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Qilou Buildings in Guangzhou
Many people view Guangzhou
as a tolerant city, where people can freely bring their habits, lifestyles and
skills to the best play, the essence of which will eventually be assimilated
into the city's style. This is how Qilou buildings, or arcade-houses, took root
in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong
province , eventually becoming landmarks there.
The history of commercial arcade building can be dated back to ancient Greece
some 2,000 years ago; it then became popular in Europe and was introduced to the
world only in recent times.
Guangzhou is among the first coastal cities to embrace foreign culture and
begin modernization. During the Ming and Dynasties, it was the only commercial
port. The commercial buildings of "the thirteen hong" are considered the
earliest model of the later Qilou buildings. At the beginning of the twentieth
century, when the city government began to widen the roads, this 18th century
western architectural style was blended with the traditional Cantonese
construction features, thus giving birth to the unique Qilou buildings.
Most of the Qilou buildings in Guangzhou are three or four storied, with a
protruding structure, or arcade, stretching above from the second storey over
the sidewalk. These arcades are linked together by the side of the street,
forming a shaded corridor, which keeps the shops along the sidewalk as well as
the pedestrians safe from the scorching sun and rain. Some arcades last for as
long as several hundreds or even hundreds of dozens meters. The weather of
Guangzhou is always changing and there is a saying going that " Guangzhou 's
weather in May is like the expressions of a young baby, which can change in a
second." Therefore, Qilou buildings, which are suitable for the unpredictable
sub-tropical climate in Lingnan areas, and which also provides great convenience
for the local people, once was the main form of architectural style in
Guangzhou.
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