Reproducing the discourse on industrial heritage in China: reflections on the evolution of values, policies and practices

ABSTRACT

The conservation of industrial heritage is a form of values-based social practice that is not only constituted by the normative heritage discourses, but is also influenced by other contextualised social and cultural imperatives. The ideas about what constitutes industrial heritage, the value of the remains of industrial culture, and the practices of conservation continue to evolve. This paper reflects on this evolution in the context of the Chinese cultural heritage protection system. Emphasis is placed upon the trend that the industrial heritage is redefined in, and managed through, sensitive legislation and policies. Furthermore, this paper examines how the conservation of industrial heritage is adopted in varying forms of adaptive reuse by taking examples from Shanghai. Its policy domain has become multi-disciplinary, and it is important to develop dynamic ways of conservation compatible with the current and ongoing urban development and its planning practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Industrial heritage
• AHD
• conservation planning
• adaptive reuse

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Prof. John Pendlebury, Prof. Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Dr. Andy Law and two anonymous referees for invaluable comments on drafts of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The document was titled as the Wuxi Proposal – Concerning Industrial Heritage Conservation in the Period of Rapid Economic Development.

2. The definition was translated from the Wuxi Proposal by the authors.

3. The Cultural Relics Law states that ‘Article 3 Immovable cultural relics, such as sites of ancient culture, ancient tombs, ancient architectural structures, cave temples, stone carvings and murals as well as important modern and contemporary historic sites and typical buildings, may, depending on their historical, artistic and scientific value, be designated respectively as major sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the national level, sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the provincial level, and sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value at the city or county level.’ ‘Movable cultural relics, such as important material objects, works of art, documents, manuscripts, books, materials, and typical material objects dating from various historical periods, shall be divided into valuable cultural relics and ordinary cultural relics; and the valuable cultural relics shall be subdivided into grade-one cultural relics, grade-two cultural relics and grade-three cultural relics’ (the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, 2002).

4. The Cultural Relics Law states that ‘Article 8 The administrative department for cultural relics under the State Council shall take charge of the work concerning the protection of cultural relics throughout the country.’ ‘Local peoples governments at various levels shall take charge of the work concerning the protection of cultural relics within their own administrative areas. Departments in charge of the work concerning the protection of cultural relics under local peoples governments at or above the county level shall exercise supervision and control over the protection of cultural relics within their own administrative areas.’ ‘The relevant administrative departments under peoples governments at or above the county level shall, within the scope of their own functions and duties, take charge of the work concerning the protection of cultural relics’ (the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, 2002).

5. Shanghai became a treaty port in 1843. By the 1930s, the number of factories in Shanghai had exceeded 50% of the total in China. In 1949, there were over 10,000 factories in Shanghai, making it the largest manufacturing industrial city in China (Zhang 2007).

6. Measures for the Protection and Management of Excellent Modern Buildings of Shanghai (translated by author) is the first local decree concerned with the protection of modern heritage buildings in China (Chen and Hu 2013).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ning Lu

Ning Lu has been working as a lecturer at College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Qingdao University of Technology since 2017. Ning holds a PhD degree on Industrial Heritage Conservation and Management from Newcastle University, UK. His research interests focus on ‘integral strategies for conservation and planning’, ‘multiple values and public participation in heritage management’, ‘theory and practice of historic landscape regeneration in coastal areas’ and ‘inventory industrial heritage conservation and reuses’. Other parts of her research explore the relationship between the industrial heritage valorisation and creative industry development. He is also a committee member appointed by the Marine and Coastal Academic Committee of Qingdao Urban and Rural Planning Society established to develop conservation of coastal ecological environment, protection of natural and cultural resources, spatial planning and design, and development of the living environment.

Min Liu

Min Liu received her Bachelor degree (awarded in 1992) from Qingdao University of Technology and Master degree (awarded in 1996) from Chongqing Jianzhu University, as well as PhD degree (awarded in 2004) from Chongqing University. She served as a council member in the Association for Qingdao Historical Building Conservation, a part-time master tutor in Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, a member of the judging panel for National Science Foundation of China, and is now a professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Qingdao University of Technology. Dr Liu’s specialisations include sustainability of the characteristics of historical urban landscape, sustainable development of Qingdao historical blocks and gardens, and urban design in coastal and hilly areas.

Rensheng Wang

Rensheng Wang received his Bachelor degree on architecture (awarded in 1986) from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology and Master degree (awarded in 2007) from Qingdao University of Technology. He served as a vice president for Institute of Civil Engineering of Shandong Province, a member for Academic Committee of Industrial Heritage of China Architectural Society, and a committee for Society of Conservation of Qingdao Historical Buildings and Blocks. His research interests lie in urban design and practice, industrial heritage conservation and reuses, standardisation of residential building design, and urban-rural planning