Cities 97 (2020) 102489

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City profile

Pingyao: The historic urban landscape and planning for heritage-led urban T
changes
Shaoxu Wang, Kai Gu*
School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Reconciliation of the often conflicting processes of urban conservation and urbanisation has been of academic
Historic urban landscapes and professional interest. The 2011 UNESCO recommendation on the historic urban landscape has provided
Urban world heritage sites guidelines for heritage management, but the ambiguities about its theoretical and practical bases have under-
Urban morphology mined its wider application in diverse urban contexts. The designation of Pingyao as one of the first urban World
Urban landscape management
Heritage Sites in China in 1997 has stimulated tourism, and exemplified further challenges. An urban mor-
Pingyao
phological investigation of Pingyao reveals the historical expressiveness, or historicity of its urban landscape
forms as both spatial-temporal and representational creations. The historic urban landscape approach em-
bodying both integrative and morphological values is fundamental to the formulation of historically-sensitive
and community-based urban development and conservation plans. To achieve sustainable management of urban
changes, integration of such historic urban landscape strategy into the established planning system is needed at
both national and local levels.

1. Introduction urban development and heritage management, ambiguities about its

The conceptualisation of landscape and the interrelations between
the objects that exist together in it have a long history in geographical
thinking (Humboldt, 1845; Peschel, 1876; Schlüter, 1899a, 1899b;
Vidal de la Blache, 1903, 1913). The term landscape refers to an area or
unit shaped by both natural and socio-cultural processes. The areal
character of the landscape units collectively express has form, structure,
and function, and hence position in a system that is subject to devel-
opment (Sauer, 1925). From the 1990s, the integrative potential of the
landscape approach to facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral
collaboration began to attract increasing attention within the cultural
heritage community (Ginzarly, Houbart, & Teller, 2019: 1000). The
Vienna Memorandum of 2005 introduced the concept of historic urban
landscapes, recommending that the management of cultural landscape
of heritage significance be considered in a territorial context that re-
sponds to local cultural traditions and values (UNESCO, 2015). Subse-
quently, the UNESCO recommendation of 2011 on the historic urban
landscape was conceived to establish a balanced and sustainable re-
lationship between the needs of present and future generations and the
legacy from the past, and between the urban and natural environment
(UNESCO, 2011, 2015).
While the recommendation purports to structure and prioritise the
competing socio-economic needs and demands for the integration of
theoretical and practical bases have undermined its wider application
in diverse urban contexts (Pérez & Martínez, 2018: 101). This paper
focuses on the historico-geographical or morphological approach to the
urban landscape, which has considerable, but insufficiently recognised,
potential for strengthening the sustainable management of urban
landscape change (Conzen, 1969; Whitehand, 1981). The morphoge-
netic tradition of landscape research was developed primarily by cen-
tral European geographers (Fritz, 1894; Geisler, 1918, 1924; Hassinger,
1916; Schlüter, 1899a, 1899b). In the mid-twentieth century, Conzen
(1960, 1969) made a major contribution to consolidating morpholo-
gical methods of urban landscape analysis with his study of English
cities. Cartographic-based morphological research helps to articulate
the fundamental and encompassing qualities of physical and social
environments. It complements the collaborative and multidisciplinary
interests of the historic urban landscape approach in the preparation of
urban development and conservation plans. The nature and application
of a more integrated historic urban landscape strategy are discussed
here in relation to the issues of heritage management in China, where
the pressures for change in historical cities are greater than in most
parts of the world.
Chinese cities have undergone unprecedented growth and trans-
formation in the past four decades. A review of research on urban China
suggests that research on small cities, which comprise the majority of

