Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
present Pennsylvania Avenue. The west-east axis stands prominently in the surface
plan, and the Mall for whom the space was previously saved, also looks outstanding.
Besides, there is often a public square at the meeting point of roads intersected with
each other at right angles or diagonally. The lower section of Goose Creek, running
through the centre of the city immediately along the northern side of the Mall before
it pours itself into the Potomac, was planned to be canalized to connect with the canal
at the foot of the Capitol Hill. It was named the Tiber River, after the Roman Tiber.
For the design and plan of the municipality, the two rivers were used as the bound-
ary of the southern part and the borderline of the highland was to be the boundary of
the northern part of the capital. And it was on this principle that the city of Washington
was built, developed and expanded. We must acknowledge that without the plan and
design by L'Enfant, there would not be the magnifi cent design of the central part of
the world famous city of Washington. It is because of this that the central part of
Washington proper is referred to by some people as “L'Enfant City” (Fig.
4.6
).
8
Here let me try to make a comparison between the plans of Old Beijing and
Washington, which might help the audience understand the further discussion better.
Two essential points are worth our notice:
One, both cities have a central axis line. For Old Beijing, the axis was from north
to south, closely following the eastern shore of the natural lakes. The orientation of
the axis, though constrained by natural factors, was greatly infl uenced by cultural
elements deeply rooted in the history, as we have discussed above. For Washington,
the central axis was from west to east between the two rivers and it was decided
solely by natural conditions. There were no historical or cultural factors involved.
Two, in the plan of the Old City of Beijing, the surrounding walls were an inte-
gral part of the whole city, while in Washington, rivers and highlands were utilized
as the boundaries of the city for there was neither necessity nor tradition of wall
building for a city. Actually no cities in the U.S. are equipped with walls.
The above mentioned differences, though superfi cial, refl ect the differences of
the cultural traditions between China and the West. It is even more important that
such differences are embodied in the key concepts in the capital plan. As the topic
pertinent to Beijing has been explored, we would confi ne the following part to the
discussion of Washington's city plan.
4.3.2
On the Concepts of Municipal Design and Planning
The concept of the design and plan of Beijing Old City originated in the Shang and
Zhou dynasties when slavery still prevailed, and was written down in “the Way the
Craftsmen Build the City” in
Kaogongji, Zhouli
. As the centralized reign of the
feudal dynasties took shape, the concept of building a capital based on the doctrine
8
The plan of the city designed by Pierre L'Enfant was engraved on a stone podium at the
Pennsylvania Avenue. On Aug 6th, 1984, the mayor of Washington City offi cially announced the
day as “L'Enfant Day” to memorize the great attribution made by L'Enfant.
