A Three-Dimensional Landscape Framework for Stakeholder Identification in Coal Mining Heritage Conservation

Abstract

With the transformation of resource-based cities and the restructuring of industrial sectors, the sustainable conservation of coal mining heritage has become a global focus. In China, coal mining heritage faces challenges such as degradation and inadequate management, highlighting the urgent need for more context-sensitive and systematic conservation approaches. This study develops an integrated, landscape-oriented analytical framework for stakeholder identification to address these challenges and to better understand stakeholder differentiation in coal mining heritage conservation. The research objectives are as follows: (1) to bring together a three-dimensional framework based on material-technical, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions; (2) to analyse the roles and interactions of stakeholders; and (3) to explore how technical knowledge, socio-cultural memory, and daily experiences influence the protection and reuse of coal mining heritage sites. The study integrates the theoretical frameworks of landscape character assessment, historic urban landscape, and experiential landscape, using data from field observations and interviews analysed via ATLAS.ti. The findings show that the proposed framework offers a more systematic understanding of the dynamic relationships between stakeholders and heritage landscapes, thereby providing practical guidance for local governments and relevant institutions in developing inclusive and context-sensitive conservation strategies.

1. Introduction

Under rapid urbanisation and industrial restructuring, coal mining heritage has gained increasing attention in industrial heritage research. It reflects not only the history of resource extraction and technological evolution but also the collective memory of mining communities and the ongoing construction of local identity [1,2,3]. Coal mining heritage is better understood not as a mere material remnant but as a dynamic socio-cultural landscape shaped by diverse actors and competing values [4,5]. Consequently, its conservation and adaptive reuse involve more than preserving the physical industrial fabric; they are deeply intertwined with broader processes of urban regeneration, regional transformation, and the continuous reworking of place meaning [4,6]. The material forms and social memories embedded in these landscapes also shape which stakeholders are recognised, how power is distributed, and how participation is organised within heritage decision-making.

Coal mining heritage conservation involves more than preserving industrial remains. It is also a governance process shaped by institutional arrangements, historical trajectories, and the broader dynamics of industrial restructuring [1,7]. As a key component of industrial cultural heritage, coal mining heritage documents not only the technological history of resource extraction but also the labour histories of mining communities, the social transformation of resource-dependent regions, and the collective memories associated with them [8,9]. These intertwined dimensions shape how stakeholders perceive, value, interpret, and seek to transform heritage, thereby influencing their roles and degrees of participation in conservation processes [5,10]. Coal mining heritage sites are therefore better understood not as abandoned industrial spaces stripped of function but as dynamic cultural landscapes continually reshaped by economic transition, institutional reconfiguration, and changing social relations [11,12]. From this perspective, understanding how stakeholders are identified, positioned, and engaged is essential to developing more inclusive, context-sensitive, and socially responsive conservation strategies [1].

Although scholarly attention to industrial heritage has expanded in recent years—especially in relation to post-industrial transformation and adaptive reuse—coal mining heritage remains a contested area of research and practice. This is due not only to its historical significance but also to contemporary concerns over environmental responsibility, fossil-fuel dependence, and the legacy of extractive development. Despite this expanding body of research, many sites continue to face pressures from mine closure and resource depletion, manifested in vacancy, physical deterioration, value erosion, and excessive commercialisation [13,14,15,16,17,18]. These conditions show that coal mining heritage conservation is not simply a technical matter of preservation but a broader challenge of negotiating historical value, social meaning, and future development amid regional transformation.

In China, despite growing policy and scholarly attention, the conservation framework for coal mining heritage remains underdeveloped, leaving many sites vulnerable to management weaknesses and under-utilisation [19]. Beyond their intrinsic historical value, these sites are instrumental to regional economic transition and the preservation of cultural memory [1,20,21,22]. A central challenge, therefore, is to balance historical authenticity with the needs of identity reconstruction and social sustainability [23]. This makes it necessary to move beyond material protection to examine the identification, positioning, and interaction of diverse stakeholders. These actors interpret heritage through material features, historical meanings, and emotional attachments—dimensions that often produce divergent value judgements, interests, and power relations. Coal mining heritage is not a static industrial remnant but a complex cultural landscape where conservation unfolds through ongoing negotiation over heritage value and the future of the locality [1,4,11].

