Gates are placed symmetrically opposite to each other

Fig:Map shows location and size in successive building of capital by different dynasties from 9thc - 14thc .

Fig: Altar of Heaven complex

Fig: Plan of Beijing from 17th through 19th showing imperial and administrative building

Fig: Imperial City (Forbidden city)

Fi.g: Tian'an men; Entry for imperial city

Fig: Altar of Heaven complex

Fig.: Plan of Beijing in the 18th C showing orientation to cardinal direction of street, lanes and alleys

•Means of Transportation (horse cart, human driven cart, camels),human traffic •Production area in front of the shop; •Fashions, signboards; •Building forms, structure and materials. .

Conclusion: •Chinese cities are symmetrically laid out in square or grid iron pattern •Each city consist of 1)Palace city 2) Imperial city 3) Outer City Palace at the center, administrative center around

Fig: Bell tower of Xian

the palace and dwelling in the remaining parts •City surrounded by one or more set of walls with gates on each sides.

•View towers at the corners of city for security purpose.

•Security or functional hierarchy in the layout of the structures.

•Street running straight North-south and East-west with hierarchy.

Fig.: Hierarchy in Structures

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