Research on Humanistic Technology of Urban Design of Historical Blocks in Harbin

In this paper, the research objects are two historical and cultural blocks in Harbin which is a representative historic city located on the Northeast China. One of objects is the Central Street of Harbin, which attracts countless foreign visitors every year as a popular tourist area. The other object is the Chinese Baroque Historical Block, which is deserted after renovation and planning. What is the cause of such a big gap between the two historical and cultural blocks? The study attempts to analyze the problem by using urban design humanistic techniques. Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, and it was listed as national historic and cultural city by the State Council in 1994. Due to the intrusion of Russia at the end of 19th Century, Harbin was influenced by Western cultural thoughts, so that a large number of European style architectures had been built in the early urban development. These historical buildings have become the identity of the city, therefore, Harbin is also known as the Oriental Paris and the Oriental Moscow. Some cultural heritages of Harbin have been restored and protected reasonably and new urban functions have been added. They drive the urban economy and promote the urban tourism, such as the Central Street. However, some of cultural heritages have been destroyed and removed because of urban construction or replanning unreasonably. City context was destroyed causing irreversible consequences, such as the Chinese Baroque Historical Block. The analysis of two historical and cultural blocks includes the material aspects such as architecture, space, transportation, landscape, and non-material aspects such as culture, customs, belonging and identity. In the process of protecting and planning cultural heritage in historical city, urban design not only needs to deal with material and spatial planning, but also needs to strengthen the context of city and pay attention to the needs and psychological feelings of people. Since culture is the soul of a historic city, people are the carriers of culture, and humanistic care as the core idea of urban design is more important in historical protection. This paper try to propose a humanistic technology approach of urban design as a complement to existing urban design methods. Humanistic technology are divided into two technical routes: culture and human. The study of culture includes combing the historical context of the block, inheriting the traditional culture, increasing the cultural symbols in the place, introducing traditional folk activities, and highlighting the cultural atmosphere. The research about human includes the behaviors and feelings of foreign users, the daily life of local residents, the control and management of government development and distribution of interests of investors. Designers act as a bond to coordinate different subject groups, weigh the relationship between the various groups and maximize the overall benefits. This paper attempts to build a universal theory framework. Humanistic technology will be used as research foundation for urban design in the renovation and protection planning of cultural heritage.