As early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the western part of Guangzhou was a place where Chinese and foreign merchants lived together. In Fanfang area, many businessmen from all over the world "listed", forming a prosperous commercial and residential area. Since then, a relatively free market and trade system have been implemented, and the complete service industry has also shown colorful characteristics. The tradition of urban commercial culture is quite long.

In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the shipping trade in Guangzhou was developing continuously, and many foreign cultures had infiltrated. Because the local South Vietnamese culture can absorb the Han culture moved from the Central Plains, the cultural form of Guangfu has also been updated and developed by itself. With the increase of personnel exchanges, Central Plains culture and Jiangnan culture have also influenced the cultural customs in Guangfu and Guangzhou. At this time, under the influence of economic development and communication with the outside world, citizen culture tends to be multi-level and diversified, which embodies the open character of Guangzhou commercial society.

In the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou's commerce was still very developed, with abundant commodities and dense population. The south and west of Guangzhou are the most prosperous places, where many wealthy businessmen live, thus forming a mixed residential area with distinctive characteristics.

In the twenty-second year of Qing Qianlong (1757), the Qing government closed the customs in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, and only reserved the foreign trade of Guangzhou and Guangdong, that is, it implemented "one-stop trade" and entrusted the "Thirteen Banks" established in the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi (1686) to assist in the management of the foreign trade affairs of Guangzhou Customs. Undoubtedly, this has greatly stimulated the trade development of Guangzhou, and added impetus to the development of urban economy and spatial environment in the location of the 13th Line and its adjacent areas. In the following 150 years, Guangzhou's unique position in commercial trade has been highly developed and its foreign exchanges have become increasingly frequent. At this time, western advanced achievements in astronomy, mathematics, geography, artillery, physics, medicine, architecture and fine arts were brought to China one after another by western missionaries, and the first stop for most of them to land in China was Guangzhou, which further enriched the social culture of Guangzhou. The subsequent influx of western ideology has opened people's eyes.

The development of Xiguan area in Guangzhou is related to these historical backgrounds. After entering the 20th century, with the development of economy, the scope of cities has been expanding and the roads have been widened. From the mid-Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, urban construction gradually broke through the scope of the original old city and opened to the east and west. 192 1 February 5, 2000, the Provisional Regulations of Guangzhou was promulgated and implemented, which made Guangzhou's urban modernization enter a new stage of development and fundamentally changed its original urban structure.

Guangzhou Xiguan area refers to the area west of Renmin Road, north of 623 Road and east of Liwan Lake in Liwan District.

During the reign of Tongzhi and Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, it was called "Xiguan" outside the Taiping Gate in the west of the city. At that time, most of the land was still rural. Because the inner city can no longer meet the demand for space for commercial development, in the middle of Guangxu, gentlemen, rich people and businessmen built houses in large areas from Taiping Street to Pantang outside the west gate, which should be the beginning of large-scale construction of Xiguan. On the one hand, it is a low hilly area, on the other hand, it is adjacent to Shibafu, Shisanhang business district and Shamian area, which is convenient for the construction of commercial and handicraft processing and production residential areas. Coupled with the beautiful natural environment and rich products, it has become a good place to live.

Due to the import and export trade and commercial development with the mainland, the handicraft industry and commercial population in Xiguan area are increasing, and the demand for housing is also increasing sharply, thus forming many relatively complete "characteristic residential" areas, such as Bao Hua District, Duobao District and Baoyuan District, which were built in 1862 ~ 1882. In the early years of the Republic of China, the commercial culture and urban economy of Xiguan in Guangzhou entered a mature and stable development period, which was also an open period, absorbing western culture and integrating into its own tradition.

The existing Xiguan architecture truly reflects the traces of the development of local culture, represents the unique form created by the integration of local architecture and foreign culture in Guangzhou, and also reflects the history of the sudden change of local architectural form. During the Republic of China, the characteristic residential buildings generally maintained a set of patterns and rules of ancient big houses in terms of plane layout and facade modeling. However, due to the change of political system, the progress of science and technology and the modernization of building methods, some changes have taken place in all aspects of the building, such as the cantilever balcony on the floor, the cornices of columns and the decorative corners of doors and windows on the facade of the building, and so on.

