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Revival of Pingtian Village in Songyang County Sun, et al.

Figure 7. Interior of Muxiang Caotang Guesthouse after the renovation. Source: Photo provided by Yunshang
Pingtian Guesthouse

Muxiang Caotang Guesthouse (木香草堂), These buildings were different in type and
Courtyard Restaurant (四合院餐厅), Papa’s quality and were also constructed in different
Hostel ( 爷 爷 家 青 年旅 社 ), and Pingtian periods. Designers needed to take into
Agriculture Hall (平田农耕馆), including a consideration of the location, current
condition, and the quality of space and the
handcraft workshop, respectively. Later, effect on landscape in order to organize them
Professor Xin Zhang from Tsinghua into an experiential area of rural life with all
University joined the project with his team of required functions. The plan also needed to
lighting designers; the interior design team balance short-term and long-term returns and
led by Mr. Haihong Li from Shenzhen also phase the project in a reasonable way. After
joined. It was unprecedented to have a design many rounds of discussions among planners,
team of so many top designers all gathered in architects, government officials, and owners,
the small mountainous village. Gathering the the plan was finalized for the first phase and
design team was the most important step in decided on the functional and spatial
the rural development process in Pingtian and arrangement of the tourism facilities,
was crucial for the project to be completed restaurants, guesthouses, cultural exhibitions,
and later managed with high quality. and art creation. The plan was fully and
Pingtian is a typical agricultural village
in the mountains. In order to develop it into a thoroughly implemented, with only minor
adjustments due to property ownership issues.
destination for rural tourism, we have to make
adjustments in certain places. The plan of the
guesthouse area not only needed to consider
the function and demand of guesthouse
management and tourism development, but
also needed to make sure not to damage the
characteristics of the village. The plan also
needed to leave room for adjustments during
implementation according to the demand of
the villagers. Mr. Jiang had a dozen of
buildings ranging from historic courtyard
houses, residential buildings built in the
1980s, to kitchens and small constructions Figure 8. Courtyard Restaurant before the renovation.
built on different geographical locations. Source: Photo by Junjie Li

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