Consular Buildings as an Image of Foreign Architecture in the Cities of Northeast China

Abstract

The subject of the article is the buildings of consular offices in the cities of Northeast China. The object of the study is the architectural features of the preserved buildings of consular institutions. The author examines and analyzes consular institutions during the period of their appearance and the formation of the basic principles of their design at the end of the 19th - first half of the 20th century on the territory of Northeast China. The historical prerequisites for the appearance of consular institutions are considered. The principles of the placement of consular offices in the cities of Manchuria are highlighted, depending on their status, transport links, the location of administrative zones of settlements and the peculiarities of the layout of Chinese districts. In the course of the study, the peculiarities of the location of consular buildings were revealed depending on the urban planning position in the urban structure and their significance. The architectural appearance of consular facilities is briefly analyzed, which is presented in the form of a generalized table of graphic images. It presents the preserved representative objects of consular institutions and enlarged decorative elements. The compositional and stylistic features of the buildings of consulates are analyzed. The main conclusions of the study are that consular offices were important objects for the formation of compositional structures of cities, raising their prestige. The architecture of the consular buildings, reflecting the stylistics of different countries, filled the cities with stylistic flavor, increased the level of improvement of the territories adjacent to these buildings.