Ningbo Museum is designed by Wang Shu, the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The design is a conceptual combination of mountains, water and oceans.(Photo/People's Daily Overseas Edition)

Architects should conserve Chinese style in their architecture.

Faced with social development and a growing population, architecture has to change its forms and shapes in accordance with public needs. We cannot halt progress in terms of our cultural inheritance.

The late Liang Ssu-ch'eng, a famous Chinese architect said: "China is an old country in the East; it would be grievous if the country were to lose its artistic character, its cultural roots, and its architectural appearance." His opinion still holds good today.

Architecture is the carrier of culture; China should integrate cultural and traditional elements in its construction that retain Chinese characteristics. And to blend with western model style, Chinese architects should understand the designs used in modern architecture and think more carefully. They must understand that making a building unique does not make it number one, that a stylish building does not need to be strange in appearance, and that maximizing space utilization does not mean that a building has to be the tallest. Architecture is a public service; it should not be a channel for showing off.

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