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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Emotive architecture in China

A

B

Figure 1. Xiaoxi Jia (translated as Springing stream House). Source:
Photo by WEI Architects (2016)
Figure 3. The Hanglai Village Rehabilitation project, designed in 2017.
(A) The planning for this isolated village located in Hunan province,
China; (B) Proposed renovations for 100 years old local residences to
operate as minsu. Source: Drawings by WEI Architects

renowned as a “trendsetter hub.” This locale epitomizes
the international development of Chinese megacities and
presents unique research value. This case offers a glimpse
into the endogenous transformation of Chinese cities and
urbanization.

4.1. Case background analysis
Xiaoxi Jia is situated in Chixi village, Fuding, Fujian province,
China. The project’s environmental history traces back to
Figure 2. Suffused Blossom No.3_RouTing. Source: Photo by WEI June 24, 1984, when the front page of the People’s Daily
Architects (2020) featured a reader’s letter titled “A poor mountain village
hopes to implement special policies for poverty alleviation
4. Case studies and findings and wealth.” This letter reflected the impoverished state
(a) Project 1: Xiaoxi Jia (translated as Springing of Chixi village. Subsequently, in September of that same
stream House) (Figure 1) year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of China and the State Council issued a notice aimed at
The first case, Xiaoxi Jia (小溪家), completed in 2016, is helping impoverished areas improve their conditions as
a traditional Chinese guesthouse (民宿; minsu) converted quickly as possible, marking the beginning of a new era in
from a traditional dwelling. The project is nestled in the China’s poverty alleviation efforts (Wang, 2016). In 1986,
secluded valleys of Chixi village, Fujian province, China, Chixi village was listed among the first batch of national-
heralded as “China’s first poverty alleviation village.” This level impoverished counties, becoming one of the 331
village has a unique historical background, and the project counties to receive national poverty relief aid, signifying its
is one of China’s earlier rural revitalization initiatives. The importance in China’s poverty alleviation policies. By 1995,
project affords a comparative perspective from the vantage the village underwent a complete relocation, with villagers
of Chinese rural life and rural revitalization. leaving their original residences untouched. Thirty years
after, Chixi village came into the spotlight on China’s first
(b) Project 2: Suffused Blossom No.3_RouTing
(Figure 2) Poverty Alleviation Day in 2014, the village, along with
591 other national-level impoverished counties, declared
The second case, Suffused Blossom No.3_RouTing its departure from poverty. In February 2016, the national
(柔亭), inaugurated amid the pandemic in 2020, serves leader engaged in online communication with journalists
as the “First Store” for a high-end artisan chocolate and villagers from Chixi village, refocusing attention on
brand located in Beijing’s Sanlitun commercial center, the village’s development. In May of that year, a reality

Volume 6 Issue 4 (2024) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1606