Stereotype Shackles Creativity: The Conservatism in China’s Contemporary Landscape Design

Abstract

This paper starts with criticizing the design tide of Neo Chinese-style in China’s contemporary landscape design, where it argues that the indiscriminate use of Chinese elements in landscape design has terribly deadened design uniqueness and diversity, and points out that the popularity of Neo Chinese-style mirrors the narrow conservatism prevalent in China’s contemporary design industry. The article also explores the topic of how to celebrate the Chinese culture in contemporary landscape design by reviewing the levels and dimensions of landscape culture and Chinese culture, with an argument that designers ought to have a broader horizon with a greater social responsibility.