Chinese Local characteristic architecture refers to structures built in the countryside, including
temples, memorial halls, residences, stores, pavilions, bridges, decorated archways, wells, etc. Because these structures were all built by local artisans and villagers, and belong to the category of local structures, they are generally called local architecture.
Courtyards in China
Guodong Village
Guodong Village in Wuyi Country, Zhejiang province, is inhabited exclusively by people of the He clan. The village is situated between two mountains, and there is a stream running through it. At the place where the stream runs out of the village, there is a protective wall, stone bridges, pavilions and temples.
In Guodong Village, there are many old residences. Some of the windows of these residences are covered with pictures of bats and deer, which symbolize happiness and honor, respectively, and designs of plants and geometric figures, which are exquisitely carved and have a strong ornamental effect.
Xinye Village
The inhabitants of Xinye Village, Jiande County, Zhejiang Province are nearly all related to each other, most people having the surname Ye. In the village, there are temples, ancestral halls, pagodas and a large number of ponds.
Huizhou Dwelling Houses
The Huizhou area of Anhui province has been noted for its wealthy merchants since ancient times. As a result, tasteful residences have sprung up there. These buildings are in the form of skylight courtyard houses, mainly two-storied ones, with high walls. The white walls, gray bricks, black tiles, narrow alleys and entrance gates with brick carvings are features specific to dwelling houses in Huizhou.
The Inner Courtyards of Siheyuan
The Siheyuan of northern China usually have two courtyards each: the front one and the separated by a gate decorated with overhanging flowery patterns carved in wood. This arrangement makes the inner part if the residence a quiet and private space. Hongcun Village is situated in Yixian County. Anhui province. The main feature of the village is water; every house has access to a pond or stream. Hongcun Village and nearby Xidi Village are both on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritagke list.
Windows in Residences
The village dwellings in Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province, are also in the from of Siheyuan. Between the pillars beneath the front eaves of the main house there are big windows letting sunlight into the rooms. By means of carved windows lattices and paper-cuts, the local people create beautiful designs on windows.
Balustrades of Siheyuan Houses
The village dwellings in Qinshui county. Shanxi province, are two story Siheyuan. In front of the second story of the main house there is a carved woooden balustrade. In autumn, persimmons are hung to dry beneath the caves of the house, a common sight in the locality.
The Grand Courtyard of the Wang Family
The Grand Courtyard of the Wang Family in Lingshi County, Shanxi province, was the residence of a wealthy merchant of the Qing Dynasty. It has several courtyards connected with each other.
Fubao Town
Fubao Town in Hejiang County, Sichuan Province , is built on a series of hills. The frameworks of the houses are made of lacal timbers, between which are white-washed walls made of mud-filled bamboo. These houses in picturesque disorder constitute a beautiful scene against the background of the surrounding green hills and waters.
Guangdong Village Residence Entrance Gate
This is the entrance gate of a village house in the city of Dongguan,Guangdong Province.Atthe Spring Festival, every family pastes brand-new pictures of door -gods,new antithetical couplets and horizontal scrolls of calligraphy on the inner and outer doors of their houses to pray for a happy and prosperous new year.
Fujian's Tulou Fortress Dwellings
In Yongding and Nanjing counties of Fujian Province one can find groups of dwellings made in theform of a square or round fortress. Each of these fortresses can accommodate hundreds of people, and constitutes a village in itself. The windows and door in all open inward . In the outer walls, there are only a fewentrance gates and loopholes which in olden times were used for shooting arrows and bullets at attacking enemies. Tianluokeng Village in Nanjing County is particularly noted for these structures
In local architecture, the country residences are the main type and the most numerous. Using local materials, the residences are built in the traditional local ways. Due to China's vast territory, numerous ethnic groups and regional differences, there is an abundance of different architectural styles.
For instance, courtyard houses area called siheyuan in north China and "skylight courtyard houses" in south China. In moutain areas in Guizhou, Sichuan and Yuannan where there is an abundance of timber and a humid and hot climate, people build houses on stults using local timber. In pastoral areas in Inner
Mongolia and Xinjiang, travel from place to place grazing their livestock, their houses are in the form of tents callesd yurts which can easily be dismantled and put up again. In the loess highland in Shananxi, Shanxi and Henan, cave dwellings are built in line with local conditions.
There are multiple styles in accordance with differences in the nature and human environments in various localities.
China has a vast expanse of territory and a long history. The diversity of Chinese residences is a rare phenomenon even in the history of world architecture. Residences, in most cases, have natural and simple characteristics. They are built with locally-produced materials, by economical methods, and in close combination of such natural factors as climate, topography and environment. Here, man and nature have the most direct close contact. Residences, in most cases, are in harmony with nature and are seldom in a sharp contrast with nature.
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