The Basic Types and Characteristics of Xiguan Traditional Dwellings

Xiguan traditional houses in Liwan District include the following types:

1. The old house in Guangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty, commonly known as "xiguan big house". Its plane layout is based on the traditional vertical combination of "three rooms and two corridors" in Guangzhou and Pearl River Delta, and evolved from the hall layout of big houses in Suzhou and other places.

Its plane is arranged along the depth direction, and there are several rooms, patios, stairs, kitchens and so on. Symmetrically arranged left and right. There is a "Qingyun Lane" (also called cold lane) outside the main building, which is used for living activities and access, and can also meet the auxiliary functions. The central axis of the main hall is clear and tidy, and the porches are arranged along the axis-gatehouse hall (entrance hall)-sedan chair hall (tea hall)-main hall ("god hall" or hall)-head hall (elder room)-second hall (dining hall)-tail hall, etc. This pattern is suitable for feudal families to live together, and the division of functions is clear, and the internal and external boundaries are strict, showing the identity of the owner. This pattern also reflected the lifestyle of residents at that time.

2. In addition to the xiguan big house mentioned above, there is also a super-large house with five sides crossing, with gardens, pavilions and waterside pavilions attached to it. Its plane has five seats and is very large. But there are no physical objects in Guangzhou at present.

3. Relatively small and medium-sized houses-bamboo tube houses with simple style. It has a small number of buildings and few rooms, usually one or two rooms. This plane is similar to a big house. Today, a considerable part of the characteristic residential buildings in Liwan District of Guangzhou belong to this category.

4. The plane layout is in the form of a traditional bamboo building, and the facade is a small and medium-sized apartment with a combination of Chinese and Western styles. Most of them have one or two bays, and some have another side door. There are narrow stairs on the second and third floors, and there are many levels of depth inside. The facade is a blue brick foot, that is, the outer wall is pasted with water mill and big green brick; The footing is granite dado, and the door cover and window cover are also granite. The balcony on the second floor is either protruding or basically flush with the facade wall, and the balcony railings are rich in styles. In the cornice part, bracket or lap is used to support the overhanging eaves that are not big enough. Many buildings have gradually adopted reinforced concrete structure, or the combination of wood structure and reinforced concrete structure.

5. Modern residence with completely western style. Large scale, single building, two or three floors. The exterior wall is made of red brick or terrazzo.

In the block layout, due to the shortage of urban land, dense arrangement of buildings, the single body develops in depth, and the lateral direction only accounts for less width along the street. Although the small neighborhood formed is relatively narrow, the space is cordial and the scale is pleasant. It is characterized by the pursuit of free and practical aggregation forms, and at the same time it is set off by the commercial atmosphere. The architectural layout of traditional houses in this area has the following characteristics: the whole is connected and built in pieces. The general pattern is similar, but the parts and monomers are not the same, and the details have their own characteristics. The scale of the building is not large, mostly two or three stories high, with narrow width, great depth and pleasant scale. Decoration seeks variety and difference in simplicity. Although it shares a certain pattern, the details are ever-changing. The street space is narrow and deep, about 4 ~ 5 meters wide. The roads inside are paved with stones, and there is a relatively complete drainage pipeline system. Many families plant trees or put potted flowers in front of the door, which is a relatively open public environment for the residents in the building. Planting flowers and plants on balconies, cornices and roofs tends to be natural. Moreover, it embodies pragmatic pursuit in structural mode, structural method and material selection.

The compactness of building layout can promote the formation of microclimate in building community, bring convenience for security, enhance the affinity of community living environment, and make "residence" integrate into social space. The ownership of houses in urban space generally presents a balance of social relations.

At present, relatively concentrated communities in xiguan big house are distributed in the following areas.

Fengyuan Road ~ Baoxian South: Baoyuan Road; Jinlong West Road ~ Duobao Street, Fengyuan Street, Sanlian Street, Fengyuan Road, Fengyuan North Street, Fengyuan North Street and Fengyuan Shayi Lane.

Wenchang North Road: Hua Yao Street, Hua Yao East Street (north-south, east-west) ~ Hua Yao West Street, Baorenfang and Hou Yaohua Middle Street.

Jinlong East Road to Dongshenfang and Lirongli: Huagui Road to Huagui West Street.

Wenchang South Road to Jingshanli: Changshou West Road to Hongchang Street and Yugui Third Lane.