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: shaoxu.wang@auckland.ac.nz (S. Wang), k.gu@auckland.ac.nz (K. Gu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102489
Received 5 December 2018; Received in revised form 19 September 2019; Accepted 22 October 2019
0264-2751/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
S. Wang and K. Gu
Chinese urban settlements, is limited. One of the key driving forces of
rapid urbanisation is now development in central China, where suc-
cessive transformations of the Chinese economy have created a sig-
nificant influence on many small cities (Xiong, 2015). This paper is
devoted to a historico-geographical investigation of the transformation
of Pingyao, a small historical city located within Shanxi province in
central China, about 94 km south-west of the provincial capital of
Taiyuan and about 500 km south-west of Beijing. Like many other small
cities in this part of China, Pingyao struggled to achieve growth and
prosperity until the late 1990s. Because of its exceptional state of pre-
servation, it was added to the List of Precious Chinese Historico-Cul-
tural Cities (Lishi Wenshua Mingcheng) in 1986, and in 1997, together
with Lijiang, it was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
This has stimulated major social and economic changes.
The historical urban landscape has been an essential element in
Pingyao’s socio-cultural identity and economic development. A con-
siderable number of historical areas in Pingyao have been and are being
redeveloped. Similarly to many other historical cities in China and more
widely, there is a great need for a sound basis for the management of
urban landscape change. UNESCO’s recommendation on the historic
urban landscape has been attracting increasing interest (Shao, 2016;
Van Oers & Roders, 2013), however, issues remain with regard to in-
consistent methods and ineffective planning implementation. This
paper addresses the following questions: in light of evolving social and
economic conditions, what are the challenges facing conservation
planning for urban World Heritage Sites in China?; to what extent can
UNESCO’s historic urban landscape recommendation help to improve
urban landscape management?; and, in what way can the morpholo-
gical approach contribute to the practice and conceptual construct of
UNESCO’s historic urban landscape recommendation?
The morphological investigation of Pingyao is supported by field
observation, literature and cartographic reviews of the development of
the city, and socio-economic data analysis. Sources of information in-
clude local gazetteers, documentary records and government publica-
tions, and new and historical maps and plans. The morphological
method is revisited in light of recent research on landscape approaches
and in relation to challenges with the implementation of UNESCO’s
historic urban landscape recommendation. Based on the identification
of morphological periods and resulting urban landscape divisions, this
paper articulates the historical expressiveness, or historicity of the
urban landscape forms in Pingyao. Problems in conservation planning
have resulted in discrepancies between planning and development
realities. Finally, historico-geographical research is essential for con-
necting place, people and planning. As such, the integrative and mor-
phological values of the historic urban landscape approach are funda-
mental to the sustainable management of urban changes.
2. Urban landscape approaches and urban landscape management
Humboldt (1845) was perhaps the first attempt to unify diverse
branches of scientific knowledge and culture into an integrated view of
landscape. His conceptualisation bridges natural-spatial conditions and
societal developments in the study of the landscape. The development
of landscape approaches from the 1980s, including landscape archae-
ology, landscape urbanism and landscape ecology has been particularly
inspired by the geographical tradition of landscape research (Arts et al.,
2017). The aim is to integrate distinct theoretical perspectives to ad-
dress the complex layering of various aspects of the landscape.
The development of the landscape approach to heritage conserva-
tion since the 1990s is part of the wider interest in the epistemological
value of the landscape (Taylor & Lennon, 2011). Van Oers (2010) ar-
gued that historic urban landscape is as much about buildings and
spaces, as about rituals and values that people bring into the city. This
concept encompasses layers of symbolic significance, intangible heri-
tage, perception of values, and interconnections between the composite
elements of the historic urban landscape, as well as local knowledge
2
Cities 97 (2020) 102489
including building practices and management of natural resources. Its
usefulness resides in the notion that it incorporates a capacity for
change. Its recent research has advanced along three major lines
(Ginzarly et al., 2019): a holistic dimension that encompasses physico-
spatial, mental and functional process-related views of the landscape;
an integrative perspective involving sciences and humanities as well as
cultural and natural heritage; and a value-based approach emphasising
collaboration with communities to grasp the different values supporting
dialogue about why a specific object is of conservation interest. Pursued
by UNESCO after 2011, the idea of historic urban landscapes focuses on
the creation of an overarching tool to secure their evolutionary devel-
opment of historic urban landscapes, taking into account issues of
sustainable development as well as geo-cultural distinctiveness and
identity (Rodwell, 2009, 78).
UNESCO’s World Heritage List provides a reflection on, and ex-
pression of, the diversity and distinctiveness of cultural heritage (Lv,
2016; Taylor, 2004). But attempts to apply conservation values to dy-
namic and heterogeneous urban landscapes have led to controversies
concerning urban World Heritage Site designation. How such lived
places should be managed and their authenticity defined and protected
have been contentious in the management of urban World Heritage
Sites (Pendlebury, Short, & While, 2009; Zhang, 2017). UNESCO’s
historic urban landscape recommendation is seen as a solution, as it
regards heritage as the engine for the development of both historic
environments and the entire urban territory (Martínez, 2016; UNESCO,
2011).
The historic urban landscape recommendation is fundamentally
linked to the integrative value of the traditional conceptualisation of
landscape. However, its current practices tend to be broad brush,
especially when assessing spatial structuring and the historical char-
acter of landscapes (see, for example, UNESCO, 2016). Urban landscape
management to large extent is a physical or tactile process involving
mapping, shaping and connecting of landscapes. It is thus surprising
that the morphological approach to the structure of the urban land-
scape, which has the potential to strengthen the theoretical and prac-
tical bases of the historic urban landscape strategy, has received very
limited attention (Thomas, 2018; Whitehand, 2015).
Between the late 1950s and the late 1980s, MRG Conzen made a
major contribution to the development of urban morphology and its use
in urban conservation (Conzen, 1960, 1975). According to Conzen
(1969), form and process are inseparable, and social and spatial rela-
tions and the geographical setting are important in distinguishing,
characterising and explaining urban landscapes. The relationship be-
tween morphological periods and the spatial groupings of form ele-
ments provides the basis for recognising the urban landscape divisions
that are significant for understanding urban areas. These urban land-
scape divisions embody the efforts and experiences of communities and
provide a resource for improving the quality and character of an urban
area. The act of physical and cognitive mapping is central to urban
morphology and is used for representing and producing the landscape
(Mitchell, 2002). Morphological fieldwork allows deep engagement
with the complexities of landscape forms, including better under-
standing of smaller features that cumulatively create character, the
factors that shape the lived experience and the genius loci (Larkham,
2018). Cartographic- and field-based historico-geographical investiga-
tion is particularly relevant to urban master and conservation plans.
In 1985, China joined UNESCO’s Convention Concerning the
Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and became a
member of ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and
Sites). Pingyao was designated a World Heritage Sites in China in 1997.
About two decades after its designation, Pingyao is facing increasing
conflict between urban conservation and attempts by local authorities
to extract economic benefits. The current situation has created an en-
vironment congenial to a critical examination of UNESCO’s historic
urban landscape recommendation.
S. Wang and K. Gu Cities 97 (2020) 102489

Fig. 1. Pingyao and the County of Pingyao in Shanxi in 2014. Source: The People’s Government of Pingyao (2018).

