Jiangnan ancient town characteristics

Architectural features of Jiangnan Ancient Town

Jiangnan Ancient Town architectural style is simple, timeless, courtyard layout original flavor, landscape design ancient and new do. Inheritance and innovation in the revival of traditional Chinese architecture, the spirit of traditional gardens, revisit the brilliant national complex, renew the Chinese garden of a lifetime.

Jiangnan waterfront homes in Suzhou, Hangzhou, the most representative of the rich in produce in the south of the river, the scale and layout of the residence is also very distinctive. The walls on the periphery of the dwellings are tall and rugged, as most of the houses in the south are taller, two-story buildings. In addition, the southern homes are often rooms connected, the center of the wind and fire wall partition, is for fire prevention considerations, the courtyard area is not large, coupled with tall buildings, so that a house in the light and air vents - the patio appears to be extraordinarily high and deep.

Jiangnan's humid climate makes ventilation is particularly important, so Jiangnan's homes are often in the building and wall between the gap of no more than 1 meter, used to pull the wind and light, the effect is quite good. Jiangnan residential, large homes generally from the front door through the sedan chair hall, living room, the main room to the inner room or the back room, flanked by flower halls, study, bedroom and to small gardens, theaters and so on. Generally large homes can have two or three parallel axes.

But regardless of the size of the building, the Jiangnan houses reflect a clear difference with the northern houses, that is, the carvings and decorations are extremely numerous, but very few colorful paintings, the wall with white tiles and greenish gray, the wood is brown and black, or brownish red, etc.. Compared with the brilliant colors of the north is very elegant.

Jiangnan craftsmen ingenuity, the use of varied terrain, so that the flow of water in the houses between the ripples.

Waterways, streets and lanes in an irregular mesh in the homes, and the contrast, forming a unique flavor of Jiangnan homes from the northern homes.

Because of the precious land, the space inside and outside of the house is greatly utilized, and because most of the houses have water at their doorsteps, there is a small port outside almost every house. This is where housewives did their daily laundry, washed vegetables and washed rice, and where small boats could be moored.

Compared with the waterways, the streets and alleys are very narrow, some of which can only accommodate one person and one ox. The high wall is sandwiched between the winding streets and lanes, which creates a sense of tranquility.

Jiangnan ancient town characteristics

Jiangnan residential characteristics

Jiangnan residential general layout and the north of the courtyard is roughly the same way, but generally arranged in a compact courtyard covers an area of small, in order to adapt to the local high population density, the requirements of the characteristics of the less occupied farmland. The main door of the residence is mostly open on the central axis, facing the main room for the hall, the back of the courtyard is often built two-story building. The small courtyard surrounded by the courtyard houses is commonly known as the patio, which is only used for lighting and drainage. Because the rainwater from the inner slope of the roof flows into the patio from all sides, so this residential layout is commonly known as "four water to the hall".

Jiangnan residential structure is mostly through the bucket type wooden frame, do not use beams, but to columns directly bearing purlins, the periphery of the thin wall of the empty bucket or woven bamboo plaster walls, walls more whitewashed. The roof structure is also thinner than that of the northern houses. The bottom of the wall is often built with slate, and the indoor floor is also paved with slate to prevent moisture. The interior of the halls are freely separated by traditional covers, wooden fans, and screen doors, depending on the purpose of use. The beams and frames are decorated with only a few delicate carvings and painted in chestnut, brown, and gray without colorful paintings. The wooden structure of the exterior of the house is painted in brown, black, dark green, etc., which is reflected with the white wall and grey tiles, and the tone is elegantly clear and clean, combining with the surrounding natural environment to form a picturesque water townscape.