Chinese industrial architecture (mid-20th century)

This article examines industrial architecture in mid-20th-century China. It examines the mechanisms underlying the development of planning concepts, stylistic features, and cultural expression in Chinese industrial architecture in the context of Soviet technical assistance, as well as the cultural content revealed through architectural decorative details. The aim of the analysis is to identify the cultural construct linking technological transfer, ideological expression, and cultural identity in the early period of China's socialist industrialization through the example of representative industrial buildings of the time. This study provides a systematic analysis of the architectural complexes of the First Automobile Plant in Changchun, Factory 798, First Tractor Plant in Luoyang, Third State Cotton Mill in Zhengzhou, and Taiyuan Chemical Fertilizer Plant. The focus is on the general layout, architectural forms, style, and decorative details of the facades. The obtained results can be applied to provide empirical material evidence in the study of cultural exchange between China and Russia, and also serve as an important theoretical and material basis for the study of the preservation of industrial architectural heritage and cultural studies. A comparative approach is used to conduct a comparative analysis of representative architectural ensembles of Chinese industrial architecture of the mid-20th century, revealing the deep meanings of industrial architecture as a carrier of social ideology and a symbol of cultural identity. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that in this study, industrial architecture of China of the mid-20th century is introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time as a material carrier of culture. The main conclusion of the study is that the industrial architecture of China of this period does not represent a simple technological transfer. Influenced by the Soviet model, it represents a highly standardized and functional architectural system, into which elements of traditional Chinese culture and symbolic expression are simultaneously organically woven. This architectural phenomenon demonstrates a unique architectural language that combines "socialist content" with "national form." These industrial complexes serve as material evidence of the beginning of the industrialization of the new China and serve as important confirmation of the deep architectural and cultural dialogue between the PRC and the USSR.