Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
guest lecture entitled “China's Prospects.” This occasion remains quite distinctly in
my memory. The day was April 27th, in the afternoon. A great many people came to
hear the lecture, which indicated a tremendous interest in China's future. I also was
very moved by the lecture. Professor Darby presided over the lecture and at his
request I was invited to give a few words in gratitude on behalf of the audience at
the end of the lecture. This was the fi rst time that I had occasion to meet Professor
Cressey and it has remained an unforgettable memory for the rest of my life.
What should be mentioned especially here is that it was only 5 months and
3 days after Professor Cressey's lecture that New China was born on October 1st,
1949. And it was just 3 days before the birth of New China that I returned to Beijing
from England.
When New China established the “Beijing City Planning Committee” for recon-
struction of the capital, Beijing, I had the honor to be invited as a member of the
committee. For research reference and for the purposes of planning construction,
my fi rst responsibility was to make geographical investigation of the newly-
designated cultural and educational region of the capital. This important region in
the northwest suburbs of Beijing city, called the Haidian, was the famous terrain
of the summer palaces of the Qing period, and has become today the location of
Peking University, Qinghua University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Renmin
University, the National Library, the National University of the Minorities, the
Agricultural University and several others.
Since the days of those initial tasks on the “Beijing City Planning Committee”,
50 years have passed. During these 50 years, except for the few years that I partici-
pated in investigations of China's Northwestern desert areas, most of my research
work has concentrated upon the historical geography of Beijing city. My intention
has been to make a contribution to the planning and construction of the capital.
During the past 50 years, China has undergone enormous changes. Particularly
during the last 20 years of reform and opening out to the larger world, cultural
exchanges between China and other countries have increased daily. Now, as I look
back over the past 20 years, during which I have had the opportunity to visit the
United States 12 times, I feel greatly honored to have been invited as a Fulbright
Scholar in Residence to give lectures at Illinois University during 1981-1982. I will
always remember that signifi cant time.
Following this, I received a letter of invitation from Dr. Alison Casarett,
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School of Cornell University, requesting that
I be their Chinese Scholar in Residence during the years 1983-1984 under the Luce
Foundation Program for China Studies. In her letter she said, “I note your recent
strong interest in the comparative design and layout of the older city portions of
Beijing and Washington, D.C.” What she said was exactly true. Therefore, her invi-
tation was indeed a precious opportunity for me. Not only did I spend one semester
doing in-house research on the campus of Cornell University, which is full of natural
beauty, but I also, while on the “Cornell in Washington Program,” was able to carry
out on-location investigation of the central part of the city of Washington, D.C. In the
end, I was able to complete my piece for Chinese readers entitled, “From Beijing to
Washington, D.C.—Explorations into Thematic Design in City Planning.”
