Urban Water Town Zhujiajiao

Author: Sun Jiwei, edited by Xu Jie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The people of Zhujiajiao love their hometown, taking pride in its profound historical and cultural heritage, as well as its beautiful water-town architecture! But like urban residents, the people of Zhujiajiao also yearn for the development of their hometown and desire to enjoy modern civilization. As builders of the ancient town, we bear the responsibility of "protecting history," the mission of "transmitting history," and the heavy duty of "creating history." Zhujiajiao is the only town among the "One City, Nine Towns" with traditional Chinese characteristics. This uniqueness, this ratio of one to nine, places a heavy cultural burden on the development of Zhujiajiao from the very beginning—or adds a sense of non-architectural weight. For many designers today, "tradition" has not become an inherent part of their character or a source of creative inspiration, but rather an external requirement and a burden on their shoulders. The hard work and psychological pressure involved in this are self-evident. However, compared to the and (arbitrary and effortless) pronouncements and reckless demolition and construction in many other places, this weight and constraint might be a blessing in disguise, perhaps even transforming into motivation for exploration.