3. Pingyao: its historico-geographical development and resulting (1949–1997) and recent development (post–1997). Each morphological
spatial pattern period is a phase of cultural history that creates distinctive material
forms in the cultural landscape to suit the particular socio-economic
As the seat of Pingyao county under the prefecture-level city of needs of the society at that time (Conzen, 1969; 2004: 251–252).
Jinzhong, Pingyao is at the lower level of the urban administrative
system in China (Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016:
3.1. Pre-industrial development (pre–1949)
39) (Fig. 1). By the end of 2011, Pingyao occupied 27 km² and had a
population of approximately 120,000 (Compiling Committee for
The understanding of the pre-industrial development of Pingyao is
Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 302–304). It consists of two distinct areas: a
in large part based on morphological inference. The structure of the
historical area mainly confined to a roughly square walled area of some
walled area can be understood in terms of lines of hypothesised former
2.25 km², and a new town outside the wall, which has mostly developed
and extant city walls, present axial streets (Beidajie, Xidajie, Dongdajie
since1949.
and Nandajie), the recurrence of an ancient street-grid module, and
A number of local gazetteers compiled in 1618, 1674, 1707, 1883,
rectilinear street systems in areas created since the fourteenth century
1999 and 2016 comprise the principal historical records for Pingyao.
(Whitehand & Gu, 2007) (Fig. 3).
The information they contain relates largely to the period since the
The history of city-wall building in Pingyao is unclear until the early
fourteenth century. Pingyao’s beginnings would seem to long pre-date
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), when the existing wall was further ex-
historical records, possibly c. 2600 – c. 2100 B.C. (Compiling
tended towards the north and west, resulting in an increase in wall
Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 1999: 2). A series of historical maps
length of nearly 50 per cent. There is one city gate in each of the
appear in the gazetteers, including of Pingyao marked within its region
northern and southern stretches of the wall and two in each of the
in the nineteenth century, and of the city itself in the Ming dynasty
eastern and western stretches (Du, 2002: 38–43). In line with the major
(1368–1644), 1707 and 1883 (Fig. 2). These maps, similar to most
wind direction of summer and spring, the squared city slants 15 degrees
traditional Chinese urban cartography (Gu & Zhang, 2014), contain
off the north-south line. With a total length of 6 km, the Pingyao city
very limited planimetric information and only show general street
wall is 8–12 m wide at its base, 3–6 m wide at its top, just over 10 m
systems and key landmarks, such as religious sites, large institutional
high, and protected by a moat. The fourteenth century city wall has
structures and gardens.
long been the most prominent landscape feature in Pingyao (Fig. 4).
Pingyao lies on a trade route linking Beijing with western China that
There is a slight slope from south-east to north-west within the walled
has been important since the seventh century A.D. Benefitting from its
city area. The slightly elevated land in southern part of the city was the
strategic location, Pingyao has a long history as an important admin-
favoured area for large religious and institutional buildings.
istrative and market centre within its region (Compiling Committee for
A recurrent feature in the walled city is a spacing of approximately
Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 2). Its historical development consists of three
184 m between main streets (Whitehand & Gu, 2007: 98). These street
morphological periods: pre-industrial (pre–1949), socialist
blocks constitute significant morphological frames that give a historical