This complexity becomes especially visible in mining heritage sites with multiple historical layers, and the Anyuan Coal Mine is one of the most representative examples. Anyuan serves not only as a crucial spatial witness to China’s modern industrial evolution but also as a landmark site in the history of the Chinese labour movement and early revolutionary struggle. The 1922 Anyuan strike remains a cornerstone of modern Chinese labour history, while the 1927 mobilisation in the region was pivotally linked to the Autumn Harvest Uprising [24]. Accordingly, the heritage value of Anyuan extends far beyond that of a former industrial production site: it is a complex cultural landscape shaped by workers’ struggle, revolutionary memory, and local identity. In this context, local residents and former miners often place greater emphasis on the site’s symbolic and mnemonic value, as well as its role in identity formation, whereas heritage authorities and managers tend to prioritise the protection of physical remains, authenticity, and integrity. The tension between these value orientations is a central governance challenge in the conservation and adaptive reuse of coal mining heritage.

However, while sites like Anyuan vividly illustrate the coexistence of competing values and multi-actor interactions, systematic explanations of these dynamics remain scarce. Previous scholarship has focused predominantly on policy, regulatory frameworks, and spatial redevelopment, while paying comparatively less attention to the mechanisms through which stakeholders are identified, differentiated, and engaged [25,26]. Although the importance of stakeholders is acknowledged, there is still insufficient theoretical and methodological support for analysing the cultural value claims and socio-ecological concerns of diverse groups. Furthermore, current research fails to adequately explain how these claims are coordinated, negotiated, or brought into conflict within conservation practice [27,28]. Specifically, it remains unclear how the material, historical, and affective dimensions of coal mining heritage landscapes shape stakeholder delineation and position actors within the broader governance framework.

Overall, the literature has concentrated largely on participation mechanisms and collaborative models at the policy and planning level [29], while research on stakeholder identification and differentiation in coal mining heritage remains limited, particularly with regard to socio-cultural dimensions such as cultural identity, historical memory, and everyday lived experience [30,31,32]. Mainstream research remains dominated by quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, which often struggle to capture the socio-cultural complexity and experiential qualities embedded in coal mining heritage landscapes [14,33,34]. As a result, current scholarship remains constrained, especially in explaining how different landscape dimensions shape stakeholder positioning and how such positioning, in turn, influences governance processes.

To address these gaps, the study proposes a multidimensional, landscape-based framework by integrating Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, and Experiential Landscape (EL). The framework aims to identify the key actors and to analyse differences in their roles, value orientations, and forms of participation. It brings material, historical, and experiential dimensions into a single analytical perspective, rather than treating heritage through only one of these lenses. While each approach offers valuable insights, each provides only a partial understanding of these complex landscapes. Their integration therefore provides a stronger basis for identifying stakeholders and explaining their differentiated positions. As shown in Figure 1, this framework supports stakeholder identification and analysis through three dimensions.

Against this background, the study addresses the following three core research questions:

RQ1: How can the cultural and physical protection boundaries of coal mining heritage be defined?

RQ2: How can key stakeholders in coal mining heritage conservation be identified within a complex socio-cultural context?

RQ3: How do the roles, knowledge, and lived experiences of different stakeholders differ across the material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions, and how do these differences shape their positions and forms of participation in coal mining heritage conservation?

To address these questions, the study adopts a qualitative research design combining field observation, semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis, with data triangulation used throughout the analysis. The study contributes in three main ways. First, it develops an integrated framework for analysing the differentiated roles and interactions of multiple stakeholders. Second, by introducing a multidimensional landscape perspective, it extends research that has so far focused largely on institutional arrangements. Third, it shows that conservation cannot be separated from local identity and social sustainability and thus offers practical insights with broader relevance for industrial heritage in China and beyond.

The remainder of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 presents the theoretical background. Section 3 describes the study area, data sources, and research design. Section 4 reports the empirical findings. Section 5 discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, as well as the study’s limitations and future research directions. Section 6 concludes the paper.

2. Theoretical Background

A Multidimensional Perspective on Stakeholder Identification

Stakeholder identification in coal mining heritage conservation requires more than the conventional classification of governmental, professional, and community actors. Because coal mining heritage is simultaneously material, socio-historical, and experiential, different stakeholders engage with it through divergent forms of knowledge, value judgement, and everyday practice. A single analytical perspective is therefore unlikely to capture the multifaceted complexity of stakeholder positions in heritage governance. To address this problem, this study adopts a multidimensional perspective integrating Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, and Experiential Landscape (EL). These three perspectives are complementary rather than interchangeable: LCA foregrounds the material and spatial dimensions of heritage, HUL emphasises historical layering and socio-cultural value, and EL highlights lived experience and emotional attachment. Used together, these perspectives provide a robust basis to identify stakeholders, compare their value orientations, and explain why they occupy different positions in coal mining heritage governance.

Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) focuses on landscape form, spatial structure, and environmental character. Its analytical procedure generally involves two interrelated stages: characterisation and evaluation. The former identifies landscape elements, spatial boundaries, and their organisational relationships, while the latter assesses conservation significance, adaptive reuse potential, and management priorities on that basis [4,35]. Drawing on ecology, geography, history, and sociology, LCA offers a systematic way of understanding the composite qualities of natural and cultural landscapes [4,35,36]. As shown in Figure 2, this analytical logic is particularly useful for research on industrial and heritage landscapes. In the context of coal mining heritage, LCA helps to examine the distribution of mining areas, the layout of industrial facilities, and environmental characteristics, thereby identifying stakeholders most closely involved in material preservation, boundary delineation, and technical assessment [37,38]. However, because LCA prioritises visible form and material attributes, it is less equipped to capture the social memory, cultural meanings, and everyday practices embedded in mining communities [4,9,35].

The Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach treats heritage not as an isolated physical object but as part of broader historical processes, social structures, and cultural dynamics [39,40,41]. Moving beyond a narrow focus on individual buildings or designated heritage zones, HUL incorporates historical layering, collective memory, community values, and contemporary development needs into a more comprehensive understanding of heritage [40,41]. In coal mining heritage conservation, this perspective is particularly valuable because it allows mining sites to be understood as historical cultural landscapes shaped by industrial development, social change, and local identity formation. It also helps explain how historical memory is embedded in local landscapes and how heritage contributes to cultural continuity and community identity [13,42,43]. However, the broad conceptual scope of HUL presents practical limitations; although it is effective in situating heritage within wider urban and social processes, it offers limited operational guidance for site-level management, stakeholder prioritisation, and concrete conservation decisions [41,44].

Experiential Landscape (EL) approaches landscape not simply as an objective material setting but as a place continuously experienced, interpreted, and given meaning through perception, memory, emotional attachment, and everyday practice [45]. This perspective foregrounds place attachment, affective relations, routine interaction, and lived experience and is especially useful for showing how different social groups understand, inhabit, and engage with heritage in everyday life [36,46,47]. In coal mining heritage conservation, EL highlights the role of workers, residents, visitors, and other social actors in shaping the meanings and emotional memories associated with a site, thereby drawing attention to experiential dimensions that cannot be captured fully through material assessment or historical narrative alone [45,48]. While EL is well suited to capturing subjective perception and context-specific meaning-making, it is less useful on its own for defining formal conservation boundaries, setting management priorities, or informing technical decision-making [46,47,49].

These three perspectives are used together as an integrated analytical framework for stakeholder identification. This integrated perspective avoids reducing heritage to a single dimension and makes it possible to examine how physical features, historical significance, community values, and emotional attachment intersect in conservation practice. It also helps explain why different stakeholders engage with heritage through different logics and how those logics shape their roles, priorities, and positions within conservation governance. In this study, the framework is applied to identify key stakeholders and interpret their differentiated roles, value orientations, and positions within heritage conservation.

3. Materials and Methods

The research procedures and methodologies used in this study have been reviewed and approved by the Nanjing Normal University Ethics Committee. The approval number is NNU202501012.

3.1. Study Area

This study utilises the Anyuan Coal Mine, located in Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, China, as a pivotal case study site for examining stakeholder identification in coal mining heritage conservation. As one of the earliest modern coal mines in China to adopt advanced mining technologies, Anyuan played an important role in the country’s early industrialisation. Historically, it was ranked alongside Fushun and Kailuan as one of China’s “three major coal mines” and was widely recognised as the largest coal mine in southern China. It therefore represents a historical trajectory of industrial development, social transformation, and labour mobilisation [50].

Beyond its industrial significance, Anyuan also possesses distinctive historical and socio-cultural value. Its close association with the workers’ movement and revolutionary mobilisation in modern China has endowed the site with meanings that extend well beyond industrial production. These layered historical connections make Anyuan a heritage landscape in which industrial memory, political symbolism, and local identity are deeply intertwined. Its heritage system encompasses both tangible and intangible dimensions. Tangible heritage includes industrial buildings, mining facilities, transport-related structures, and other historic spatial elements, while intangible heritage is reflected in collective memory, local identity, revolutionary traditions, and cultural practices rooted in community life [42,51].

