Page 44 - JCAU-7-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Hakka settlement in the middle ground

predominance of nucleated villages and highlighting the At present, he operates a food shop and works as an agent
closer relationship between urban and rural areas. assisting farmers with processing and packaging paddies
It is common to see these new, typically 2- or for sale to city dealers. He and his wife also cultivate paddy
3-story concrete detached houses representing modern, and vegetables on their 700 sqm plow, with the majority of
fashionable lifestyles dominating the area along the the harvest consumed by their family.
national highway (Figure 12). A household observed He Deyou’s first house was built between 1993 and
on-site in the outskirts of He Xin Wu illustrates how 1995, serving as the current residence for his family at a
economic activities and house forms have been influenced cost of approximately ¥120,000 RMB. Located adjacent to
by the highway. The homeowner, He Deyou, originally the G358 National Highway, between Zhongxin and Dahu
lived in He Xin Wu but was compelled to resettle due to the towns, the ground floor operates as a deli. The 1 floor
st
deterioration of the rammed earth buildings 30 years ago. is the living space for He, his wife, and his mother, while
He subsequently constructed two new houses (Figure 13). the 2 floor accommodates their children, who work in
nd

Figure 12. The generic dwellings in the Middle Ground of the peripheral Pearl River Delta. Source: Photos by the authors (2021)

A B

D
C

Figure 13. Case study of new concrete dwellings in the Middle Ground of the peripheral Pearl River Delta. (A) Photo of Case 1 housing. (B) Plan of Case 1.
(C) Photo of Case 2 housing. (D) Plan of Case 2. Source: Drawing and photos by the authors (2018)

Volume 7 Issue 1 (2025) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3649