China is a large country with an extensive north-south span, resulting in huge differences in geography and climate, folks and customs, and regional economic developments. These differences have further brought forth some unique characteristic cultures and architectural styles in the north and the south of China. Nowadays, most rural residential quarters are innovative renovations based on the original old buildings, so rural residential quarters generally have a close regenerative relationship with the local traditional buildings, rural residential quarters represent and inherit the traditional architectural spirit and culture of the regions. Consequently, the architectural styles and spatial compositions of rural residential quarters in the north and the south of China show relevant differences in accordance with regional architectural traditions. Excellent rural residential quarters design can not only promote local culture, but also provide a strong guarantee for the local economy and employment. From the perspective of professional point of view, studying the differences between the North and the South of the rural residential quarters will enable relevant practitioners to have an in-depth understanding of both the advantages and disadvantages in the architectural designs of rural residential quarters in the north and the south of China. The paper hoped to provide possible enlightenments for the developmental designs of China’s rural residential quarters that are supposed to combine traditional culture with modern architectural designs for inheritance and innovation. In terms of policy significance, promoting the development and integration of rural residential quarters can not only attract tourists, but also enable the locals who work abroad to work in their hometowns. Although rural residential quarters are small, they are one of the driving forces for the development of China's rural revitalization strategy. Meanwhile, the study of the differences and integration of rural residential quarters of north and south rural residential quarters has long-term and comprehensive planning significance for the supply-side reform of the rural economy and the integration and exchange of architectural culture between the north and the south. Enter the 21st century, the fast pace of modern life makes people yearn more and more for the traditional rural life. In this background, China’s rural residential quarter industry has entered a rapid development stage, which, however, brought some industry problems, such as serious homogenization and lack of characteristic innovation. In order to help to solve the relevant problems and possibly provide some corresponding theoretical bases , this paper, by way of comparative analysis, tried to explore in depth into the major architectural differences of and their possible causes for rural residential quarters between the north and the south of China from the aspects of construction wall, external building component, building space and courtyard, site selection and facing orientation, internal decoration and furniture, theme orientation, and regional culture so that people who yearn for traditional rural life can have a deeper insight into the rural residential quarters in the north and the south of China. The development of rural residential quarters can not only promote the local culture, but also develop the local economy and increase the local employment.
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