Strategies of Flood Control and Water Logging in the Forbidden City and Enlightenments on the Treatment of the Modern Cities’ Water logging

Abstract

With the climate change and acceleration of urbanization, there has been a growing tendency in the frequency, the scope as well as the losses caused by city water logging, which undoubtedly challenge city’s safety. With a history of more than 600 years, the drainage system in the Forbidden City successfully resisted the 2012 Beijing 100-year extreme rainstorm and there was no water logging in the whole city, which offers certain reference for the flood control and water logging of modern cities. This article analyzes the causes of the modern city water logging and explores the engineering and non-engineering measures of the drainage system in Beijing (including the operational mechanism, the overall project layout strategy, as well as the maintenance and management model) and the systems of point-line-plane, the surface and underground three-dimensional drainage and water storage project. Finally, based on the enlightenment of the drainage system in the Forbidden City and theories of urban water circulation, the article, from the perspective of city security, proposes a three-dimensional system responding to climate changes and a water logging construction model of low impact health cities. The possible development of city water logging in the future is also predicted.