Preserving the Chinese Traditional Culture Architecture

MPM Capstone Proposal
Preserving the Chinese Traditional Culture Architecture – A Case Study of Beijing’s Hutongs
Name
Program
University
Dec. 31, 2023
Title: Preserving the Chinese Traditional Culture Architecture – A Case Study of Beijing’s Hutongs
Project Context and Purpose:
China, one of the oldest civilizations, has long preserved its cultural heritage through buildings (Li, Li & Xu, 2021). Heritage manifests in different ways: in tangible things like buildings and intangibles like values, customs, and emotions. Because of heritage, the contemporary society can experience the past. Cultural heritage is also instrumental in shaping the national identity of a group.
China is among the countries that have a rich culture that dates back thousands of years. Despite the importance of ancient architecture, modern architecture continues to increase in Beijing. China’s rapid urbanization has led to the notion of “uniformity in architectural identity” (Qing, Isa & Ghazali, 2019). Under this arrangement, Western-style structures are replacing traditional Chinese architecture. The increased demand for modern architecture diminishes the essence of ancient buildings (Wang, Peng, Wang & Yin, 2016). The idea of replacing Chinese architecture with modern architecture threatens the nation's cultural identity (Liu, 2014). The risk of alien architecture replacing traditional architecture is a significant concern that needs immediate attention. Because of the importance of ancient architecture, it is critical to formulate ways of constructing buildings with the same style as ancient buildings. There is also a need to protect and repair the existing ancient structures. Such measures will be a huge step in ensuring China remains connected to its past.
The case study will focus on Hutongs in Beijing. These are narrow streets found majorly in northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing (Mao, 2018). They were established during the Yuan dynasty and expanded during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The modernization of Beijing in from the 1950s worsened the conditions of the Hutongs (Acharya, 2015). In particular, the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 saw a majority of the hutongs destroyed. In their place, high-rise apartments were beginning to come up. Today, Hutongs occupy prime areas that are in high demand for developers. This has resulted in a clash between hutong areas and modernizing Beijing (Jiang, Chi & Feng, 2021). Some people consider Hutongs unable to cope with the population density, hence the need to destroy them.
The qualitative research will use two major methods – semi-structured interviews and a case study. In semi-structured interviews, a researcher has a set of preset thematic structures, but the questions are not set in a particular order (Harrell & Bradley, 2009). I will use semi-structured interviews to collect open-ended data. The approach will help me explore the participants’ thoughts...