3
S. Wang and K. Gu
Fig. 2. Historical Maps of Pingyao: (a) Piangyao in its region in the nineteenth century from Gazetteer of Pingyao (Guangxu edition) (reproduced from Song, 2000: 1)
; (b) the town in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) from Gazetteer of Pingyao (Kangxi edition) (reproduced from Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 1999:
76); (c) the town in 1707 from Gazetteer of Pingyao (Kangxi edition) (reproduced from Du, 2002: 6); (d) the town in 1883 from Gazetteer of Pingyao (Guangxu
edition) (reproduced from Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 1999: 77).
grain to the city. The predominant building type is the traditional
courtyard house with a symmetrical layout and south-facing entrance in
accord with the principles of fengshui. In 2011, there were about 400
well-preserved courtyard houses within the walled area, which were
mostly built in the Qing period (1616–1911) (Compiling Committee for
Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 167). Most institutional complexes adopted
courtyard layouts resembling those of ordinary residential buildings,
but generally the courtyards were much larger and more numerous and
the main buildings grander. As was traditional for most Chinese cities,
in contrast to the dominant residential land-use area, the commercial
core occupies only a small fraction of the area within the city wall in
Pingyao.
Along with other merchants of Shanxi, Pingyao merchants were
engaged in tea and fur trade with Russia and Mongolia in the eighteenth
century (Du, 2002: 174–175). They gradually built extensive financial
networks and accumulated capital, which prepared them well for a shift
into banking. In the early nineteenth century, domestic rebellions often
blocked trade routes and moving silver ingots became unsafe. The
merchants thus responded by opening piaohao (an early type of bank) to
provide remittance services for themselves and other inter-regional
traders (Wang, 2014). Following the opening of the first piaohao in
1823, Pingyao flourished as a major financial centre in China (Du,
2002: 198–229). In the 1850s, piaohao began to remit fiscal revenues on
behalf of various Qing provincial authorities until 1895, when Qing
court began to reclaim financial sovereignty from private banking
firms, and piaohao shrank in size and scope (Wang, 2014). However, the
city experienced great economic prosperity between the mid-nineteenth
century and the early twentieth century.
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Cities 97 (2020) 102489
Influenced by Western traditions of planning and design, there was
significant modern urban development (1842–1949) in a number of
treaty port cities. But like many cities in the hinterland, development in
Pingyao continued almost entirely along traditional lines. With the
spread of the New Cultural Movement during the first two to three
decades of the twentieth century, many historical institutional build-
ings suffered damage and their sites were often used for other institu-
tional purposes (Du, 2002: 79–115). For example, Wenmiao became a
modern primary school in 1904 (Du, 2002: 83); Qingxuguan (a Taoism
temple) was used for military purposes in 1926 (Du, 2002: 98); and
Jifusi was occupied by the police service from the 1910s (Du, 2002:
114). Further destruction of institutional buildings occurred during the
Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1945. Notably, a railway linking
Taiyuan and Jiexiu was completed in 1934, with a railway station built
in that year about 0.5 km north-west of the walled city.
3.2. Socialist development (1949–1997)
Pingyao was essentially a pre-industrial city until the Second World
War. Like many other Chinese cities, after 1949 Pingyao was greatly
affected by the socialist development policy of transforming commer-
cial cities into industrial cities, and the manufacture of textiles and
agricultural machinery became of major importance. Publicly-owned
work units (danweis) proliferated (Compiling Committee for Pingyao
Gazetteer, 1999: 253–257). These were generally walled compounds,
each containing a workplace and residential accommodation and social
facilities for those employed in the workplace. They were created not
only as extensions to the city beyond its walls, but also within the
S. Wang and K. Gu
Fig. 3. Ground plan of the historical area and the Heritage Conservation Units in Pingyao. Source: Shanxi Research Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and Design
(c. 2000).
walled city, where a number of sites previously occupied by courtyard
housing or institutions were redeveloped. As a result of the conversion
of many old residential and large religious sites into multi-family
courtyard houses, the population within the fourteenth century wall
increased rapidly (Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 1999:
141).
Because of the availability of space, new danweis tended to be lo-
cated in the vicinity of the line of the city wall. A number of danweis
that require direct access to transport, such as the oil depot, the food
supply bureau, and the timber processing company, were established
adjacent to the railway station. Further, during the Cultural Revolution,
many landmark structures such as city walls, gates and big institutional
buildings were demolished as they represented the ‘old’ society.
Since the economic reforms initiated in 1978, Pingyao has been
affected by the rapid rise of privately-owned enterprises. In order to
modernise the city, 180 m of the western end of Xidajie (West Street)
was widened in 1981 and many historical buildings were demolished.
Large-scale modern buildings, such as the Guest House of Pingyao and
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Cities 97 (2020) 102489
the High School of Pingyao were built within the city’s walled area in
1986 (Ruan, 2003: 20–26). A new commercial core, including depart-
ment stores, was developed in the area outside the western stretch of
the wall. However, Pingyao remained a relative backwater economic-
ally during much of the twentieth century. The growth and change seen
in Pingyao before the late 1990s was representative of numerous small
cities in China.
3.3. Recent development (post–1997)
The tourist potential of Pingyao has been recognised since the
1980s, both within China and internationally. As a result, Pingyao has
undergone major changes associated with its functional transformation
from principally a service and agricultural centre for the region, to
become a national, and increasingly international tourist centre. The
revenue from tourism urbanisation increased from 1.08 million RMB
(US$ 134,000) in 1997 to 145 million RMB (US$ 18 million) in 2011
(Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 3), as the number
S. Wang and K. Gu
Fig. 4. Aerial view of Pingyao from the south-east (the southern city-wall park is in the centre foreground). Source: Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer
(2016: 5).
of tourists increased from 24,000 to 650,000 over the same period
(Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 543–544). Driven
by the tourism economy, the service industry accounted for 46 per cent
of the total GDP in 2011. The level of urbanisation, measured as the
proportion of the total population of the County of Pingyao living in
urban areas, increased from 16% in 1997 to 53% in 2011. In the same
year, GDP per capita for Pingyao was 21,544 RMB (US$ 2,693) still
below the national average.
Since 1997, over 100 danweis (including many public services) and
many of their employees have been relocated from the old city to the
new town (Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 3). In
2001, the walled historical core had a population of approximately
35,000 residents and 11,549 households (Zhang, 2001: 274). By the end
of 2011, only about 21,740 residents and 10,550 households remained
in the walled area (Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016:
99). A series of large-scale urban redevelopments and restoration pro-
jects were initiated on former danwei sites. The new town now ac-
commodates key social, economic and cultural services for local re-
sidents. In contrast to 2001, when about 65% of roads were unpaved
(Zhang, 2001: 282), most roads are now hard-surfaced.
Real-estate projects have been one of the most dynamic develop-
ment activities on the fringe of Pingyao. For example, Yanfeng-Qiuyu
New Town, which is located in the south-eastern part of Pingyao is a
commercial residential projects initiated by the Yanfeng Real Estate
Company in 2004. By 2006, 15 multi-storey buildings and two build-
ings of 16 storeys had been built. The complex comprising 26 multi-
storey and high-rise buildings in art-deco style was completed in 2011.
As with most property developments, land values and profit determine
physical appearances. The Yanfeng-Qiuyu New Town exhibits a high-
density form (Plate d, Table 1). Because of the involvement of architects
from Beijing, Shenzhen and Taiyuan, site plans and architecture of
buildings generally reflect commercialism and design trends of large
cities.
The displacement of local residents and rapid tourism urbanisation
have affected local communities. The traditional CBD of the city has
become increasingly tourist oriented over the last two to three decades,
to the extent that the tourist trade is now its prime function. The gov-
ernment has purchased private properties and transformed them into
tourism destinations (Wang, 2008). Most of the approximately 200
tourist shops are concentrated along the urban axial streets, including
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Cities 97 (2020) 102489
Nandajie, Dongdajie and Xidajie (Fig. 5).
3.4. The structure of the urban landscape
These historico-geographical dynamics have resulted in the forma-
tion of four distinct concentric zones in Pingyao (Fig. 6 and Table 1):
the walled city, the fortification and city-wall park, the danwei zone,
and the new housing and commercial zone. The walled city largely
retains the ancient street layout and much of the plot pattern of a tra-
ditional administrative, commercial and agricultural centre. It accom-
modates most of the city’s tourist attractions. By 2006, five sites had
been designated as national ‘Heritage Conservation Units’ (HCUs,
Wenwu Baohu Danwei). These are Qingxuguan, the city wall, Wenmiao,
Chenghuangmiao and the Rishengchang (the first bank in Pingyao). In
addition, two sites were designated as historic at the provincial level,
and 16 at the county level. These are mostly private courtyard houses,
draft bank compounds, and institutional complexes (Compiling
Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 1065–1070). These historical
sites and buildings have been the major cultural resources for tourism
development since the 1990s (Wang, 2008).
The fortification and city wall park comprises the fortification
structures (the city wall, the glacis and the moat), the roads bordering
them and wall parks. This entire fortification area has been beautified,
notably by tree planting in areas just inside and outside the wall. A little
further out is a zone of mainly open space mostly adjacent to the for-
tification area, much of which has been planted with trees or converted
into public gardens or parkland. Large areas of this zone were pre-
viously occupied by agriculture on the northern side, military barracks
and related uses on the western side, and housing on the southern side.
The large-scale clearance of housing has made way for what is essen-
tially a very large, open approach to the southern entrance of the walled
city.
The danwei zone reveals striking physical evidence of the impact of
the industrialisation and associated social change that affected so many
Chinese cities during the first few decades of the post-war period.
Almost all the danweis within the wall were created after 1949 on what
were previously religious sites or vacant land. Since the 1990s, many
danweis have been largely concealed from the streets by shopfront
buildings. In contrast to the carefully managed tourist areas, non-tourist
areas are generally shabby and poorly maintained. This zone also
S. Wang and K. Gu Cities 97 (2020) 102489

