News Article

Urban Observation and Exploration in Xiamen:

Insights from MSc Urbanism and Sustainable Environments Students

Urban Observation and Exploration.

Date: June 11-13th

From June 11 to 13th, students of the MSc Urbanism and Sustainable Environment programme, along with Professor Ali Cheshmehzangi, Dr. Linjun Xie, and two PhD students (Tong Zou and Hengcai Chen), conducted a research field trip to the city of Xiamen, Fujian Province. As part of their research project, this trip aimed to provide first-hand experience in exploring various dimensions of urban China today, developing a better understanding of contemporary urban planning and renewal, heritage and culture protection, and city-nature relationships. This review shares some reflections and discussions among students and their tutors during, and on the way back from, the field trip.

“I believe you all can feel the distinctiveness of Xiamen, its challenging weather, the unique architecture style, and the greenness and natural beauty within the city.”

——Dr. Linjun Xie

“lived here for nearly five years before, so I also felt the hard hit of Covid-19 on the tourism industry here. I felt how commercialisation can erase a part of the feature and culture of a place, I also felt how people matter for a city’s vitality and identity. Being here and seeing it and experiencing is different, despite you might heard about it before. Observation propels you to think, and I hope you all have some takeaways (not only food but thoughts) from this journey. ”

——Dr. Linjun Xie

“This is my second visit to Xiamen. Different from last time, I came to Xiamen as an urbanism student. First of all, the most impressive is the architectural style and color of Xiamen present a roughly unified scene. This is conducive to the establishment of the city’s ID and city color. Secondly, the climatic conditions in Xiamen make the vegetation types in the city more abundant and the vertical structure more complex. More plant species also contribute to the development of biodiversity.”

——Zhebin CHEN

“This is my second visit to Xiamen. Different from last time, I came to Xiamen as an urbanism student. First of all, the most impressive is the architectural style and color of Xiamen present a roughly unified scene. This is conducive to the establishment of the city’s ID and city color. Secondly, the climatic conditions in Xiamen make the vegetation types in the city more abundant and the vertical structure more complex. More plant species also contribute to the development of biodiversity.”

——Zhebin CHEN

 【Huamei Space: new life after urban regeneration】

“Formerly known as the Huamei Cigarette Factory, the first Sino-foreign joint venture cigarette factory in China, Lianfa Huamei Space has made full use of the park's original building space in the process of its old renovation, designing and creating on the basis of maintaining the original architecture. During our visit, we found that the park is divided into several functional areas, integrating display, commercial, office and public space into a creative layout. The space reflects the organic combination of space and culture in the concept of organic urban regeneration. The old warehouse has been transformed into a vintage aesthetic photography studio, and the old boiler room has become an internet café. The old tobacco warehouses and the separate courtyard-style buildings on the street retain their former layout with a stylish artistic quality, while allowing visitors to experience the memories of old Xiamen.”

——Hengcai Chen

“As a fan of the Beginning TV series, it was great fun to visit Huamei Space! As a cultural and creative garden converted from a cigarette factory, the history of the area is recorded in the middle gallery and on the floor. Walking through it, I could feel the collision between the old factory and modern culture and creativity. Each shop has its own unique signage and design style. Even if they are all in the same factory elements, the unique decoration style of the shops seems to break through the factory elements to tell you their own unique style. There are also special art installations in the park that have become a favorite playground for children in the neighborhood, as well as a popular location for photographers and film and TV crews. When you walk around Huamei Space, you can look up at the sky and see planes flying overhead.

In my opinion, the transformation of the Huamei Space has been a relative success. It has not completely transformed itself into a lively and featureless shopping street but has retained its own identity while providing a quiet creative atmosphere for the entrepreneurs in the park. However, it has installed some interactive art installations with the characteristics of the cigarette factory, and the businesses introduced by Huamei Space are also closely linked to the cigarette factory, such as the Boiler Café, which has integrated Huamei Space into the lives of the nearby residents and made it a distinctive attraction. “

——Wenjing Wang

【Wuyuanwan park: Harmonious city-nature development】

“So even for parks, they can have different priorities for ecosystem services. Then questions might be asked would be how to determine (i.e., for biodiversity or for leisure/sport) and how to balance different needs.”

——Dr. Linjun Xie

“On the way from the wetland park back to the hotel, car driver said he worked in the industry of tourism, now the income cannot support his life, so he changed job to drive didi taxi. Many of his colleagues also quit to do something else, but from another perspective to consider the opportunity to travel for tourists, a small number of tourists can let them serve better, the tourists’ experience is much better.”

