As a 3D visualization company, we pay attention not only to visualizing interior and architectural designs but also to appreciating beautiful architectures in the real life. In the following article, we'd like to introduce some Chinese traditional architectural styles.
For thousands of years, due to the different living habits of people in different regions, many architectures with different characteristics have been built on the land of China.
It can be roughly divided into the following six architectural styles: the Anhui style, the Fujian style, the Beijing style, the Su style, the Jin style, and the Sichuan style. The architecture of different styles writes their own stories with their unique history and cultural accumulation. They are either delicate, quiet, or majestic, which present architectures are difficult to surpass. Let us walk into them together, listen to the voice of Chinese ancient culture, and feel the profound history of China. We will appreciate them in 2 parts.
1. Anhui Style Architecture
Keywords: Blue tiles, white walls, and brick-carved gatehouses
The representative of the Anhui style architecture is its elegant Hui style dwellings with blue tiles, white walls, and brick-carved gatehouses. Huizhou architectural style, which collects the anima of Huizhou’s mountains and rivers and blends the essence of local custom and culture, is famous for its folk houses, ancestral halls, and memorial archways. Anhui style architecture is one of the most prominent among the six major Chinese architectural factions, and it is representative of Chinese southern residential buildings.
The Hui style is one of the most familiar branches of the Anhui style and was enrolled on the World Heritage List in 2000. In particular, residential houses, ancestral halls, and memorial arches are the most typical and are known as the three masterpieces of ancient buildings in Huizhou, which are valued and admired by Chinese and foreign architectural industries.
There are also three carvings (wood carving, stone carving, and brick carving) in residential buildings in the Huizhou style, and the carving styles are different but in the same line. Skilled craftsmen do their best, every pattern, every stroke when carving, the structure is rigorous, and the carving is exquisite.
The Hui-style dwelling is an inward-facing courtyard centered on a deep patio, surrounded by high walls, and rainwater from the four-sided roofs flows into the patio on rainy days, which indicates the mentality of Huizhou’s merchant--Rich water does not go out of the field.
The well-proportioned horse head wall is the crowning touch of the entire Huizhou architecture. It is not only beautiful but also integrates the wisdom of the ancients. In the event of a fire, such an architectural design is safe and reliable because it can block the spread of the fire.
2. Su Style Architecture
Keywords: Surrounded by mountains and rivers and winding paths leading to seclusion
The dignity of Su-style architecture lies in the Suzhou gardens that have existed for thousands of years. People have pursued it since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The roof with high ridges and corners, the gatehouse with the charm of the south of the Yangtze River, twists and turns, hidden but not exposed, feeding birds and fish-farming, stacked rocks and landscapes are an artistic model of the garden-style layout. Su-style architecture is an architectural style in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and it is a master of the northern and southern architectural styles. The garden-style layout is one of its distinctive features.
The roofs with high ridges and corners, the Zouma building, the brick-carved gatehouse, the bright tile windows, and the cross-street buildings with Jiangnan charm are concise, simple, and elegant, reflecting the artistic characteristics of clear, light, elegant, and plain. The Su-style architecture is full of the simplicity and tranquility of the Jiangnan water town.
3. Fujian Style Architecture
Keywords: Earthen buildings with a defensive function
The honor of Fujian-style architecture lies in the earthen building that has been inherited for more than 500 years, and the raw earth ramming technology has been brought into full play. The scale of the single earthen building is grand and fine. The bunker-style architectural style is still in use today and is extremely strong. It can not only be fireproof and shockproof but also prevent the invasion of the enemy. Min, that is Fujian, Min-style dwelling is an architectural style popular in southern Fujian. Among them, the earthen building is its most distinctive representative. It is a kind of residential building with defensive properties for people to live together.
It originates from the ancient Zhongyuan earthen building technology, which appears in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and reaches its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which has continued to this day.
The Min-style architecture has brought the long-standing raw soil ramming technology to the extreme. The individual buildings are large in scale and different in shape, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and are well-proportioned. The architectural style is unique, the engineering technology is superb, and the cultural connotation is extensive.
The common types of earth buildings are round buildings, square buildings, Wufeng buildings, palace-style buildings, etc. The building has full-equipped production, living, and defense facilities.
Min-style architecture is a unique type of traditional Chinese residential architecture, which provides valuable materials for the study of architecture, anthropology, and other disciplines.