Table 1
The structure of the urban landscape in Pingyao.
Sources: Shanxi Research Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and Design (c. 2000), 2002–2004), and authors’ photographs 2011–2017.
Distinct concentric zones Urban landscape features Issues in urban landscape management

The walled city Mixture of traditional courtyards and modern The building of pseudo-historical structures; the
buildings; mixture of through streets in grid pattern, decentralisation and displacement of local
rectilinear street systems, culs-de-sac; mixtures of large residents; ineffective development control.
and small plots; mixed land-use pattern

Fortification and city-wall park Roughly squared city wall; higher proportion of open Disconnection between the landscape
ground and lower building coverage; lower street architectural plans and the understanding of the
density and greater vegetative cover process of urban development

Danwei zone (including other Mainly multi-storey modern buildings; self-reliant Low permeability; poor integration into urban
residential and commercial enclosed compounds in various forms and sizes; mixed fabric; poor property management
areas) land-use pattern

New residential and Mixture of multi-storey and high-rise modern Negative spatial impact on the historical urban
commercial zone buildings; gated communities of various sizes; mixed landscape; poor coordination of the distribution
land-use pattern of resources between old and new urban areas

human activities. Created in various morphological periods, the urban

landscapes of Pingyao appear fragmentary and lack continuity.
Nevertheless, the creation of enclosed space has continued as plans and
building forms have evolved over history. Further, the south-north or-
ientation has remained dominant in building design and the influence
of fengshui principles is widespread. Surviving from the distant past, the
constraints of the traditional plot pattern also continue to have a
powerful influence on urban redevelopment projects. However, in the
past two decades, the booming economy has stimulated changes to the
very landscape forms that are the main basis of Pingyao’s new pros-
perity.

4. Planning and managing urban change in Pingyao: ideal and

reality

Fig. 5. The streetscape of Nandajie (Shilou, a historical landmark of about
18.5 m high, is in the background). Source: Authors’ photograph, 2012.
includes some traditional residential and commercial areas.
The new commercial housing projects, schools and industrial de-
velopment zones built on the city fringe in the past 15 or so years ex-
hibit some distinctive new features. The locations of gated communities
are usually close to major transportation corridors and social services,
such as commercial facilities, schools and parks. Similarly to danweis,
the gated communities are also enclosed by walls and gates and most
are supervised by guards. Although large-scale communities have mini-
stores, kindergartens and clubs, their residents usually depend heavily
on urban public services.
As a result of its long development history, Pingyao presents a
complex layering of social and physical landscape forms. The historicity
of Pingyao’s urban landscape is the preponderant character or genius
loci of the city. The morphological approach provides a systematic,
explanatory research framework within which urban landscapes are
situated and contextualised against the socio-cultural development of
Recent development and urban landscape management in Pingyao
has been guided by a series of government regulations, master plans
and conservation plans. Table 2 shows some of the key documents,
prepared mostly in accordance with guidelines created by the Ministry
of Culture (incorporated within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in
2018) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (in-
corporated within the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2018). The
former Ministry of Culture was in charge of the preservation of historic
sites and monuments, whereas the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural
Development had authority over spatial and conservation planning for
historic cities. The designation of Heritage Conservation Units and
Historico-Cultural Conservation Areas has formed the basis of urban
conservation in China.
In 1982, a master plan for Pingyao was prepared by a team of Tongji
University. Conservation was given priority in the plan, and a new town
proposed outside the western stretch of the city wall to accommodate
urban growth. ‘Important conservation areas’, ‘regular conservation
areas’ and ‘areas that need to be redeveloped’ were distinguished in the
plan. However, the plan had a limited effect on the management of the
historical urban landscape (Whitehand & Gu, 2007). In the 1996 Master

