Investigation And Research On Construction Experience Of Oasis Agriculture Settlements In Hexi Corridor Region

Hexi corridor area is one of the typical arid and semi-arid regions in northwest China. The research of agricultural settlements in the area has far-reaching significance to guide the settlement construction in the future. Previous research on settlement construction is centered on the three levels: the macroscopic study on the settlements in arid and oasis area in northwest China, microcosmic study on agricultural settlements or regional traditional folk houses in Hexi corridor, and comparative study on the different settlements in the area. Although the research point of view of the studies above mentioned is different, the comparative studies on the settlements are conducted most in parallel ways, with lack of systematized and typified research ways, and the conclusions which have been made are not clear enough.The subject selected in this research is the construction experience of agricultural settlement in Hexi corridor. Comparative analysis is conducted from the view of regional resources. Systematized and typified research ways are used. Summarization and classification have been made to the different types of settlement construction experience. The diversified systems of settlement construction in the area and the differentiation cause have been investigated so as to achieve the ultimate goal of which the relationship between regional resources and the settlement construction is identified.Due to the different geographical conditions, the Hexi corridor covers geographical zones based on the different natural water systems. The difference between regional resources of the three major river systems comes from the different geographic patterns and the different weather conditions, which presents three different construction types of agricultural settlements. Although the settlement construction types appear to be classified based on geographical boundaries of the settlement, the innovation of this research is from the point of view of regional resources classification which is essentially based on the differences in conditions and construction effects of regional resources.This research is divided into four major parts:Part 1—definition of the concepts(Chapter 1 Introductions): the relevant concepts are elaborated, the specific content of settlement construction experience is identified, and the meanings of major elements are described. The research focus, i.e. the part which closely related to regional resources in the major elements, is sorted out.Part 2—type classification(Chapter 2): an overview of agricultural settlement in Hexi corridor is stated and its development course is analyzed. The distribution of Hexi corridor oases and the agricultural resources is closely related to that of river systems in the area. According to the correlation and the geographical zoning in Hexi corridor area, the oasis agricultural settlements in this research are divided into three major blocks of Shiyang River basin, Heihe River basin, and Shulehe River basin based on the water systems in Hexi corridor area.Part 3—regional studies(Chapter 3 to 6): according to the site investigation results, the representative settlements are selected from the three major blocks above mentioned as objects of the study. The commonality and particularity of settlement construction experience and the characteristics are summarized based on the case study. With multidimensional study of various types of construction experience, settlement construction features and differences under the influence of different physical geography(landform, climate, etc.) and historical and cultural conditions are described.Part 4—drawing the conclusions(Chapter 7): the cause of the difference between settlement construction experience in the three major blocks is explored under the influence of water systems. The characteristics of different types of construction experience are summarized. The descriptions are made to the relationship between regional resources(including natural resources mainly consisting of water resources and human resources under the influence of historical conditions) and settlement construction.From the perspective of regional resources, this paper studies the construction system of agricultural settlement in Hexi corridor area in typological ways. Through comparative study of different types of agricultural settlement construction experience in the area, the paper also summarizes the relationship between regional resources and settlement construction, and the inspiration for the future settlement construction and the rational use of local resources is further provided so as to maximize the resource utilization benefits.