A Chinese Approach to Urban Heritage Conservation and Inheritance: Focus on the Contemporary Changes of Shanghai’s Historic Spaces

By taking the Laochengxiang area, the lilong houses, the Bund and the industrial heritage as typical examples, this paper discusses the problems related to the conservation and regeneration of built heritage in Shanghai against the backdrop of large-scale urban development and the transformation of historic spaces in the city since the 1990s. It analyses the contradiction between development and heritage conservation in the process of urban redevelopment, and proposes a resolution to such problems. Furthermore, the paper has a reflection and analysis on the specific historical context of Shanghai as a metropolis and its changes from the past to the present.