A Study On Gongzhuling Modern City And Architecture

In 1896, in order to plunder the Northeast China and take control of the Far East areas, the Tsarist Russia government undertook the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway-attached lands and its southern branch in Northeast China. Gongzhuling, which served as the obligatory stop on the Chinese Eastern Railway and its southern branch, was south to Lushun, Dalian and north to Harbin, playing a quite significant role of all the attached lands and the southern branch. At that time, Tsarist Russia regarded Gongzhuling as a vital area, and built a second-class station in this place. With the construction of this railway, Gongzhuling gradually developed and became an emerging modern city. The subsequent growth of this city was also inseparable from this railway. Gongzhuling is the locality where important historical events take place in Chinese Modern History. The remains of the historical construction within the Chinese Eastern Railway and its branch-attached lands is indeed the ironclad proof of Tsarist Russia, Japan and other imperialist powers’ aggression against China. They unfold to us a picture of cultural history of the Chinese nation filled up with tears and blood through the continuity of railway, witness Tsarist Russia’s colonialism, Japan’s crime of aggression against China as well as drastic historical changes of national railway development, and remain to become the most cherished spiritual and cultural heritage for us. Not only does these railway remains play a vital role in the historical value, they themselves also possess relatively high industrial value. Therefore, the study on Gongzhuling modern architecture and city appears to be quite necessary. In particular, the architectural relics dated back to the Tsarist Russia period not only meet the needs of people’s living, they also show us the relatively advanced architectural technology in the world at that time, as well as the architectural images with western characteristics different from the architectural styles of our country. As is known to all, modern architecture, which serves as the culture symbol of the city itself, shoulders the function of bearing and spreading culture. What’s more, modern architecture is the foundation of Gongzhuling’s growth and thrive, whose various architectural styles and mature architectural technology have exhibited to us its unique charm and immeasurable developmental prospect. Through the investigation and discussion on the architectural relics, people could work out Gongzhuling’s historical context of that period. In the meantime, it also possesses positive significance to the research, inheritance and development of Gongzhuling modern architecture and its modern architectural culture.This thesis has summarized the characteristics and value of Gongzhuling modern architecture, through the research and analysis of the historical evolution, the urban planning and development, the morphological and technical characteristics of modern architectural remains during the early period of Gongzhuling, the period of Tsarist Russia’s Chinese Eastern Railway-attached lands and its southern branch, the period of South Manchuria Railways Company- attached lands, and the period of Manchukuo. Besides, through the comparative study on the morphological and technical characteristics of the architecture, this thesis has reached the conclusion that both the relatively architectural materials and technology and the architectural elevation forms with typical exotic customs have enlightened the architectural development and urban planning of Gongzhuling city afterwards with positive guiding significance. This thesis aims to undertake a summary of the exchange studies on the modern architectural culture at home and abroad through the investigation and analysis of Chinese modern architecture, as well as lay a foundation for the subsequent discipline research. Thus it can be seen that, to envisage and study the value of these modern architectures themselves is a typical topic that couldn’t be avoided in the process of the development of Gongzhuling.