7
S. Wang and K. Gu Cities 97 (2020) 102489

Fig. 6. Urban landscape zones in Pingyao 2015. Sources: Authors’ field survey, Dizhitu (2015) and Whitehand, Gu, Whitehand et al. (2011: 51).

Plan for Pingyao, tourism was identified as the primary function of the
old city, with partial displacement of the population within the walled
area set in place so that not more than 22,000 would be living in the old
city by 2010. Provision for and design of public open spaces and re-
tention and enhancement of existing buildings were clearly proposed.
Fig. 7 shows the proposed land-use zones of Pingyao in the 1999 re-
vision of the Master Plan for Pingyao. Linear green corridors were to
establish along the city wall line, the River Liugen and the River Huiji.
Urban expansion south and west was to be accomplished with new
residential land use. The spatial coordination of tourism development
and other urban functions and activities relating to the historical urban
fabric was the primary focus of the plans.
Two major conservation plans have been prepared for Pingyao. The
first is the Conservation Plan for the Historico-Cultural City of Pingyao
drawn up by Tongji University and Shanxi Research Institute of Urban
and Rural Planning and Design in 1989. The other is the Detailed
Conservation Plan for the World Heritage City of Pingyao prepared by
Shanxi Research Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and Design in

Table 2
Key urban planning documents prepared for Pingyao.
Sources: Compiling Committee for Pingyao Gazetteer (2016: 173–174).
Year Title Prepared by Summary

1982 (approved in Master Plan for Pingyao Tongji University Outlined the development of a new town outside the city wall to
1985) accommodate urban growth; distinguished a hierarchy of
conservation areas.
1989 Conservation Plan for the Historico-Cultural Tongji University and Shanxi Identified four tiers of conservation areas and corresponding
City of Pingyao Research Institute of Urban and management policies.
Rural Planning and Design
1996 (revised in Master Plan for Pingyao Jinzhong Planning and Design Identified tourism as the primary function of the old city;
1999) Office provision for and design of public open spaces and retention and
enhancement of existing buildings
1998 (revised in Regulations for Urban Conservation in The Standing Committee of Shanxi Specified responsibilities of provincial and local government
2018) Pingyao People's Congress agencies in urban conservation; identified principles for urban
conservation, urban redevelopment and tourism development.
2005 Detailed Conservation Plan for the World Shanxi Research Institute of Urban Identified conservation areas and distinguished a hierarchy of
Heritage City of Pingyao and Rural Planning and Design conservation priorities and conservation policies; assessed
architectural value and quality of buildings for urban landscape
management.
2004 Development Plan for the Tourism Destination Xiaoan Wei, Tourism Consultant Identified issues and challenges facing tourism development in
of Pingyao Pingyao; established a regional tourism framework.
2009 Management Plan for the World Heritage City Tongji University Specified responsibilities of local government agencies in urban
of Pingyao conservation and; funding mechanism for heritage conservation.
2015 Conservation Management Guideline for Tongji University Outlined a work programme to implement the objectives of urban
Traditional Courtyard Houses and conservation, including how developments will be implemented,
Environment in the Ancient City of Pingyao a phasing schedule and a financial model for the proposed work.

