The ‘preservation by relocation’ of Huizhou vernacular architecture: shifting notions on the authenticity of rural heritage in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT The practice of ‘preservation by relocation’ is representative of China’s ‘heritage fever’. It is the source of a controversial debate regarding heritage conservation, and it remains understudied from a critical perspective. This paper addresses two cases of ‘preservation by relocation’ of Huizhou-style vernacular architecture, rebuilt as part of mixed hotel and residential developments on the outskirts of Shanghai and Shaoxing in China. Through this paper we will argue how the practice of ‘preservation by relocation’ stretches different notions of authenticity. Our research will show how relocations lead to a shift in the value of vernacular architecture, as it is used for the production of new identity for tourist and real estate developments in China. Using grounded theory based on site visits and semi-structured interviews, this paper proposes that originality and verisimilitude merge to become an authenticity-on-the-making, under the cover of dominant heritage discourses in China. This pursuit determines the heritage conservation practices of relocated assets, as they serve entrepreneurial interests and contribute to wider official narratives about the past in China.