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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Regenerating tradition: Rural revitalization

existing anthropological and ethnographic research about rice paddies. To compound these problems, the absence of
the Li family, we interpret the Li family’s beliefs and the vegetative cover has accelerated runoff, which has initiated
value of traditional agricultural practices in modern rural perennial flooding in the villages and fields (Figure 2). In
life. Then, employing a design research methodology that response to these challenges, the Daguangba Reservoir
utilizes advanced technologies, we elucidate the potential was built in the late 1970s in the middle reaches of the
for locally and culturally informed green infrastructure Changhua River to regulate floodwaters (Figure 3) and to
interventions in Yulong Village. This approach enriches meet the increased demand for water in urban expansion
the study of green infrastructure by intertwining it with and for farm irrigation. Unfortunately, historic and satellite
traditional culture and provides a potential prototype for images from the late 1990s to the present reveal that the
the revitalization of the Li villages in Hainan. reservoir has adversely affected the alignment and flow of
the river. The construction of the reservoir has resulted
2. Methods in changes to the natural hydrology, gradual loss of the
2.1. The study site original floodplain, and shrinkage of the village’s farmland.
Many Li villages were abandoned, and the government
2.1.1. Modernization of the Yulong village consolidated some of the low-lying villages, like the
At the time of the founding of New China, the Li villages in Yulong Village, into new settlements along the new edge of
Hainan were in a state of poverty. In the 1950s, the Chinese the reservoir (Figure 4). In doing so, the villagers lost the
government reformed the organization of these villages and physical qualities and the spaces where they once practiced
funded the introduction of modernization in agriculture. some of their centuries-old traditions of sustainable
The Hainan government established rural production farming.
cooperatives, allocated collective land to all Li farmers
on the island, and introduced modern farming tools and 2.1.2. The Li family’s tradition of sustainable farming
high-quality rice cultivars, all of which greatly improved The ancestors of Hainan’s Li family were part of the ancient
agricultural productivity (Li et al., 2009). However, rural Hundred Yue tribes in the present-day Guangdong and
labor and agricultural production were priced at a low Guangxi regions of China, who migrated to Hainan Island.
rate due to the state’s need to accumulate its economic They formed tribes with different dialects and made a living
foundation through the surplus value of rural agricultural through fishing and hunting in the coastal areas. From
production. The limited income of farmers resulted in an the Han dynasty (206 BCE‒220 CE) onward, following
increase in cultivation areas, including reclaimed forests maneuvering and friction between the Li minority and
and other unfarmed land (Wen et al., 2018). The Reform representatives of imperial powers and Han Chinese settlers,
and Opening Up in the 1980s, further, increased the the Li family gradually migrated to the western interior of
commercialization of agricultural production and led to Hainan Island, settling in the upper and middle reaches
the extensive introduction of tropical cash crops in Hainan. of the Changhua River basin (Figure 5) of Hainan Island
During this period, agricultural reforms were accompanied (Wang and Jiang, 2004). The terrain along the Changhua
by the household responsibility system, which encouraged River is mountainous in the southeast and low flatlands in
increased entrepreneurial activity among Li villagers, who the northwest. The mountainous areas feature steep slopes
thereby accrued substantial increases in economic income and rapid water level changes, while the lower reaches have
(Figure 1). a wide riverbed and smooth water discharge (Stubel, 1937).

However, the transformation adversely affected the Long-term interaction with the Changhua River and
natural landscape and ecological environment of the Li their acute understanding of the landscape have gradually
villages. Large areas of mountain forest and riverside led the Li people to habitually reside close to water. This is
wetlands were cleared to make way for cash crops such evident in the Qing dynasty painting depicting Li family’s
as mango, betel nut, and rubber. In the new landscape traditional customs, showcasing their cultural techniques
dominated by cash crops, the extensive use of pesticides for managing and engineering water resources. In the
accelerated the acidification of the soil. In the old- mountainous areas, where the Changhua River served as
growth forests, rosewood was harvested on a hitherto an important transportation route, the ancient Li family
unseen scale to service the demands of the international developed rafts capable of transporting materials even in
furniture market. Much of it is now depleted, along with places with fast water currents (Figure 6A). Qing dynasty
many natural habitats and a significant portion of native paintings (Fu, 2007) illustrate how the Li people built
fauna. The decimated populations of frogs, birds, and stone barriers at the rapids of rivers and streams, filling
other ecologically important animals have led to locust them with aquatic plants to trap fish. Beneath waterfalls,
infestations along the riverbanks, in the villages, and in the they created small ditches with a narrow water source,

Volume 6 Issue 2 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1304