8
S. Wang and K. Gu
Fig. 7. Proposed land use in the Master Plan for Pingyao 1999. Source: Shanxi Research Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and Design, and the National Research
Centre for Precious Heritage Towns and Cities at Tongji University and Pingyao Urban and Rural Construction Bureau (2000) and Shanxi Research Institute of Urban
and Rural Planning and Design (2005: 18).
2005. In addition to specifying key conservation principles, both plans
seek to identify conservation areas, distinguish a hierarchy of con-
servation priorities, and develop appropriate conservation policies. The
1989 plan has played a major role in protecting the old city of Pingyao,
particularly its significant historical sites and monuments, and formed
the basis for conservation regulations prepared by the local government
in 1998. Key planning methods in the 2005 plan remain essentially the
same as in the 1989 plan, four tiers of conservation areas and corre-
sponding management policies identified within the walled area. De-
tailed policies have been prepared in relation to preserving, renovating
or reconstructing buildings in different categories. At the micro-scale,
assessments of the architectural value and quality of buildings are the
primary basis for managing urban landscape change.
Pingyao is required to prepare its management plan following
UNESCO’s recommendation. The first management plan was released in
2009. The plan specified the responsibilities of local government
agencies in urban conservation, established a heritage database and
proposed funding mechanism for heritage conservation. The
Conservation Management Guideline for Traditional Courtyard Houses
and Environment in the Ancient City of Pingyao (also entitled Practical
Conservation Guidelines for Traditional Courtyard Houses and
Environment in the Ancient City of Pingyao) was published in 2015.
The document outlined a programme of work for implementing the
objectives of urban conservation, including how developments will be
implemented, a phasing schedule and a financial model for the pro-
posed work.
Pingyao has been successful in using urban heritage to promote
9
Cities 97 (2020) 102489
local places of interest and began much-anticipated revitalisation.
However, underlying this latest wave of change is a legacy of ill-in-
formed development strategies and missed opportunities. In particular,
the definition of heritage authenticity at the urban level is still loosely
formulated and frequently influenced by researchers’ experience (Zhu,
2015), local authorities tend to preserve only a few monuments and
substitute other historical sites with pseudo-historical structures, the
historic urban landscape is frequently treated as a static entity or loose
assemblage of places without considering its development history and
coherence (Conzen, Gu, & Whitehand, 2012), and community life has
been diminished as a result of the displacement of local residents (Yao,
Su, & Na, 2018). This disconnection between place, people and plan-
ning is an acknowledged problem.
In pursuit of political and economic benefits, local authorities in
Pingyao have shaped a ‘new’ and ‘complete’ image of urban areas in
many cases, rather than leaving them in a state of dilapidation. Many
reconstructions are based on designers’ empirical experience or general
historical knowledge. The resulting misinterpretations and destruction
of the old city threaten the integrity of the traditional urban fabric. The
reconstruction of old buildings on their original sites is widespread in
the process of urban redevelopment. One example is Qingxuguan near
the upper eastern city gate (Qinhanmen), with a land area of 5,891 m².
It was originally built in 657 A.D. (the Tang period) in a courtyard
layout. During the first half of the twentieth century, it was first con-
verted into a school and then a military storage facility (1926–1949).
From 1949, it was occupied by Pingyao Agricultural Bureau. Over time,
many historical buildings in the complex were seriously damaged
S. Wang and K. Gu
during the process of land-use changes. Following building restoration,
it resumed its original religious function in 1979 (Du, 2002: 98). The
entire building complex was fully restored during the 1990s, mainly for
tourism purposes. In association with political-economic changes, many
former religious sites were similarly transformed into danweis and later
to tourist attractions.
The development of the city-wall park to provide views of the wall,
especially from the outside and ring roads, have been central to plan-
ning in Pingyao. In 2005, a design proposal from a French consultancy,
Agence d’Architecture A. Bechu, was adopted for the creation of an
extensive park outside the southern stretch of the city wall. The project
entailed the demolition of large areas of single-storey, but high-density
housing and the relocation of 1,038 households (Compiling Committee
for Pingyao Gazetteer, 2016: 205). The southern city wall park seems to
have been successful, at least in increasing much-needed public open
space and promoting the image of the city. However, the redevelop-
ment project has insufficient grounding in the historical development of
the city, with little attempt made to relate it to urban landscape change
more generally.
In the preparation of conservation plans for Pingyao, planners have
been conscious of the importance of the cultural heritage of the city.
However, traditional methods of urban conservation are derived prin-
cipally from land-use planning, and, as a result, a conservation plan that
is founded on a thorough investigation of the historical development of
urban form has not been achieved (Whitehand, Gu, & Whitehand,
2011). With regard to the area-based conservation planning, the vague
criteria for identifying conservation areas and the inconsistency in de-
limiting their boundaries have been detrimental to the credibility of
conservation planning and its efficient implementation. Little attention
is given to the relationship of buildings, sites and conservation areas to
their surroundings.
There has been no policy support for retaining the original in-
habitants and their life styles in the traditional urban area, with major
displacement of local residents occurring. The dominant top-down po-
litical system has marginalised the participation of local residents in
urban planning and tourism development initiatives. In term of tourism
development in relation to the city, one cannot ignore the fact that the
geographical space of the city is primarily a lived space created by local
people (Simmons, 1994). It is difficult to differentiate tourist sites from
local spaces because tourism and local recreation are increasingly in-
tertwined. As a result of the implementation of the master plans,
neighborhood-based places and activities have tended to diminish. For
instance, Fanjiajie, an area of 30 courtyard houses in the south-western
corner of the old town, lost 45% of its residents after the implementa-
tion of a redevelopment plan in 2009 (Yao et al., 2018).
5. Planning for heritage-led urban changes: the historic urban
landscape approach
In response to the rapid adaptation and redevelopment of historical
urban landscapes taking place in most parts of the world in the past two
to three decades, considerable effort has been devoted to reconciling
urban conservation with the demand for growth. Supported by the
World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the
Pacific Region (WHITR-AP), the Shanghai Agenda for the
Implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic
Urban Landscape was developed in 2014 (Van Oers & Roders, 2013).
Three objectives were identified in the document: the management of
change, the improvement of living conditions for local populations and
communities, and the creation of a virtuous cycle in urban conserva-
tion. Some of the tools that need to be developed as part of an im-
plementation process involving different stakeholders, include: civic
engagement tools, knowledge and planning tools, regulatory systems
and financial tools (UNESCO, 2016).
UNESCO’s historic urban landscape recommendation seeks to ad-
