Culture and Nature in Conserving the Indigenous Water System of Rural China

Chuo Li (Mississippi State University)

Since the 1950s, rapid urbanization and population growth combined with changes of industrial and agricultural practices have affected the hydrologic cycle through massive construction for flood control, water supply, irrigation, and hydropower (Gleick 2000). With the shifting water paradigm, the indigenous water systems have evolved from a close connection with local geographical and hydraulic conditions to an industrialized water infrastructure that no longer responding to the local particularities (BGR 2008). In the context, it is critical to identify the threats and criticalities and reflect the existing practices that are affecting the conservation and management of the historic landscape and the indigenous water system in the rural China. The current conservation efforts tend to separate the natural and cultural aspects of heritage, which has hampered the interdisciplinary synthesis and understanding of complex ecological and socio-cultural relationship of a given landscape (Coccossis & Nijkamp 1995; Keitumetse 2009). By focusing on the historical evolvements and challenges in using and conserving the indigenous water system in Hongcun Village of Anhui, China, this study aims to understand the multiple ecological, social, and cultural frames that have shaped the formation of the indigenous waterscape. In doing so, it adopted a combination of research methods including archive research, field observation, inventory, and personal interviews to both qualitatively and quantitatively describe the different aspects of the historic hydrological landscape. This study emphasizes that a holistic approach of landscape conservation with integrated natural and cultural constructs can facilitate a meaningful change toward sustainable land-use and resilient water management in the rural village. Continued investments in tourism and urban infrastructures should be challenged by a comprehensive development model that places a higher priority on sustainable goals that would support the village and help it to endure and flourish in the future.