Cultural Connotation of Guangzhou Arcade with Lingnan Characteristics

The century-old arcade is not only left by these various buildings, but also represents the cultural changes of an era. The once flowery arcade has now become an ancient street. Although the times have changed, the cultural connotation left by the arcade has been passed down by the people.

The ancient arcade became a charming street scene.

According to research, at the beginning of the 20th century, various arcades began to appear in Guangzhou. The development of Guangzhou arcade lies in that it has changed from a bridge corridor of a villa to a public design: the bridge corridor is connected into a long corridor and becomes a commercial street-pedestrians can walk in the corridor, shelter from the sun and rain, and shop.

Guangzhou arcade was influenced by foreign products, but in the final analysis, it was done in combination with local conditions. And combine western things with tradition without leaving a trace, and finally become a whole. Adapt to the local climate with short winter and long summer, which is super-radiant and rainy in summer-Lingnan subtropical climate.

The popular arcade building has become a prominent feature of Guangzhou city street view.

Open a map of old Guangzhou, which may be hard for you to imagine. Historically, there are 59 sections of arcade streets densely distributed in the area of about 15 square kilometers in the old city of Guangzhou, with a total length of more than 40 kilometers. Most of them were built in the 1920s and 1930s, with Renmin Road and Zhongshan Road as the coordinate axes, starting from Dongfeng Road in the north, Jinlong Road in the west, Tongfu Road in the south and Donghua Road in the east.

The densest arcade was built in the south of Zhongshan Road and west of Yuexiu Road today, which used to be called "Old Town". At that time, on both sides of Yangcheng Street, "long-legged" houses were erected in mid-air, and these two or three-story brick and wood arcades were enough to become a major feature of Guangzhou architecture.

Arcade is generally divided into three parts: roof, main body and bottom. Some roofs are spires and towers, and some are arched awnings on the front wall, which are rich in shapes. The wall decoration is also rich and colorful, including relief patterns, window openings, line feet, balcony cast iron railings and so on. , a fusion of western baroque or rococo architectural decoration style.

There are also beautiful fruits and auspicious patterns with Lingnan characteristics, as well as classical grass-rolling patterns in China. Others use Manchu windows in the decoration of the arcade.

The arcade culture drives the economic development of Yangcheng.

The arcade is familiar to Guangzhou people. In the past, at the bottom of the arcade, children played chess, patted doll paper and jumped rubber bands, while adults sighed and drank tea to enjoy the cool, and opened a shop to do business. In the past, people stood under the arcade to shelter from the rain. ...

Guangzhou Zhongshan 456 Road is the earliest business circle in Guangzhou. The older generation of Guangzhou residents recalled that when they walked to the door of the "Xinyitai" store on Zhongshan Fourth Road, they took a look. There are many arcades and old shops, which are not only the epitome of Guangzhou economy at that time, but also a pearl of Guangzhou arcade culture!

In Hong Kong, adjacent to Guangdong, the SAR Government announced that it would spend HK$ 4.8 billion to protect 48 arcade buildings in Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok. Hong Kong people think that the design of these arcades began in Guangzhou, so they are called "Guangzhou arcades".

Guangzhou's modern urban construction began with the Pearl River, and its advocate was Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. At that time, Zhang Zhidong felt that Guangzhou had narrow roads, blocked traffic and inconvenient transportation, which was dwarfed by the sand surface of the concession with "high terrain, solid dikes and wide roads".

In order to improve Guangzhou's traffic and revitalize its business, Zhang Zhidong suggested building a 120-foot levee around Tianzi Wharf with reference to the experience of western countries and regions. A variety of trees are planted along the embankment to provide shade for pedestrians. A promenade is built in the road to facilitate business transactions between businessmen and civilians, and practice stacks are widely built in the promenade.

In order to facilitate citizens to do business, Zhang Zhidong advocated building a continuous public space like an arcade. Paving corridors not only benefited pedestrians, but also facilitated transactions, which undoubtedly played a pulling role in the backward Guangzhou economy at that time.

Leave interesting memories for history.

As a formal name, the arcade first appeared in 19 12 National Government's "Regulations and Detailed Rules for the Prohibition of Buildings" and was called "arcade with feet". 1920 "building with feet" is referred to as "arcade" for short. For Guangzhou, arcade is a kind of culture, a kind of history, a style of Guangzhou, and a good partner of the neighborhood.

192 1 year, the Guangzhou Municipal Government promulgated the Building Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on Promoting Arcade in Open Spaces on Both Sides of Roads, which further stipulated that when building roads, open spaces must be reserved for arcades on both sides. 1922, Chen Jiongming, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, agreed to organize the establishment of "Architectural Aesthetics Society" in Guangzhou, with the representative as the president and the representative hiring experts in architecture and fine arts as members.

In the future, the architectural planning of various bureaus under the Guangzhou Municipal Hall, such as parks, bridges, school buildings and various public buildings, should be submitted to the Municipal Council for approval before construction to test their artistic value. Chen regards Guangzhou's architecture as "artistic equipment".

Guangzhou's arcade architecture is the highest, and all kinds of decorative styles combining Chinese and western styles are in full bloom. You will find that every arcade on every road has different decorations such as stone carving, brick carving, gray plastic, colored painting, colored glass and colored terrazzo. The neat arcade space and the irregular prominent Chinese pavilions and western minarets on the arcade roof make Guangzhou's urban skyline rich and colorful.

Nowadays, when it comes to arcade, people in Guangzhou will sigh: you have silently contributed to the neighborhood, sheltered pedestrians from the scorching sun and wind and rain, and brought prosperity to Guangzhou, which will be engraved in memory forever.

Conclusion The significance of arcade culture is far more than the architecture seen in the form, but also the Guangzhou of that era that will never change in the hearts of every Guangzhou person. Even if the building disappears, the cultural connotation it represents is eternal.