Dalian

Located at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian is the hub of marine traffic in Northern China, and therefore has critical economic and military importance due to its strategic geographical location. In 1898, Dalian became a Czarist-Russian concession and henceforth began its journey as a modernizing colonial city. In 1905, Japan invaded and occupied Dalian, speeding up the process of colonizing the city all the way up to the end of the wWIl in 1945.

The architectural development of Dalian could be divided into three phases.In the earliest phase, the czarist-Russian regime established the basic structure and layout of the city according to the Russian city structure of central squares with avenues radiating outwards, thus creating a city reflecting Russian and European as well as eclectic architectural styles of the 19th century. For example, the Port Hotel built beside Kiyev Street was almost the same as some Russian buildings of the late 19th century in terms of imagesand treatment methods. At the same time, Russian folk architecture of wooden structures also appeared in Dalian, with the building of intricate little wooden houses topped with green-colored turrets, covered with feather-shaped tiles.

An example of the eclectic style of architecture was the business school set up during that era, which incorporated the mountain flower motifs of Greece and man colonnades.

The Japanese regime continued to build upon the foundation of the Russian regime’s urban planning scheme, replicating European and American classical architectural designs for buildings to spruce up the Large Square and hasten urban development. Around the Large Square, examples of historical landmarks which shaped the second phase of urban development in Dalian, included the Dalian Civil Administration Office (Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau today) with its Gothic-revivalist architectural style, the Yokohama Specie Bank decked out in Renaissance style of the later period(Bank of China Liaoning Branch today), the Yamato Hotel with its Renaissance style(Dalian Hotel today) and the Bank of Korean of the classical-revivalist style(Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Zhongshan Square Branch today).

As the Japanese regime continued with its further military invasion of China, Dalian was regarded as the base for its expansionist strategy and thus more efforts were put into developing and increasing urban planning. During the late 1920s, Japan was increasingly influenced by popular, modern German architectural schools of thought. During the 1930s, the adoption of these German styles by the leading Japanese architects in Dalian led to the creation of many buildings which were examples of international architectural styles, interspersed with natural and fluid elements of Japanese design. Henceforth, the development of these architectural styles had the greatest impact upon the overall look of Dalian city and also marked the third phase in the city’s modern architectural history.

hancheng

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