Collaborating with rural communities : a study of the challenges and applicability of community engagement in Chinese rural heritage conservation

Abstract

Chinese rural areas are frequently viewed as the manifestation of utopia by many urban dwellers. Many men of letters believe that the countryside evokes poetic sentiments that express people's yearning for a richer spiritual life and a simpler way of living. Compared to the fast-paced urban lifestyle, the rural landscape provides a refuge for folks seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of city lives. With the increasing recognition of Chinese rural areas, the issue of rural heritage conservation has been receiving greater attention. With the increasing recognition of Chinese rural areas, the issue of rural heritage conservation has been receiving greater attention. Due to the unique social structure and regional characteristics of Chinese rural areas, rural heritage conservation requires a combined effort of planners, architects, conservationists and the local communities. Moreover, rural areas are also considered the most active ones in shaping the environment for public participation in China. Therefore, this dissertation adopts community engagement as the tool to develop a more comprehensive understanding of rural heritage conservation. Yunxi Village (云溪村) in Dehua County, Fujian Province, is a relatively unknown village due to its remote location. However, it was inscribed into the fifth batch of the list of traditional Chinese villages by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) in 2019. With development impending, the factoring of the village’s tangible and intangible heritage in the planning process has become critical, and in this regard, community engagement for conservation planning has been notably lacking. The author decides to adopt this village as the topic of her dissertation as a case study to examine the issues, challenges and applicability of community engagement for rural heritage conservation in China. The scope of the research is to document and analyse the previous community engagement activities in Yunxi Village, which is based on the author's practical experience when involved in the year-long planning project as an architecture student in 2020.