The Effect Of Western Culture On Modern Parks In ShangHai

Modern times is a historic turn of China, and this joint period's unique characteristic is the blend of western thoughts into politics, economics and daily lives which make the western style flourished in China. During this period, the western culture had greatly influenced our own landscape architecture, then a brand new form had come into being - garden.After Opium War, Shanghai, where the different culture has combined into each other had taken Guangzhou's place and became the entrance of western culture. Shanghai is also one of the most developed regions in China. Its diversity of garden is most suitable for my thesis.In my thesis I tried to redefine some meanings of "western culture", and part of them has greatly changed the outlooks of modern Shanghai gardens. With these points and examples I interpret how and what they influenced these gardens.Firstly, the origins of western garden could be traced to ancientry. From the age of Greece, outdoor lives, social activities and sports games are very popular, the square, stadiums, arenas are the ancestors of today's garden. Old western royals, nobles always like to open their private gardens, hunting park and imperial hunting ground to public. Since 1860s, in order to improve the urban life and city environment, the modern city park has come into being. After Shanghai opened for foreigners in Nov, more and more westerners started to build gardens in Shanghai lease, then lots of city garden rose from the earth.Secondly, during 1990s, west culture has greatly influenced our own culture. We not only borrow their techniques but also their politics, their logic. In order to save our country, domestic had been brought in by those progs as the ultimate weapon. Parks were built for public entertainments, and it was welcomed by democracy and then promoted by it.Thirdly, since westerner had built a lot of gardens in Shanghai lease, those techniques of how to build a garden had also come into China. This makes us to realize that this is some thing new, then lots of people want to apply this kind of method into their own design.Last, because of the introduce of western lives and public entertainments, lots of modem Shanghai gardens were built far from those traditional ones both in function...