Beautiful Village Policy

Pencheng says: "I chose Xianghu Lake for my special project as I am worried about the damage being caused by poor implementation of the government’s Beautiful Village policy. Xianghu Lake is located in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The lake area is currently subject to a restorative project as part of the Beautiful Village policy, which aims to increase revenue for the local government and restore the ecological environment because of the way in which the surrounding brick kiln factories have affected the water quality of Xianghu. The purpose of the policy is to develop a sustainable environment. However, there are problems with its implementation in Xianghu. For example, people working on the project do not have the necessary skills or training, and the design is inappropriate due to the cloning of generic urban landscapes."

"My vision for Xianghu is an eco-tourism village that maintains original landscapes and helps local farmers and workers profit. This will be supported by three aims: to promote the sustainable development of the environment (phase 1 and 2); to restore the original natural landscape and mode of farming in the Xianghu Lake area (phase 3); to develop sustainable tourism (phase 3). For the first and second phases, this will involve establishing an appropriate and professional landscape management plan. For the third phase, which is still under development, objectives include: retaining the original farmland and historical sites, developing productive and demonstrative landscapes, combining agriculture and tourism, and helping residents to use the restored old houses to develop B&Bs and obtain income."

This project can found on page 147 of our 2020 exhibition catalogue. Click the link below to access the full catalogue or download a copy of this project.

Proposals for Hopeful Places