Among the major tangible heritage sites are the Old Workers’ Club, the Consumer Cooperative, Shenggong Temple, the Zongping Tunnel, the Negotiation Building, and the Four Courtyards (East, West, South, and North Gardens). These sites bear witness to the rise and decline of the coal mining industry and reflect the historical processes of coal extraction, labour organisation, and social change in the region. They also form an important cultural core of local community identity and social cohesion. The geographical location and spatial layout of the Anyuan Coal Mine are shown in Figure 3.

The Anyuan heritage site currently faces several interrelated challenges. Several historic buildings have suffered structural deterioration and visible physical decay. At the same time, some commercial redevelopment projects prioritise short-term economic returns over the preservation of historical authenticity and the cultural value of intangible heritage. This coexistence of spatial degradation and cultural erosion is not unique to Anyuan but reflects a broader dilemma in coal mining heritage conservation, underscoring the need to move beyond material restoration towards more integrated heritage management [52]. Precisely because of its combined industrial, social, and political significance, Anyuan provides a representative and analytically rich case for examining how coal mining heritage landscapes are identified, valued, and conserved.

3.2. Data Sources

The study draws on three main sources of evidence—literature and archival materials, field observations, and semi-structured interviews—to ensure contextual depth, methodological triangulation, and analytical robustness.

3.2.1. Information Collection

A systematic literature review was conducted to gather recent scholarship on coal mining heritage conservation, with particular attention to stakeholder identification, community participation, Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), and cultural value reconstruction. The sources consulted included academic journal articles, policy documents, and technical reports, which provided the theoretical and methodological foundation for the study [1]. In addition, archival materials were collected from the Anyuan Coal Mine Memorial Hall, the Workers’ Club Exhibition Hall, and local archives to obtain historical documents and images relating to coal mining, industrial development, social memory, and community life [53]. Together, these written and archival materials provided the contextual basis for the subsequent qualitative analysis.

3.2.2. Field Observations

Field observation was used to record stakeholders’ behavioural patterns, interactions, and forms of participation in the conservation process. At the initial stage of fieldwork, the research team adopted Girot’s (1999) “landing” approach [54], which emphasises recording first impressions of a site through sensory perception and multiple perspectives, including visual character, atmosphere, and sense of place [55]. Fieldwork was undertaken during multiple site visits between February 2022 and June 2025.

Observation was carried out in three complementary forms across the main roads, surrounding streets, pedestrian routes, public spaces, and areas around key industrial remains: vehicular transect surveys to understand the overall spatial structure and activity distribution of the heritage area; walking surveys to document detailed landscape characteristics and everyday practices; and stationary observation in major public spaces to examine spatial use and stakeholder interaction. Each observation session generally lasted between two and three hours [56,57,58].

Particular attention was paid to spatial use, stakeholder interaction, informal participation, and the everyday expression of heritage value. Data were recorded through field notes, photographs, video recordings, and on-site documentation and were subsequently triangulated with archival materials and interview data [59,60,61].

3.2.3. Semi-Structured Interviews

To gain a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ roles, knowledge systems, and experiential perspectives, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with heritage conservation experts (n = 4), community managers (n = 2), community residents (n = 1), and mine workers (n = 1). The interview guide was designed with reference to the three analytical dimensions of the study—physical landscape features, socio-cultural identity, and emotional experience—in order to explore participants’ understandings of heritage value, local memory, community participation, and landscape experience.

The interviews were conducted during fieldwork and lasted approximately 30 to 60 min each. With participants’ informed consent, all interviews were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim [62]. The transcripts were then coded thematically and triangulated with field observation records and archival materials. The interview data provided qualitative evidence of how different stakeholders understood the meanings and values of the heritage site and contributed to the identification of the stakeholder groups most relevant to its conservation. This interview design aligns with current research in industrial heritage studies that emphasises stakeholder participation, local knowledge, and collaborative governance [63].

3.3. Research Design

To address the core research questions, this study developed a three-stage qualitative research design covering the dimensions of physical space, socio-cultural context, and lived experience. The design emphasised methodological triangulation and a stakeholder-centred analytical approach, in line with recent developments in industrial heritage conservation and participatory governance research [64,65,66].

