Page 41 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Learning from the countryside

1. Introduction: The urban-rural hybrid progressively and completely overtaken by the compact
landscape in China and its roots and densely populated fabric of “urban villages.” 3
st
The growth of city regions in China, whether classified as In the first decade of the 21 century, the process
megacities or megalopolis such as the Pearl River Delta of townization became even more intensive with the
(PRD), has been marked by aggressive and intensive growth of high-density housing blocks, some rising to
urbanization of the agricultural hinterland territories on 17 floors, and vast industrial parks. During this period,
the peripheral areas of these city agglomerations since certain Hakka residences, such as Hehu in Longgang,
the early 1980s (Guldin, 1992). Our observation of this underwent transformations, serving as the local museum
phenomenon, which was initiated almost 20 years after for the Hakka people, and the nearby original marketplace
4
its inception, draws from our Hakka heritage preservation expanded, eventually becoming a shopping mall.
1
research. We embarked on the mentioned study by It should be noted that the landscape observed by
analyzing cases of inland transformation in the PRD Guldin in the 1990s in PRD still retained a significant
region, focusing on various stages of development in Hong ratio of the rural landscape. It constituted a kind of urban-
Kong, Shenzhen, and Huizhou. 2 rural hybrid settlement, which was defined at that time
“Spatial and social-economic transformation of as an “urban-rural integration” (Chéngxiāng Yitihua).
these hinterland settlements in south China had Davis (2004), in his report on Guldin’s studies from the
been defined by G. E. Guldin as a hybrid landscape 1990s comparing rural transformations in South China
‘(…) no longer clearly urban or rural (…) but a with Indonesian desakotas (Guldin, 1997), asserted
...blending of the two.’” (Guldin, 2001, p. 14) that a new form of human settlement was emerging in
China, blending rural and urban elements. In the areas
In 2010 – 2013, when examining both Shenzhen and observed by Guldin in Dongguan and Shenzhen, the
Huizhou, traces of the distinct components defining rural component of this blend has all but disappeared
“urban” and “rural” patterns that form the “hybrid” today. However, as one moves eastward from Longgang to
landscape could be identified, as observed by Guldin in the Huizhou prefectural territory in Huiyang district (also part
1990s. However, within the Shenzhen Special Economic of the PRD city region but outside the SEZ), the rural and
Zone (SEZ), these components were no longer spatially urban components of the “hybrid landscape” in 2010 were
distinguishable due to the intensive and rapid development still present and distinguishable.
that transpired during the 2000s.
When investigating the case study of Hakka
The original “rural settlement” in this area was villages (Figure 1) and attempting to recognize the
characterized by monumental, enclosed residences historical structure of Huizhou and Huiyang territory
founded by Hakka immigrants, mainly during the (Figures 2 and 3), we followed the well-known studies by
16 – 19 centuries. These residences were modeled after G. W. Skinner about the Chinese “urban-rural continuum”
th
the weilong houses architectural style. They functioned and rural marketing network, which provide an articulated
as a fortified citadel, bringing together groups of families explanation of the roots of the “hybrid” landscape described
who shared a common ancestor, emphasizing the key by Guldin: this landscape originated not through a rural
ritual of clan culture (Hayes, 2001). In the center of exodus to the city but through an “urbanization in situ”
these settlements stood a temple known as citang, which (Friedman, 2005) of rural hinterlands.
enclosed a crescent-shaped water pond in front, carrying
apotropaic meaning. Skinner’s works assume that the population density, the
number of villages, and the distance of villagers (on foot)
In SEZ territories such as Longgang, the once “rural from the marketplace are the key factors that define the
territory” that surrounded Hakka residences has been geographical structure of the urban-rural continuum. It
can be schematized as a tiling of a hexagon, representing the
1 Our research began in 2010 and continued until 2015, marketing community area that collects a certain number
following a program outlined by the School of Civil of villages, each with its center in standard market towns.
Architecture, Politecnico di Milano, and the Technical Office
of the Municipality of Huizhou. This program wa developed
within the context of a cooperation agreement signed in 3 For a detailed exploration of the specific characters of this
2008 between the Italian Government and Guangdong urban type in Shenzhen and its transformation issues, please
Province of China. refer to Urbanus (2005).
2 A description of this comparison of cases is provided in 4 A comprehensive survey of Hakka villages in eastern and
Meriggi (2015, 2017). north Guangdong is detailed in Meriggi (2018).

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0981