With a civilization history of over 5000 years, traditional Chinese architecture develops a school of its own, and has become an important component of the world architecture system. What does ancient Chinese architecture look like? What are the key features? The ancient Chinese architecture mainly refers to the structures built before 1911 (however, some latter-days buildings are also designed with a traditional style), including delicate gardens, magnificent rock caves, solemn imperial palaces, time-honored temples and monasteries...
The basic distinguishing characteristic of Chinese architecture is the employing of timber frames and rectangular units of space joined together as a whole. All ancient structures lay emphasis on horizontal and focus on the principle of balance and symmetry. In addition, they were built to face south to get more sunshine and avoid the cold wind. The roofs usually slope down on both sides and have a symbolism involved. Yet the styles and features may vary a little according to different areas of China.