(1)

Defining the preliminary boundaries

Through a combination of literature review and field investigation, the study defined both the physical and socio-cultural boundaries of the research. The physical boundaries included key heritage elements such as staff dormitories, conference buildings, and tunnels. The socio-cultural boundaries covered historically and symbolically significant spaces, including the Zongping Tunnel, Chairman Mao’s former residence, and the Workers’ Movement Memorial Hall. This dual definition helped ensure that the analysis remained focused on both the core spatial extent and the cultural significance of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage site.

(2)

Identifying Key Stakeholders

Based on the defined boundaries, the study employed field observation and semi-structured interviews to identify and analyse key stakeholders in coal mining heritage conservation. Stakeholders were distinguished according to their roles, knowledge backgrounds, and levels of influence. Observation was used to record behavioural patterns and interactions, while interviews explored participants’ knowledge systems, experiential backgrounds, and perceived influence on conservation strategies [67,68,69,70]. To ensure diversity among participants, the study combined purposive and snowball sampling. Key stakeholders with relevant experience and knowledge, including heritage conservation experts, community managers, interpreters, residents, and mine workers, were first selected through purposive sampling. Snowball sampling was then used to expand the pool of interviewees through recommendations from existing participants [71].

(3)

Analytical procedure

The integrated analytical framework developed in this study was operationalised across three dimensions. LCA guided the analysis of material components, spatial boundaries, landscape patterns, and physical integrity; HUL informed the interpretation of historical layering, institutional context, and socio-cultural significance; and EL supported the analysis of lived experience, emotional attachment, and everyday meanings associated with the heritage site. Interview materials were organised and analysed thematically with the aid of ATLAS.ti 24. Recurring issues relating to physical protection, socio-cultural value, and emotional attachment were identified and interpreted in relation to stakeholder perspectives and engagement with the heritage site. The analysis followed the principle of data triangulation, with interview materials examined alongside field observation records and archival sources [72]. Some data were also organised in Excel 2019 to facilitate comparison across stakeholder groups and recurrent issues. These procedures enhanced the transparency and robustness of the analysis.

4. Results

4.1. Inventory of Significance and Determination of the Preliminary Study Boundary for the Anyuan Coal Mine

Using the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) framework, this study delineates a preliminary study boundary for the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape and identifies its principal landscape characteristics. This boundary is defined analytically to capture the spaces, values, and social actors relevant to the subsequent process of stakeholder identification and analysis. In the context of coal mining heritage, such delineation is particularly important because the spatial framing of the site directly shapes which forms of heritage significance and which stakeholder groups are included in conservation and adaptive reuse strategies [4].

The preliminary study boundary encompasses the core components of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape, including industrial buildings, historical sites, and associated cultural landscapes. These components embody overlapping historical, cultural, and social values and therefore provide the spatial basis for the subsequent analysis of stakeholder roles and relationships [1,16].

This boundary complements, rather than replaces, existing administrative and officially designated heritage boundaries. It extends beyond listed buildings, monuments, and formally protected sites to include ecological restoration areas, abandoned industrial land, and adjacent residential and commercial spaces where heritage values continue to be experienced, negotiated, and reshaped through everyday practice.

4.1.1. Historical Evolution and Architectural Heritage of the Anyuan Coal Mine

The built environment of the Anyuan Coal Mine forms the core material basis of this study. Its heritage system has been shaped by two major historical phases, each of which contributed distinctive architectural features and cultural meanings.

• Initial construction phase (1898–1906):
  This phase marks the establishment of the core production facilities, workers’ residential areas, and office buildings of the Anyuan Coal Mine, laying the material and spatial foundations for subsequent industrial expansion. The architecture of this period combined early industrial forms with local construction techniques, reflecting the initial stage of China’s industrial modernisation in the late Qing period. These buildings not only record the development of industrial technology but also preserve traces of broader social and institutional transformation and thus constitute important material evidence of China’s early industrialisation [73,74]. Many of these early buildings still retain their original spatial layout and architectural characteristics, making them valuable for understanding the transition from a traditional to a modern industrial society.

