City Status and Contemporary Geographical Landscape

Abstract

Modern urban planning overemphasizes function and practical use. Mountains and hills flattened for construction, and rivers are filled in for roads, causing much of the natural landscape to disappear and fragment. Lofty palaces and towering pavilions mentioned in historical records, praised by ancestors, have already disappeared. What is left behind is the historical city’s composition along with mountains and a familiar landscape. Nanjing once proposed a master plan for its urban style, claiming: “The city and natural landscape should be integrated organically. The composition should be rigorous but flexible, and the building scale should be pleasant and simple, reflecting leisure, charm, and poetic tolerance, rather than showing off and making grand gestures. The magnificence should be embodied in plainness and nobility in simplicity.” This approach could reflect the traditional beauty of historical Nanjing; however, construction in today’s Nanjing has not followed this plan. Unfortunately, as more and more skyscrapers are erected, the city stands to lose a lot.