Xiang Yang Road to Yangrennan and Yang Ren Middle: Shibafu South Road to Xinjidong, Xinjixi and Jilan Street.

Bao Hua Road: No.16 East 4th Lane and No.16 Street.

Bao Hua Road: Baohua Zhongzheng Covenant, Baoqing Xinzhong Covenant, Fuzheng Street 15.

Duobao Road: Duobao Square, etc.

In those areas, some traditional houses and old buildings scattered in various streets and lanes can be seen everywhere. These buildings were originally traditional dwellings in Xiguan, with authentic appearance and typical and complete forms.

From the above description, we can sum up the characteristics of Xiguan traditional residential buildings as follows:

1. Inherit the traditional square neighborhood structure and form a low-rise and high-density residential pattern.

2, the plane is compact, the space is handled skillfully, and it is relatively closed to the outside, but the interior is transparent and private. Better solve the special requirements of building ventilation, lighting, shading, heat insulation and so on in the hot and humid climate in the south.

3. Facade modeling, detail decoration and indoor furnishings reflect rich local cultural characteristics and have a high artistic level.

4. Realistically and boldly actively absorb foreign culture and integrate into traditional architecture. Especially in the facade treatment, the decorative elements of western classical architecture are adopted, while the plane and section of the building still maintain and develop the reasonable modeling in traditional houses.

The folk houses in Xiguan old district have certain feelings for their traditional folk houses and architectural environment, and they all hope that the living environment and living conditions can be improved accordingly in the future urban construction, rather than a forced and rigid demolition. They especially hope that this city can find a modern living atmosphere and environment for them, similar to their original living conditions and cultural connotations. It can be said that the traditional folk houses in the old city have actually solved the basic functional requirements of residents' "residence", and also reflected their special "cultural architecture" character.

Hua Yao Street on Wenchang North Road and its vicinity.

Hua Yao Street is located on the west side of Wenchang North Road. Most of the indigenous residents are doctors, businessmen, Cantonese opera artists, overseas Chinese, journalists, diplomats of the National Government and teachers. Streets and alleys are east-west, with a length of 1 10m and a width of 4.5m Roads are paved with stone slabs, and most buildings are two or three floors, with more than 30 buildings and more than 40 house numbers, which are closely arranged. General building bay is 4 ~ 5m, and individual areas are 7 ~ 8m wide. The plane depth is mostly 16 ~ 20 m, some of which are deep, and the back part extends to the adjacent neighborhood on the back side. Residential building area is between 120 and 180 square meters. The floors are provided with overhanging or recessed balconies, and doors, windows, balcony railings and cornices are decorated with rich and different patterns. The vast majority of houses still retain stone door sets, blue brick exterior walls and granite wall foundations. The entrance of houses is paved with stone steps, and the corner doors, ramps and big wooden doors are basically matched and well preserved. The earliest existing houses on the street were built in the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, and the rest were mostly built in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

The typical layout is: the first part of the entrance is the front hall, and the living room is separated by screen doors. Then there is the screen cover, the upper part of which is equipped with a kitchen, and the front hall and hall are open. The side is a narrow passage, connecting the back and entering the living space. There are stairs in the front or middle of the passage, which can reach the upstairs. There should be two or three small inner patios in the middle and back to solve the ventilation and lighting of each living room. The houses adjacent to the patio are richly decorated with doors, windows and partitions. Finally, the kitchen, the upper part of the kitchen is semi-open, and the roof at the top is partially skylight, which is conducive to smoke exhaust and flow organization. The gables on both sides of the building run through the front and back, supporting the multi-ribbed wooden beams and floors. The roof slope is gentle, and there are many gas buildings or skylights. And flat roofs.

Residents here generally believe that it is necessary to maintain and transform the streets and lanes, maintain the space and comfortable atmosphere of the streets and lanes, and preserve the existing landscape. Not long ago, Wenchang Street Sub-district Office accepted the house 14 donated by the owner's relatives living in Hong Kong, and transformed it into "Wenchang Street Kangling Community Service Center" to provide social services and meet the activity needs of local elderly people. The center is jointly managed by the sub-district office and the Hong Kong Psychological Counseling Association, and its social benefits are increasing day by day.

The street pattern and architectural form of Hua Yao Street can partly reflect the history of modern urban construction and development in Xiguan area, which is of certain value to the study of Guangzhou's urban construction history and residential form. The existing building quality of Hua Yao Street is still good, the quality of residents in the block is generally high, and the management of the block is perfect, which is completely conditional to be preserved and turned into a municipal-level residential cultural street.

