Chinese Architecture
The Chinese
architecture has a peculiar style that has also shaped up the entire
Asia over the past few centuries. The architecture of Tang Dynasty
has greatly influenced the architecture styles of Japan, Korea,
Taiwan and Vietnam. The Chinese architecture is quite old since the
civilization in China has taken place. There has always been an
element of indigenous system in Chinese construction involving
greater usage of characteristics that symbolize prehistoric period
as well as the present period with literature, graphics and
exemplary images. You will find a typical native Chinese
architecture in major regions in China such as Turkistan, Japan,
Manchuria and the northern side of French Indochina that majorly
influences the Chinese cultural society. After having repeated
foreign military, intellectual and spiritual invasions, over 4,000
years old Chinese architecture still looks lively and retains its
prime pre-historic characteristics.
During the 20th
century, many Westernised-trained Chinese architects tried to
convert traditional Chinese designs into modern designs for
buildings, especially government buildings, but couldnt achieve
much success in it. This is because urban development in China
required good speed in construction and a high floor area ratio.
Nevertheless, modern architecture took rapid speed in the key cities
of the country, and there was more demand for modern buildings than
traditional Chinese architecture in these areas. Many rural areas in
China can still be found with traditional Chinese buildings, with
main ingredients of major carpentry, minor carpentry, masonry and
stone masonry.
The structure of
China in case of office buildings, residences, palaces and temples
is built on the principles of balance and symmetry. The Great Wall
of China is the most popular form of Chinese architecture being
extravagantly designed for its inhabitants and tourists. This huge,
stone wall was believed to have built somewhere between 246 and 209
B.C. and was used as a safeguard for the Chinese empire from
Mongolian invasion. Apart from the huge wall, there are many other
great places to visit in China and adore the Chinese architecture
from your own eyes. These include Chinese temples and palaces, which
are large and exaggerated in their own charming styles of
traditional Chinese architecture. The splendid roofs of the Chinese
buildings have been carved in a very beautiful manner with every
inch of them stretched out with glossy paint. Another remarkable
example of Chinese architecture is the Buddhist temple of 400 feet
high at Toyang, built during 6th century. Other Buddhist
temples in China boast of the Stupa or Pagoda types of buildings for
housing sacred objects.
Knowing more about
the Chinese architecture would require you to visit China in person
and see the beauty from your own eyes. Not forgetting, the Forbidden
City which is another classic example of old magnificent Chinese
architecture, situated in Beijing.
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