Vernacular Dwellings Investigation Of Xunhua Salar Autonomous County Of Qinghai Province

The "Salar Ethnic Group", as one of the minority of China, mainly lives in Qinghai Province. The ancestors of the Salar people were the Samarkand people who migrated from Central Asia to China during the Yuan Dynasty, and they settled down in the Xunhua area of Qinghai Province. All of the Salar people believe in Islam. The continuous integration of the Samarkand people with Tibetans, Huis, Hans, and Mongolians finally gave birth to the present Salar ethnic group. Deeply influenced by the culture of Central Asia, Islam and other ethinic groups, the culture of the Salar people is compound and unique. In the context of unique culture, the Salar vernacular dwellings reflect both regional and cultural characteristics.This thesis focuses on the investigating of Salar vernacular dwellings. The research, choosing the only Salar Autonomous County-Xunhua as the object of study, maily depends on architectural investigating, case studies, interviews with local people and relative scholars.Basing on abundant and authentic firsthand-data, the thesis elaborates on space form and architecture pattern of the Salar dwellings and settlements, as well as the influences of ethnic culture and Islam religion. Meanwhile, the study means to generate wider public concern about vernacular dwellings,settlements and culture of the Salar People.