The Predicament of Vernacular Community’s Conservation in Urban Area Facing the Threat of Tourism

Abstract

In the process of urbanization, the traditional communities composed of vernacular architectures are facing lots of universal problems such as the decline of vernacular dwellings, the accelerating loss of population and the disruption of social structure. Besides those problems there are some vernacular communities which is under the influence of the ‘World Heritage Site Tourism Fever’ in China are facing more severe and specific problems.

This paper will take one typical vernacular community in Qufu Ming Era City as case to analyze the architectural features, social and cultural values of the vernacular architecture group which has been formed and continued for hundreds of years due to the worship and service to Confucius and his family, Facing the predicament, the paper will focus on inhabitats and communities which are long-neglected in exsisting conservation system in China and based on the cultural and spiritual connections, to find possible solutions to maintain vernacularity and handle with the threat of tourism in different levels.