The strategy of landscape first for urban renewal in contemporary China

In the renovation of the old cities in contemporary china, the way of building first has been generally adopted for a long time. Land function transformation is made as a top priority in urban renewal for land value increment and tax. In this way, what is gained in economic interests temporarily is lost in the historical value and feature of old city. The paper presents a strategy of considering first the ecological environment, historical culture, features and public life of an old city from a landscape standpoint. To illustrate the practical applications of the strategy of landscape first, examples selected from New York, U.S.A, and Jiangsu Province P. R. of China are presented.