Grand Canal 2050

A long the Grand Canal there are 17 national-level historical
and cultural cities which had many guild halls, stores,
warehouses, former residences of celebrities, academies and
mosques etc in history. At current there are few cultural heritages
being preserved by the historical cities and towns along the Grand
Canal and some of them suffer from severe damages. At present
the cultural development along the Grand Canal is faced with
great challenges. The extensive economic growth pattern in last
thirty years leads to the fact that there is few cultural heritages
being preserved by historical cities and towns and some suffer
from severe damages. How to re-excavate, protect and activate
the cultural value of the Grand Canal and remold a long cultural
corridor has been the starting point of the study.
The research project is planned to last for three years. Centered
on the protection and inheritance of the historical and cultural
heritages along the Grand Canal, the evolution and development of
the spatial form of traditional canal cities and towns and new ways
of industrial cities and towns after intervention of creative cultural
industries, the study is developed in the form of “pay attention to
important points; start with minor points; promote work in all areas
by drawing upon the experience gained on key points and then
spread the experience to the entire line”. The final research result
is based on the appeals at three levels: 1. Combine talent cultivation
and the research and innovate the talent cultivation mode; 2.
Seek the social value of the research and hope to provide valuable
reference for the cultural construction of cities; 3. Regarding
the ontological research of cities and architecture, discuss the
influence of the Grand Canal on the development of cities and the
construction of towns and the regional presentation of architectural
forms.
The collection presents the initial part of the 2050 Study of the
Grand Canal, with the graduation projects of the graduates in the
Fourth Studio of the School of Architecture, China Central Academy
of Fine Arts being the carrier, and through the in-depth study of
typical cities along the Grand Canal, 9 “Cultural Courier Stations”
along the Grand Canal are designed in order to discuss the future
of the cultural development of cities along the Grand Canal. The
research projects include the new approaches for revitalization of
Zhangjiawan, an important town along the Grand Canal in ancient
times under the background of the integration of Beijing, Tianjing
and Hebei province, taking Cangzhou as an example to discuss
how can the canal activates modernism urban space which has no
features, discussing how community activities can be implanted into
an industrial port and its industrial transformation by taking the
failure of Xuzhou to be included into the UNESCO World Heritage
list as an example, and the effect and significance of setting Sanbao
ship lock as the ending point of the canal on the entire canal and
cities. The 9 students in the studio have in-depth analyses of the
problems and challenges the cities along the Grand Canal face from
different angles and entry points. By converting the transportation
junction conception of ancient courier station into the cultural
communication conception today, they try to use 9 new courier
stations to activate the cultural vitality of the Grand Canal.
About the research themed by “Grand Canal 2050”, special thanks
must be extended to Shenzhen C Foundation for its strong support.
Just owing to the public support of “Chuang Fund”,
Thanks the World Heritage Office of the State Administration of
Cultural Heritage, Beijing Institute of Surveying and Mapping,
Jining Planning Bureau, Jining Bureau of Cultural Heritage,
Jining Museum, Jining Planning Exhibition Hall, Jining Tourism
Association, Xuzhou Port Office Wanzhai Port, Yangzhou Grand
Canal Joint Management Office, Hangzhou Planning Bureau,
Hangzhou Bureau of Gardens and Cultural Heritage and Hangzhou
Canal Group for the