Architectural Design & Research Institute Of Tsinghua University Co.Ltd 清华大学建筑设计研究院

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre 

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ARCHITECTS
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ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Weimin Zhuang

DESIGN TEAM
Hongjun Tang, Kuang Li, Wenge Sheng, Yi Zhang, Tengfei Xu, Rongzi Chen, Hao Ding, Juanjuan Fan, Linwen Zeng, Yunfeng Chang, Shicheng Du

STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Xiaogang He, Bingli Jiang, Xiao Yang, Li Wang, Zhenrong Yang, Lei Huang, Duoe Zhu

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Yi Zhou, Xinming Wang, Xuelei Zhang, Daqi Lian, Liying Zhao, Dandan Zhang, Zhuo Li, Yongqiang Yang

PHOTOGRAPHS
Li Yao

AREA
35810 M²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Yan’an, China

CATEGORY
Tourism

Text description provided by architect.

Baota Mountain is the symbol of Yan'an, it is also Yan'an's most prominent tourist attraction.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

The Baota Mountain was built in the Tang Dynasty; it is an important historical and cultural heritage in China.

The essence and the status of Baota Mountain is manifested in the saying "Yan'an Baota is the spiritual symbol of the Chinese Revolution."

Today, it is our duty to protect, inherit, and carry forward the identity of the Chinese Revolution.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

Baota Mountain is located in the center of Yan'an City. It is constrained by the unique landform, i.e. "the three mountains and two rivers," which limit the city development.

The original tourist area was inadequately planned; the countless cave dwellings built by the local residents have severely destroyed the mountain's ecology.

The boundary between the living space and the tourist attraction became blurred, the disordered layouts have impacted the cultural landscape and natural landform, exerting negative influences to the cultural place of revolution.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

In July 2013, Yan'an suffered from heavy rainfall; the situation escalated and had caused mass collapses of cave dwellings.

The mountain area near the tourist attraction has shown severe potentiality for geological hazard, affecting the architecture heritage, life, and properties of people.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

To ensure the safety of People, and to protect the natural and cultural landscape of the area, Yan'an Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government planned to protect and improve the local conditions in the attraction area.

A tourist center was then proposed to enhance the tourist experience by providin­­g consultation, exhibitions, IT centers and parking.

The design proposal seeks to retain and repair the valuable architecture within the site, with the aim to preserve its history and locality.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

The slopes, mountain plank path, loose rocks, and cave dwellings have been carefully preserved and secured with reinforcement.

In order to prevent the geological disaster, the site is also equipped with floodwater discharge, soil, and water conservation measures to cope with potential disasters.

The restoration and reconstruction of the fragmented mountain ecology have significantly improved the environmental quality of the tourist attraction area.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

As a continuation of the local culture, the architecture has adopted the local style, repairing and conserving the existing caves, blended with new buildings.

The west side of the main building faces the city road; a terraced architecture is adopted to reduce the heaviness of the massing and integrate the architecture with the natural environment.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao

The design also echoes the cave dwellings in the north, creating the symbiosis of the old and the new.

The primary construction materials are local yellow sandstone, constructed with the traditional methods and hand-crafted by the local craftsmen.

Under the strong sunlight of Yan'an, the material reflects a rich and vivid glow, creating rich shadow, texture, and color changes. 

The construction process of the building has not only protected the local architecture craftsmanship but also provided employment opportunities for the local craftsmen, which helped to achieve positive social impacts.

Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao


Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao


Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
© Li Yao


Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
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Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
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Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
1F plan
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
2F plan
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
3F plan
Yan’an Baota Mountain Tourist Centre
master plan

Architectural Design & Research Institute Of Tsinghua University Co.Ltd 清华大学建筑设计研究院
T +86 10 62789996
Architectural Design & Research Institute Of Tsinghua University Co.Ltd 清华大学建筑设计研究院
1 Zhongguancun E Rd, Haidian District, Beijing, China, 100190 北京市海淀区蓝旗营中关村路1号