dress the tensions between the desire to preserve a sense of the past,
10
Cities 97 (2020) 102489
and recognition that heritage cities are the product of layers of devel-
opment and habitation. In Chinese cities, the historic urban landscape
strategy needs to be infused into the processes for developing urban
master and conservation plans. The use of morphological analysis in
map-based urban landscape management merits more systematic re-
search and professional attention, and the integration of the historic
urban landscape strategy into the existing planning system, including
national guidelines and regulations for plan-making processes, is of
paramount importance.
The historico-geographical approach recognises the historic urban
landscape as the ‘objectivation of the spirit’ of the successive commu-
nities that have inhabited it (Conzen, 1969). Observable features are
expressions of those communities’ aspirations, efforts and experiences;
and objectivation spans from a single building to the configuration of an
entire town or city is formed from the accumulated and collective ex-
periences and assets. The basic process for developing historic urban
landscape management is to undertake a morphological analysis of a
study area of any scale and distinguish its urban landscape divisions in
terms of their detailed morphological characteristics. The character-
istics are then used as the basis for development control for each di-
vision. Morphological analysis is not only a case of descriptive classi-
fication, but can also be used to inform generative processes.
In the case of Pingyao, strategies for urban landscape management
should be prepared according to the identification and characterisation
of its principal urban landscape divisions: the walled city, the for-
tification and city-wall park, the danwei zone, and the new housing and
commercial zone. These urban landscape divisions, albeit internal
variations, requires different management strategies in terms of plan-
ning intervention and policy support. The historic areas should not be
treated as isolated ‘islands’ in the master and conservation plans for
Pingyao. Rather, they should be intertwined with other urban features
and recognition given to their capability for playing a structural role in
reconnecting the ‘historic’ and ‘modern’ city and further guiding and
improving urban development. In parallel with more effective devel-
opment control of the historical area, the establishment of community
identity in relation to local traditions should also be a priority in
planning for outward urban expansion.
Urban design and place-making have become important tools for
driving urban development that is responsive to the needs of both local
communities and tourists. They make use of existing elements and also
create additional elements, as needed, for reconstructing spatial unity
and continuity. The adoption of inclusive urban design and place-
making practices that are based on an understanding of the evolu-
tionary process of places can strengthen the connection between people
and places, and between old and new structures. More strategic, holistic
urban design and place-making strategies that engage all stakeholders
can enhance place identity and character and help avoid repeating the
development experience of larger cities. Unfortunately, the potential of
morphological urban design and place-making has not been made clear
in planning in Pingyao.
6. Conclusion
Despite the increasing application of the UNESCO recommendation
on the historic urban landscape in the heritage conservation commu-
nity, consideration of the use of geographical urban morphology in
research and practice has hitherto been limited (Palaiologou, 2017).
This communication gap is intriguing, given both approaches are
rooted in classic geographical thinking around landscape. The historical
urban landscape can be observed and experienced. And it can be ob-
served and experienced through urban morphology and within the
cultural framework of those who have created and sustained it.
Developed over the last century, the morphological methods, albeit
investigated largely by urban morphologists, provide a systematic fra-
mework for distinguishing and characterising the structure of the urban
landscape according to the understanding of its development history.
S. Wang and K. Gu
While urban landscape management is far more than physical planning,
urban morphological research provides a source of evidence relating to
processes. Whitehand (1977: 402) stated that ‘the actual outcome of
decisions in the landscape, though it is an imperfect record, is an im-
mensely detailed testimony to past events and may well be a more re-
liable guide to the process than ostensibly more direct records of the
decision involved.’ Because of the paramount interest in the continuity
of the evolutionary process of the historic urban landscape as well as
social-cultural development, urban morphology can contribute to the
implementation of UNESCO’s recommendations on the historic urban
landscape.
The historic city of Pingyao is in a state of exceptional flux. In light
of the intensifying pressures for change, urban development in Pingyao
is at a critical juncture. The dynamic identity and changing character of
cities can be represented through identification of the structures, places
and other traditional cultural elements of historical urban landscapes
and the analysis of their historical contexts and evolution. The im-
plementation of the historic urban landscape strategy will thus not be
successful unless it clearly addresses the historic urban landscape as an
outcome of natural, cultural and socio-economic processes that con-
struct it spatially, temporally, and experientially and how to change
places in ways that respect and draw on their historical patterns.
In association with the mobility of capital and the involvement of
experts from other regions, the recent changes to Pingyao have been
influenced by the development experiences of large cities. The pre-
paration of the master plans has involved academics and professionals
from Taiyuan, Shanghai and other larger cities and the planning
methods have largely influenced by national guidelines. As such, the
historic urban landscape strategy needs to be incorporated into national
guidelines and regulations for plan-making processes. This will require
the endorsement of policy decision makers and better coordination
between government agencies. More effective cooperation between the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Housing and
Urban-Rural Development and their corresponding local offices is im-
portant to ensure well integrated urban planning and heritage man-
agement.
In the course of industrial and tourism development, Pingyao has
suffered from the tendency to prioritise material and economic goals
over the basic cultural and spiritual needs of local communities.
Historically-sensitive and community-based urban landscape manage-
ment that include urban design and place-making is thus a particularly
important social and professional task. Treating the historic urban
landscape as infrastructure for liveable cities is essential to ensuring the
continuity of local culture and reconnecting the people and the places
that together comprise cultural tourism sites. The principals, guidelines
and tools that are concerned with a multiplicity of heritage value
typologies should reflect a consensus on what to protect, assessing
vulnerability to change, and prioritising actions (Fan, 2014; Ginzarly
et al., 2019: 8). These can be achieved through the recognition of both
integrative and morphological values of the historic urban landscape
approach.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The research on which this paper is based was funded by the Faculty
Research Development Fund of the University of Auckland. The authors
are grateful to Professor Jeremy Whitehand for his detailed comments
on earlier drafts of this article and for the assistance they received from
Dr Meijun Jin of Shanxi University of Technology.
11
Cities 97 (2020) 102489
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