The creation of new traditions: Discussion of relationship between architectural rural practice and local features' inheriting from a heritage conservation perspective

Abstract. The traditional features of Chinese villages are facing a crisis of discontinuity. In the meantime, there exists a problem in architectural heritage conservation that while preservation and renovation is being done, local self-help construction still proceeds out of control. Nowadays, an increasing number of architects have noticed these phenomena and participate in the evolution of villages carrying various architectural practices in the countryside, which has certain influence at the place, whether during or after the construction. In many well-evaluated rural practice cases in the world, architects not only choose appropriate materials and crafts for natives, but also renew local traditions by offering skill training to craftsmen. However, in Chinese villages, similar practices do not seem to be that effective. Therefore, through field research and interviews, this article discusses the reasons that relatively successful architectural practices in Chinese villages fail to exert a positive influence to the inheriting and update of local traditions. These causes include the increase of information sources, the different aesthetic manner, the conception differences, the influence of constructors, and the instructor role that architects play.