Hua Yao Street has been listed as a historical and cultural protection block in Guangzhou. Therefore, the urban planning department of Guangzhou has formulated corresponding protection and preservation measures, namely:

1, delimit the appropriate scope of protection.

2. Formulate a population resettlement plan. 3, maintenance and renovation of existing buildings. Transform the internal facilities of each building and improve the necessary living facilities.

4. Transform the landscape, transform the pavement and demolish the buildings inserted in the street.

5. Protect the frontage form of buildings at the entrance of streets and lanes.

6. Broaden the sources of funds and raise funds for construction and maintenance in various ways.

7. Publicity and utilization.

Xian Jidong and Xian Jixi (Street) of Shibafu South Road.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the east and west areas of Xiguan Eighteen Houses were famous drug streets in modern Guangzhou. There are many Chinese and western doctors practicing medicine here and opening clinics in the street. Many drug dealers have set up Chinese patent medicine processing plants, pharmaceutical workshops, Chinese and Western medicine bureaus and pharmacies, and there are also wholesale stalls selling medicinal materials and raw materials in the street. 1893, Dr. Sun Yat-sen once set up the Chinese and Western Medicine Bureau here to engage in anti-Qing revolutionary activities.

Before the end of the Ming Dynasty, it used to be a river, which was later closed and transformed into a residential street, divided into two parts. The streets are long and the buildings are arranged compactly, mostly 2-or 3-storey buildings, in good condition. The fa? ade of some residential buildings adopts western neoclassical style components and decorations, which are combined with granite footings, stone door covers, red bricks or gray brick walls. The upper part has a cantilevered balcony and many large windows, and the details are rich in decoration.

In view of the regional location, architectural status and the connotation of modern Guangzhou medical culture, the relevant departments consider building it into a characteristic tourist block with residential buildings as the main body and medical culture as the theme, which fully embodies Guangzhou modern medicine and local medical culture.

The following protection and preservation measures have been taken in this area:

1, determine the protection scope. The middle section of the street is protected as a whole, that is, the sections from East 17 to West/43 are listed as protected areas.

2. Repair and maintain the original building. Strengthen the original characteristic houses, and repair and decorate the damaged ones. And gradually dismantle the dilapidated houses that affect the landscape quality.

3. Expand new regional functions. Re-plan and design the vacated base. In the planning, we can consider inserting the transformation of xiguan big house characteristic houses or adding small and medium-sized public buildings with traditional forms, styles and new functions. According to the development history of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in Guangzhou, we will arrange the processing and sales places of small Chinese herbal medicines and medical devices, as well as the business places for preparing medicated diets and carrying out medical treatment. Organize the construction of medical history museum, famous doctor memorial hall, medical light and clinic.

4. Coherence and environmental greening. The style and volume of the new building should be in harmony with the original streets and lanes. We should also open up public green space separately, increase public activity space, and carry out landscape design in combination with the characteristics of the lot.

5. Traffic nodes in Ji Xian section. It is still possible to leave some space at the east entrance and west entrance of Ji Xian, and a pedestrian distribution point and a small parking lot can be built.

In the process of Guangzhou's urban development and construction, it has become an urgent problem to protect and utilize the traditional residential buildings and related historical buildings in the old city, including the Xiguan in Liwan, so as to make the old city get the necessary development.

think

Today, with the rapid development of cities, people's demands for space, environment and quality of life are completely different from those in the past, and social and economic values and lifestyles have undergone profound changes. Only by ensuring the modernization of residents' living space, living environment and lifestyle can the material form of historical buildings be effectively preserved at a higher level.

The protection of any cultural relic building is to improve the quality of life of contemporary people, just like "history is often modern history". For the protection of urban residential buildings, we should protect the quality of life of modern people from the starting point and improve their quality of life and taste. We should emphasize the improvement of humanistic quality in all aspects and the experience of traditional architecture, and show respect and patience for historical fragments and urban culture with cautious reconstruction measures and delicate techniques.

We hope that with the deepening of human understanding of ourselves, we can find an effective road to cultural development-a road that will not lose the cultural glory of human history in the past, hurt the needs of contemporary life, and will not hinder the sustainability of future development.