Page 103 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Cultural landscape in Huizhou City

towns in Huiyang District and Huidong County, where the informal, often lacking clear planning and organization,
Xizhi River flows through. The landscape pattern of this with small residential buildings arranged around the house
cultural landscape area is characterized by a harmonious or staggered based on topography and water features, both
blend of mountains and rivers and a preference for flat in straight and curved patterns. The landscape unit of this
land. The southern part of the cultural landscape area is cultural landscape area is characterized by its magnificent,
mountainous and hilly, while the other areas feature flat defense-oriented houses. The core architectural form of
alluvial plains. The Xizhi River traverses the area from the village grouping is the large-scale, multi-functional
east to west, contributing a well-developed water system. fortress-type house. While this fortress-style house exhibits
This cultural landscape area holds significance as an early a clear inheritance relationship with structures like the
settlement for the Hakka people who moved to Huizhou Weilong House, it emphasizes a more defensive and holistic
for prosperity. Compared to the traditional village cultural design. On the one hand, it is crafted for compatibility
landscape area in the northern mountainous valley, this to adapt to the relatively flat terrain of Huizhou. On the
area exudes a stronger traditional Hakka character and other hand, its design enhances defensibility, preventing
style. The gentle terrain, abundant water sources, and early various destabilizing factors, protecting the survival of
development history have led to the growth of larger and the clan groups, and fostering a stable environment for
denser villages. Transportation roads often serve as natural reproduction and development.
boundaries between villages. Influenced by traditional
feng shui concepts, villages near the mountains and hills 3.3.4. Cultural landscape area of traditional villages
typically embody the traditional Hakka style. These villages in the southern coastal area
are nestled amidst the mountains and water, arranged The Southern Coastal Traditional Villages Cultural
in tiers, backed by the mountains and facing the water, Landscape Area mainly includes villages and towns
symbolically embracing the yin and the yang. Villages in along the coast of Huiyang District and Huidong County.
the plains mostly face south or follow the water’s flow in The landscape pattern of this cultural landscape area is
their orientation layout (Figure 7). characterized by dense rivers and mountains leaning against
The landscape space of the traditional village cultural the sea. The southern part of the cultural landscape area
landscape area in the plains of the Xizhi River Basin in faces the sea, featuring rich and varied terrain, including
the south-central part of the country is characterized by mountains, hills, basins, and plains, which are distributed
a core-peripheral and centripetal grouping. Influenced coherently. The water system is well developed, with many
by Hakka clan culture, the spatial layout of villages in this rivers from Huizhou entering the sea here, providing
cultural landscape area exhibits a pronounced centripetal a diversified natural environment for the development
character. The village texture mainly centers around the of traditional villages. Adjacent to the Chaoshan area, a
Hakka house, with small residential buildings arranged in a significant population of Fulao people moved here during
peripheral layout, fostering the development and growth of the late Ming and early Ching dynasties, influencing the
the village scale. The structure of the grouping is relatively local cultural landscape. Additionally, the Hakka and

Figure 7. Illustration of the traditional village cultural landscape in the plains of the Xizhi River Basin in south-central China. Source: Drawing by
the authors

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 11 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1311