Guangzhou, China

The cultural route along the Pearl River is one of the backbones for revitalization of the city center. The river is the heart of the city, and the river embankment will serve as an attraction and a starting point for downtown visitors.

Recommendations and Strategy
Based on the visual image map, we developed proposals to improve the visual quality of the historic city. Using this analysis, we addressed the raised functional deficits and developed proposals to overcome them.

The Concept for the Pearl River Embankment
We think a very special idea is needed for Guangzhou; this is the unique story of the historic port recreated along the Pearl River Embankment. There were originally seven historic piers; the proposal is to recreate seven piers for tourist or leisure activities, combined with the ferry terminal.

New riverfront at Renmin Road: It is necessary to remove Renmin Road because it is a big barrier. The removal would allow for a beautiful connection to the riverfront; the recreated historic harbor and Renmin Road would become a green boulevard; the arcade buildings would become visible; there would be trees in the center; the reference is Las Ramblas in Barcelona.
The beautiful Shamian Island is now disconnected by the elevated road to the White Swan Hotel, which is not a very important road because the hotel could also be reached from the other side. The proposal is to remove the elevated road and instead enlarge the embankment with walkways or floating piers. Green spaces that cannot be reached easily are currently located there and would become part of the open space network.