Regional Variation

 

 

 

Climate has a huge impact on the construction of Chinese homes, both because it shapes the materials available and because it determines the kind of shelter people need. Houses in the north respond to the colder, drier climate, while in the south, heat and humidity are major factors influencing design. (Click here to review China's geography).  Some regional variation, however, is a matter of style, unrelated to geography.

Courtyards of houses in the north, such as seen on the left, are often much larger than those in the south, on the right.

What might account for these differences?

Overhead view of a small southern courtyard space, a skywell

Overhead view of a courtyard located in the north

SOURCE:  Beijing gu jianzhu. (Beijing: Wenwu chuban she, 1959), plate 139.
SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp           1988, Bihu zhen, Lishui xian, Zhejiang Province
ANSWER:  In the north, where it is colder, larger courtyards offer more exposure to the sun. In the south, skywells draw fresh breezes down into the living area, while overhanging eaves block the vertical rays of the summer sun.

In this photograph of recently built houses, look closely at the type of courtyard and the way the eaves are sometimes flush with the walls. These are visual clues to the location of this village.

Can you explain why these are clues, and whether this village is in the north or the south?

 

ANSWER:  The size of courtyards and the depth of eaves are clues because they are designed to temper weather conditions. This village, with its large courtyards and modest overhangs is found in the north where cold is a bigger problem than heat.

 

An overhead view of a village

SOURCE:  Zhongguo renmin gongheguo nongmu ye bu xuanchuan si, waishi si, Zhongguo nongxue hui, eds. Zhongguo nongye (Beijing: Nongye chubanshe, 1983), p. 190.  Shandong province 

Both of the dwellings below are rectangular and face south, as do the majority of dwellings in China, but otherwise they show distinct regional styles.

What are some of the differences in style that you see?

Where do you think these houses are found?

Three-bay house

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1982, Inner Mongolia

Three-bay house

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1981, in the vicinity of Mt. Emei, Sichuan Province

Compare the three images below. 

What distinguishes them from each other in terms of materials, shapes of roofs, and construction of walls?

Can you see what solutions these builders used to accommodate hot summers in these three houses?
ANSWER:  In the top images, overhanging eaves block the sun. The also shield a central room whose wide opening invites breezes. In the others, small windows allow air circulation and minimal sunshine. White-painted walls reflect heat.

A five-bay house in Zhejiang Province

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1987, Cangnan xian, Zhejiang Province

Compare the differences in windows and openings in the houses here and below with the houses above.


How do you think the window openings change the interior space?

Yi xian village, Anhui Province

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1987, Yi xian, Anhui province

Notice how the end or gable walls rise above the rooflines of these houses. The feature is called a "horse's head wall" because of its shape.

Can you guess what might be the purpose of these walls?

 

Houses in southern Anhui Province
SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp
ANSWER:  These walls originally served as fire barriers between houses, preventing the spread of flames that would catch in the wooden roof supports. Most fire walls are now decorative.

Houses built along canals are common in the south of China.

What advantages are there to building houses along a canal or a body of water?

 

Anchang zhen, Shaozing, Zhejiang Province

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1983, Anchang zhen, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province

Below are two views of dwellings in Fujian province in a region where Hakka live in single-lineage dominated villages.  When these houses were built, different lineages were often engaged in armed feuding with each other.

Why do you think these compounds are built as single units that open inward?

View of a village in Fujian province

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp,

1990, Hekeng village, Nanjing Xian, Fujian Province

Why do you think each dwelling is so large?

 

ANSWER:  In this region lineages often had to protect themselves, which accounts for the fortress-like appearance of these dwellings. Each dwelling housed several related families. All structural requirements for daily living, including storage of food and implements, could be collected under one roof for added protection.

An interior view of a large circular Hakka dwelling in Fujian province

SOURCE:  Liu Yuanting, Yang Gusheng, eds. Minzhu jianzhu, Zhongguo meishu quanji, Jianzhu yishu pian, vol. 5 (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1988), 182, pl. 164.

A village in Yunnan where many Dai people live.

 

How do these houses differ from those in the photographs above?

Village in Yunnan Province

SOURCE:  Liu Yuanting, Yang Gusheng, eds. Minzhu jianzhu, Zhongguo meishu quanji, Jianzhu yishu pian, vol. 5  (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1988), p. 152,  pl. 142.

The building to the left-hand side of the picture, a yurt, is a traditional dwelling of Mongolians.

Traditional dwellings in Inner Mongolia

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1983

What are the major differences between a yurt and other houses seen thus far? 

What reasons could you suggest for the use of a yurt in Inner Mongolia?

HINT:  People in Inner Mongolia lead nomadic lifestyles.

Building a yurt in Inner Mongolia

SOURCE:  Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan, Neimenggu, ed., Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan zong bianji weiyuan hui. (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 1986),  p. 55.

Although most of the houses pictured here were constructed above ground, other people have dug into the ground to create their dwellings. The tradition of living in caves has a long history that continues to this day in China. Click here to learn more about cave dwellings and to look at some contemporary examples of cave dwellings.