Bin Xu

Bin Xu obtained her PhD from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University in 2015 with a dissertation on the characteristic of "Modelling Heaven and Earth" in The Qin capital, Xianyang (221BC–207BC) and Capital Chang’an of the Western Han (202BC–8AD). She is working on the recovery of the Capital Dadu of the Yuan (1271AD–1368AD) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Palace Museum. She was a Li Foundation Visiting Fellow at the Needham Research Institute (2016-2017), and an urban planner at Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute (2008-2010). She has published refereed articles in Science Bulletin, City Planning Review, Urban and Regional Planning, and Palace Museum Journal.

Bin’s current research project at the MPIWG focuses on the tradition of "Making Mount South the Front Gate" in the history of city planning in ancient China. She is using the Chinese Local Gazetteers Database to discuss the chronological and spatial distribution of Mount South, the principles of choosing Mount South and the astronomical symbolism of Mount South.

In addition, her research interests lie in the mechanism of urbanization in contemporary China, and the application of Chinese traditional planning and design method in practice. She is active in projects such as protection planning of archaeological sites, protection planning of historical cities and strategic spatial planning of cities.