• Rise of the workers’ movement (post-1921):
  Following the closure of the Hanyang Iron Works and the economic crisis after 1921, Anyuan emerged as a major site in the history of the Chinese workers’ movement. This period saw the emergence of a series of buildings and commemorative spaces associated with workers’ organisation, education, and revolutionary mobilisation, including the Workers’ Club, consumer cooperatives, conference buildings, and monuments. These spaces not only accommodated collective activities and social mobilisation but also marked the awakening of workers’ political consciousness and the practice of social reform [75,76]. At the material level, these heritage buildings reflect the historical process through which the working class fought for rights and participated in politics. At the cultural level, they contributed to the construction of collective memory and local working-class identity and became an integral part of Chinese revolutionary culture [16,77].

Using 1921 as the dividing line, the architectural heritage of the Anyuan Coal Mine can be classified into two broad categories, as shown in

Table 1. The important settings of the Anyuan coal mine.

Buildings Before 1921	Buildings After 1921
The Pingming office building (Shengong Temple)	Former site of the Workers’ Club of Anyuan Road before the Strike
Anyuan Road mine workers’ strike negotiation site	The old site of Anyuan Road Miners’ Club after the strike
Zhanggong Temple	Ping’an section of Zhu-Ping railroad
The Finance Office	Mao Zedong’s residence in Anyuan
East, South, West, and North Quadrangle Courtyards	Former site of the Workers’ Night School in Anyuan
Mining Academy	Vertical shaft winch
Pingxiang old station	Former site of the Autumn Harvest Uprising Conference
Zongping Lane	Former site of the Workers’ Consumer Cooperative of Anyuan Road
Anyuan Power Plant
East stranded ballast field

[78].

This classification reveals the historical layering of the built environment, showing that different groups of heritage buildings correspond to different phases of industrial production, labour politics, and community memory. The inventory presented in Table 1 also identifies the principal spatial carriers of industrial production, workers’ activism, and everyday social life within the site.

On this basis, the preliminary study boundary extends beyond a narrowly monument-centred definition of heritage. It includes not only formally recognised industrial and commemorative buildings, but also the surrounding spaces that supported production, residence, organisation, and collective memory. The historical evolution of the built environment therefore provides the principal basis for boundary delineation by identifying those spaces that are materially and historically central to the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape.

4.1.2. Preliminary Study Boundary of the Anyuan Coal Mine

Building on the historical evolution and architectural heritage outlined in Section 4.1.1, the heritage landscape of the Anyuan Coal Mine was categorised into five preliminary analytical zones. These zones serve as spatial units to distinguish different functional uses, heritage meanings, and patterns of stakeholder involvement [4]. This study establishes a preliminary boundary for analysis and a spatial framework for examining stakeholder roles, interests, and influence in conservation and adaptive reuse.

Zone 1: Greening area. This zone, comprising dune areas and abandoned factory landscape belts, reflects processes of environmental recovery. Characterised by ongoing ecological rehabilitation, it represents the ecological dimension of the heritage landscape, extending the study boundary beyond the industrial core [16].

Zone 2: Main architectural heritage area. This zone preserves the principal architectural forms, such as early industrial plants and workers’ housing. These structures reflect the technological features and spatial organisation of modern Chinese coal-industry architecture [69,70]. In this study, it is treated as an integral component of a broader landscape rather than an isolated conservation enclave.

Zone 3: Core Anyuan mining district. This zone contains buildings of high historical significance (e.g., Zongping Lane, Anyuan Workers’ Club), where the tangible intersection of industrial remains and social memory is most pronounced [16]. Principal stakeholders here include heritage authorities and community representatives, who play crucial roles in identity reconstruction [1].

Zone 4: Abandoned factory area. Comprising demolished or abandoned remains, this zone reveals acute tensions between heritage conservation and redevelopment pressures. These spaces are material traces of industrial civilisation yet are subject to the pragmatic demands of urban transformation [75].

Zone 5: Residential and commercial areas. This zone encompasses spaces where heritage functions have been updated for modern use. The stakeholder composition here is highly heterogeneous, including residents, business owners, and local managers [76]. This underscores that coal mining heritage is sustained not only through protected remains but also through everyday use and social practice.

The five-zone division shows that the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape is spatially differentiated and extends beyond a monument- or building-centred understanding of heritage. Industrial remains, ecological restoration areas, community spaces, and redevelopment zones are all incorporated into the preliminary study boundary. It also indicates where industrial, revolutionary, ecological, and everyday-use values are concentrated across the site, thereby providing the spatial basis for the stakeholder analysis presented in the following section. The site plan and spatial layout of the Anyuan Coal Mine are shown in Figure 4.

