A Study Of The Transition Of Royal Altars And Gardens To Public Parks In Beijing During The Early Republic Of China (1912-1928)

During the early Republic of China,Beijing was going through an urban transformation.In order to adapt to urban development and meet the needs of citizens,the municipal construction was in progress.One of the public works was the construction of public parks.The government had to convert part of the royal altars and gardens into public parks,because they were inappropriate in gradually open urban spatial pattern.Then they underwent fundamental changes in nature,function,and operating management,which made initiative meanings and far-reaching significance.This article will discuss the transition mainly from tow aspects: first,planning and construction;second,management and maintenance.It will also explore the existing problems and the impact of the transition.Full text is divided into four parts: the first part tells the historical background of the transition.During the late Qing Dynast and the early Republic of China in Beijing,urban population heterogenization impacted the urban enclosure space and municipal modernization improved the city environment.The spread of park theory since modern facilitated the construction of park.The second part discusses the transition from planning and construction including incipient preparations,schemes,principles and final achievements.The third part explains the transition from daily management and maintenance and illustrates that the parks have institutionalization,transparency,and humanization as public utilities.The fourth part evaluates the transition.The content includes the difficulties and problems of the transition and its effect on modernization of garden,public space construction and management,urban development and life of citizens.Researching on the transition of royal altars and gardens to public parks in Beijing during the early Republic of China mainly has two aspects of meaning: on the one hand,looking back upon this historical process can show the features of urban transformation in modern Beijing and reflect the plebification trend of urban space.On the other hand,the development of history has continuity.Nowadays,parks in Beijing have their modern base.Problems appeared in the transition may still arise in current parks to varying degrees.Therefore,the study of the transition can provide some useful reference.