Introduction

In the tide of global urbanization, Asia has become the region with the most rapid urban population growth and largest number of big cities in the world. In the cities of Asia, rapid urbanization and population growth has brought many ancient cities new vitality, but at the same time presents a great challenge to the original physical environment and historical culture of these cities. Accompanied by problems arising from economic growth and deep-level urbanization, the upgrading of existing urban space instead of large-scale expansion is playing an increasingly important role. Meanwhile, the significant roles of culture and the arts in urban development have begun to emerge and the way to solve old cities’ economic problems has been integrated with culture and the arts. Culture-led urban regeneration is gradually becoming a new pattern in the regeneration of old city centers in order to improve the urban setting, promote a new urban economy, and help combat economic recession in older cities.

In China, especially in the historic and cultural cities, cultural industries are always accompanied by heritage conservation. Whether it is a historical area of cultural value or the modern industrial heritage left in the process of industrial transformation, as reactivated and reused by the emerging cultural creative industry, it is an important means to prevent recession. Cities like Beijing have experienced dramatic spatial changes during the rapid development that has happened since the 1980s.