The preliminary study boundary proposed here is broader and more landscape-oriented than conventional approaches to heritage recognition, which tend to focus on formally listed buildings and revolutionary memorial sites. It includes not only protected architectural and commemorative sites, but also spaces of ecological recovery, abandoned industrial transition, and everyday community use that remain functionally and historically connected to the heritage landscape.

4.1.3. Landscape Characterisation: Natural and Cultural Dimensions

After identifying the five functional zones, the Anyuan heritage landscape was further grouped into two analytical dimensions through the LCA approach: natural landscape and cultural landscape. This additional classification sharpens the preliminary study boundary by separating ecological features from historically embedded cultural spaces. It also makes clearer how different parts of the site carry different forms of heritage value.

The natural landscape includes ecological restoration areas, greening zones, and other landscape elements shaped by environmental recovery. This dimension helps identify the roles of stakeholders such as environmental protection departments and other actors involved in ecological stewardship and landscape management.

Table 2. Types and characteristics of the natural landscape of the Anyuan Coal Mine. Image source: Photographs taken by the author in 2025.

Characters		No	Landscape Character Areas and Types
Natural—Rural—Semi-Natural	Geological remains	1	Anyuan coal mine area
	Ecological landscape	2	Undulating sand dune forest
	Scenic landscape	3	Undulating scenic planting
	Abandoned factory landscape	4	Flat Abandoned Factory Park Recreation Area

presents the main types and characteristics of the natural landscape of the Anyuan Coal Mine.

The cultural landscape includes buildings, sites, and spatial settings closely associated with industrial production, workers’ movements, revolutionary events, and community life and thus forms the core of local historical memory and social identity [53].

Table 3. Classification of the cultural landscapes of the Anyuan Coal Mine. Image source: Photographs taken by the author in 2025.

Characters		No	Coal Mining Heritage	Built Time	Type
Cultural Landscapes	Heritage Settlement	5	Zhanggong Temple	1906	Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit
		6	The former site of the general strike meeting for the Anyuan party deployment	1922	No
		8	The former site of the Anyuan road workers’ club before the strike	1922	No
		9	The former site of the Anyuan road Mine Worker’ Consumer cooperative	1922	No
		10	The former site of the Anyuan Workers’ and Peasants’ Government	1930	No
		11	Site of Negotiation for Anyuan Rails and Mine Workers’ Strike- Gongwu Zonghui	1906	1906
		12	The former site of the Anyuan Workers’ Club after the strike	1924	No
		14	Senggong Temple	1898	Provincial Important Cultural Heritage Unit
	Main Core Settlement of Anyuan Coal Mining	15	North House	1980s	No
		16	West House	1980s	No
		17	East House	1980s	No
		18	South House	1980s	No
		19	Suifeji Temple	1900	District level conservation unit
		20	Former site of the Autumn-Harvest Uprising meeting	1927	No
		21	Zongping Lane	1989	Provincial Important Cultural Heritage Unit
		22	Anyuan electric power station	1987	Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit
	Abandoned factory	23	Side urban Settlement		Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit
	Regular Settlement	24	Flat Medium density Settlement Area
		25	Medium density and Dilapidated settlement areas on slightly rugged land
		26	Flat Commercial and Settlement Area
	Comm-Settle Railway track	27	Old green train railway track

presents the classification and spatial characteristics of the cultural landscape of the Anyuan Coal Mine.

Distinguishing these two dimensions makes it possible to define the study boundary more precisely and to provide a clearer spatial basis for the stakeholder analysis in the following section [4,79].

4.2. Identification of Stakeholder Types, Core Competencies, and Roles

Based on the preliminary study boundary defined in Section 4.1, stakeholder identification was undertaken across the material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape. This study approached stakeholders as differentiated actors directly involved in, affected by, or capable of influencing heritage conservation and adaptive reuse.

Drawing on the integrated framework of LCA, HUL, and EL and supported by field observation and semi-structured interviews, three principal stakeholder categories were identified: mine conservation specialists, community stakeholders, and experiential landscape stakeholders. These categories differ in their functional roles as well as in the kinds of knowledge, legitimacy, and influence they bring to heritage conservation.