——Donglu YIN

“The Wuyuan Bay Ecological Park we visited in the afternoon was very beautiful, but I wonder, since such a big park needs a lot of money and manpower to maintain, why not make the place of natural development…. However, I think trying to let the ecology develop naturally in the urban environment without deliberately adding modifications to the beauty of the landscape may have different effects. ”

——Mira

【Gulangyu: Cultural heritage protection 】

“Gulangyu under the hit of COVID-19 has restored the tranquility of the island and makes tourists feel more comfortable and enable people to slow down. Gulangyu is returning to what it used to be, in a cruel way for tourism industry.”

——Meini CHEN

“Due to a sharp decrease of tourists visit, many of the scenic spots such as the piano museum which I really expected to enjoy the beauty of pianos 🎹 unfortunately it’s closed and lots of shops and restaurants have been closed due to the ongoing pandemic and its restrictions for preventing the spread of outbreaks…The ecosystem and natural environment on the island is vivid and well protected to some extent. Environmental awareness is relatively high while no invasive species are on the island based on my rough 0.75 day investigation. Dogs, cats, and mosquitoes are all very active and living a happy life on the island.”

——Tong Zou

“The island has been extensively commercialized, with many of the original local buildings transformed into popular shops. Some of the ruins have been converted into commercial areas. It was like getting on the island and taking pictures instead of feeling and experiencing the historical heritages and the local culture attached to them. It's a formalized, template-based business model. For example, the pop song lyrics were carved on a historic concrete wall and saying it's a memorial place of a certain singer, and everyone comes to take pictures. Even centuries-old monuments like a part of the heritage of the German consulate are now turned into the use of making tea cakes. I agree that these movements can increase the local economy, but this trend will gradually erode our true history and culture.”

——Barry (Jiarui YUAN)

“Marketing strategy is for sure linked to the city’s positioning and also cultural confidence…. Urban cultural research should be integrated into various aspects of urban planning and policy-making.”

——Dr. Linjun Xie

“Some places are still under construction for renewal while most historical buildings are under protection but from my point of view, the commercialization of the tourism zone needs to be smarter in favor of delivering a more meaning, quality and culture value as a world’s historical heritage... I think regional specialty, urban identity and local characteristics need to be considered more carefully with recognition and respects”

——Tong Zou

“I feel that Chinese traditional culture has a long history. Preserving, integrating and exploring the new age values of traditional culture also has extraordinary significance in urban planning.”

——Boqiang WANG

“I would also like to say that the people on this island are very warm and kind, and I hardly feel their malice and distrust towards tourists. They let me feel a kind of human beauty, they were indirectly telling me that they are living sincerely.”

——Mira (Gulimire Aierken)

【Epilogue】

“Located at the southeast coast of China, Xiamen is a tourist city of Fujian Province famous for its attractive seascape. During my three-day journey back to Xiamen, I was presented with a picture of the city's economic recovery and community life getting back on track after the epidemic. Zhongshan Road is one of the most prosperous traditional and comprehensive commercial areas in Xiamen, and as someone who has lived in Xiamen for many years, I saw that Zhongshan Road has been restored to the bustling pedestrian street that it was before the epidemic. Architecture along the road with long history is a combined style of East and West. I visited the Huamei Space Cultural and Creative Park project for the first time. It was transformed from the original Huamei cigarette factory into a cultural and creative park in 2015 and has become one of the most representative cultural and creative parks in Xiamen. Apart from attracting foreign visitors, it serves the neighborhood well and carries the same function as a civic park. The city has been called the Egret Island because of the hundreds of thousands of egrets inhabiting there. The rolling waves of Gulangyu Islet and the architectural complexes of Jimei School Village which carry southern Fujian culture, have left unforgettable memories of this trip to Xiamen.”

——Hengcai Chen

“Cities are places of experiments and experiences. By doing hands-on student activities of such kind, we invest in enhancing student experience, student engagement, and the learning environment. As it is evident from the students' reflection, the Xiamen fieldtrip is appraised by students mainly because it helped them to have a better understanding of sustainable urbanism in practice. It is important for them to experience the diversity of sustainable urbanism beyond just technological and environmental interventions. We, as a leading Department in the areas of sustainability and innovation, continue to invest in such excellent student-oriented events and activities. We hope our students, as the backbone of our teaching and learning initiatives, could learn critically, reflectively, and holistically. They have been an excellent cohort and we hope they continue the good work after their graduation.!”

——Prof Ali Cheshmehzangi