Formation Mechanism of “Mountain - Lake - City - River” Pattern in Huizhou and Duanzhou, Gateway Cities of the Pearl River Delta Region

Huizhou and Duanzhou (Zhaoqing), located in the Pearl River Delta region, are gateway cities of the Dongjiang River basins and Xijiang River basins into the Pearl River Delta respectively. In history, they formed the urban spatial structure of “mountain-lake-city-river”. They have carried out urban construction for over a thousand years, famous for the beautiful landscape of lakes and mountains. They share strong similarities. By using the comparative method, this paper analyzes the ideas, causes and practices of the formation of the two landscape cities from the aspects of regional geographical conditions and formation process. The research result shows that the regional geographical conditions and urban site selection of Huizhou and Duanzhou lay the geographical foundation for the formation of the “mountain-lake-city-river” structure. Due to various needs of urban and agricultural development, the subsequent artificial construction gradually shaped the lakes accompanying the cities and carried out landscape construction. The difference in the “Eight Scenes” reflects the local cultural characteristics and aesthetic tastes under the similar pattern of the two cities. From the dimensions of space, time and function, this paper puts forward some inspirations for the urban resilience development of contemporary Chinese cities, especially the fast developing delta cities.