China Travel Guide

After several weeks in China, it seems that - apart from minor regional variations - one temple looks much like another, even that the differences between a palace, a temple or a substantial private house are negligible, and that there is little sign of historical development. Nor does it take even this long to tire of the cheaply built and disappointingly Westernized appearance of the majority of China's cities. But this overall uniformity in no way reflects China's long architecural heritage; it is rather that several factors have conspired to limit its variety. For a start, little has survived from different periods to emphasize their individual characteristics: early wooden structures were vulnerable to natural disasters, war and revolutions, while new dynasties often demolished the work of the old to reinforce their takeover. And today, with a huge economic boom sweeping the country, a lust for "modernization" is seeing vast new cityscapes being built on the sites of the old.

Compounding these factors, a passion for precedent meant that certain basic rules governing building designs were followed from the earliest times, minimizing the variations which separate the works of different periods. This is not to say that it's impossible to tell a Tang pagoda from a Qing one, but it does mean that a certain homogeneity pervades traditional Chinese architecture, making it all the more exciting on the occasions when you do come across unusually distinctive temples, dwellings or even towns.