Exploration Of Chinese Ancient City Walls' Protection

The construction of ancient city walls in China is unparalleled in the world in terms of their rich history and large quantities. Thousands of city walls were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, due to various reasons, some of the ancient city walls were severely sabotaged, even demolished in China in the last few decades. Fortunately, in the process of urbanization, the importance of historical heritages is valued and much attention is paid to the protection of those ancient city walls although a bunch of problems occurres in practice. Therefore, it is of great importance to summarize previous experience and systemize the studies of ancient city wall protection to improve relevant practices in the future.In this paper, the origin and development of city walls were first introduced. Types of city walls and their structure, materials, construction technology and explanation are thoroughly analyzed and categorized, which are the platform for the subsequent theoretical research. Based on the investigation of current conditions of city walls, this paper uncovers the issues of previous protection practices and expatiated on the relevant theories from the perspectives of evaluation, legislation and cultural relic's protection.The balanced feasibility between protection of ancient city walls and modern urbanization is also discussed. The discussion is conducted comprehensively from multiple angles, i.e., society, history, economy, ecosystem, architecture and environment. Appropriate protection principles, methods and strategies are proposed.The conclusions of the study are as follows:1). The protection of ancient city walls in China should be based on a multi-dimensional value system. A thorough and scientific evaluation on the value of ancient city wall in terms of history, culture, emotion and usefulness is the essential motivation to develop and improve their rescue and protection. In addition, the overall demands of the society are needed when balancing all the interests to achieve the optimal results.2). Three basic protection principles: authenticity, systematize and Sustainability. Authenticity study mainly involves with the maintenance and protection of city walls themselves, while the study of systematize and Sustainability serve to balance the protection with modern city development.3). Establishment of a dynamic-integrated protection concept. Specific measures and methods of the protection should be connected with general plan, maintenance and surrounding improvement of city walls. More importantly, the protection of city walls should be integrated into the process of local development.4). Protection strategies should be determined with considerations of law enforcement, public policy and other human factors, especially the establishment of completed assessment system, funding system, management system and flexible incentive system. In addition, appropriate educational programs should be prepared for those governmental officials and professionals who are in charge of the ancient city walls' rescue and protection and the public as well.Since the protection of ancient city walls relies heavily on the actual practices, the theories proposed must be supported by some real cases of the conservation, the last chapter of this paper is a case study of the city calls with the above-mentioned theories proposed.