A New Watery Balance

Abstract

Wuyuan is located in Jiangxi province, south-east China, which is famous for its unique ancient village identity. The long-existing villages in the Wuyuan area have been running in a balance that people living and working with the water. This identity of living and working with water attracts millions of tourists. However, these vulnerable villages are not well prepared for the development of tourism. Driven by tourism, more and more villagers gave up their traditional way of living and working with water, people have less awareness of the essence and importance of these traditional treasures, they tried to embrace the tourists for earning for money for the families and better living quality. However, on the other way around, these tourists disrupt their reliable living environment... this vicious Circle turns this beautiful land to the brink. The water management imbalance caused by climate change even makes this situation worse. As a landscape designer, how to balance the circular and scenic waterscape in Wuyuan for inhabitants and tourists fascinates me. This project is to redefine the watery life in The Villages in Wuyuan to bring back inhabitants and visitors' relationship to the water. But more importantly to recall, remodel, and revitalize the watery life in the villages in the Wuyuan area.