The Architectural Conservation Movement in China: Approaches to Nation-building.

The architectural conservation movement began in China during an era of transformation. In the period from 1840 to 1966, i.e., the end of the Qing Dynasty to the initial 17 years of the People's Republic of China, China changed its regime twice times, from the feudal Qing dynasty to the Republic of China (ROC) and then to the People's Republic of China (PRC). In of the past regime changes usually led to the complete demolition of historic buildings and cities by successive authorities. However, both the Kuomintang Party (the ruling party of ROC) and the Communist Party of China (the ruling party of PRC) chose to protect historic buildings and cities, as they considered architectural conservation helpful for nation-building. Their actions encouraged the generation of architectural conservation in China. The paper reviews the development of architectural conservation in China. It introduces the conservation policies of the KMT and CPC authorities and discusses how the government-led conservation policies impacted the development of the Chinese conservation movement. The paper provides an example from China reflective of the political influences on conservation practice in a global context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]