4.2.1. Stakeholder Categories

Drawing on the preliminary study boundary, together with evidence from field observation, semi-structured interviews, and thematic organisation of the qualitative material, this study identified three key stakeholder categories. These categories differ in their functional roles as well as in the kinds of knowledge, legitimacy, and influence they bring to heritage conservation [4].

(1)

Mine conservation specialists

Mine conservation specialists represent the technical dimension of conservation. Under the LCA framework, they act as professional stewards of the physical landscape, responsible for maintaining material integrity, ecological stability, and functional continuity [63]. This category mainly includes experts from municipal- or provincial-level heritage and planning bodies. Their involvement centres on the implementation of restoration and ecological rehabilitation plans. Their authority derives primarily from professional expertise, technical assessment, and management responsibility. Tensions become visible when technical judgements about “authenticity” or ecological rehabilitation diverge from community expectations grounded in memory and emotional attachment.

(2)

Community stakeholders

Representing the socio-cultural dimension, these actors are central carriers of cultural identity and collective memory under the HUL framework [28]. Field observation and interview evidence indicated that this group was closely connected to the site through long-term residence, shared memory, and continued participation in community and cultural life. This group includes long-term residents and local cultural organisations. Their importance lies in their ability to identify which “places of memory” remain meaningful. Their influence rests less on formal decision-making power than on historically grounded knowledge, local memory, and socio-cultural legitimacy. Tensions emerge when community understandings of historical value do not align with professional priorities, especially those associated with commercial redevelopment [16,28].

(3)

Experiential landscape stakeholders

Representing the experiential dimension of the EL framework, this group includes workers and visitors whose relationships to the site are shaped through sensory perception and everyday use [80]. They engage with the landscape not through formal authority, but through affective connection. Their importance lies in revealing how heritage is perceived and reinterpreted in everyday life. They help sustain the site’s experiential relevance through embodied familiarity, emotional attachment, and repeated interaction with the landscape. Tensions may arise when these experiential attachments do not fully align with the more technical or economic priorities of other stakeholder groups [76,80].

These three categories illustrate the multidimensional logic of stakeholder analysis by linking technical expertise, socio-cultural value, and lived experience. This classification helps explain the diverse interests and power relations that stakeholders bring to the conservation process. It also shows that their roles are shaped not just by professional expertise but also by their cultural, historical, and emotional connections to the site. Stakeholder differentiation in coal mining heritage conservation is not simply a matter of role allocation but of how different actors are positioned within governance through distinct forms of knowledge, legitimacy, and influence.

4.2.2. Participant Selection and Role Analysis

Based on the integrated framework of LCA, HUL, and EL, this study further examined the professional backgrounds, core competencies, and practical roles of the participants involved in the conservation of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape. The analysis focused on both their occupational profiles and their contributions to material restoration, socio-cultural value transmission, and emotional identification within the conservation process [4,16].

Table 4. Occupational types for stakeholders in mining conservation.

Type of Occupation	Outstanding Project	Involvements
Architect engineer	‘The Pingxiang Anyuan Mining Area Historical and Cultural Heritage Enhancement and Restoration Project’	Participate in the project’s overall planning and design, supervise construction, and contribute to post-construction maintenance and support.
Landscape engineer	‘The Pingxiang Anyuan Mining Area Historical and Cultural Heritage Enhancement and Restoration Project’	Participate in the project’s overall planning and design, supervise construction, and contribute to post-construction maintenance and support.
Environmental protection engineer	‘The Pingxiang Anyuan Mining Area Historical and Cultural Heritage Enhancement and Restoration Project’	Participate in the project’s development action plan and construction monitoring and continue to contribute to post-completion maintenance and protection.

presents the main professional types within the Anyuan conservation team, including architects and engineers, whose roles correspond primarily to the technical and ecological dimensions of conservation.

Table 5. Occupations, skills, and workflow of relevant stakeholders.

Occupation	Responsibilities	Skills and Insightful Knowledge Essential for This Research	Key Operational Tasks
Architect Engineer	Participate in identifying and solving heritage site issues and provide decision-making support.	Identify site issues, develop solutions, and enhance site opportunities.	Conduct regular site visits, perform on-site inspections, and provide decision-making support.
Landscape Engineer	Participate in heritage sites’ planning and design and support the decision-making process.	Address site-related issues and enhance site opportunities.	Participate in design and planning, conduct on-site inspections, and support preservation efforts.
Environmental Protection Engineer	Participate in the development and supervision of environmental protection measures.	Identify and solve environmental protection issues and promote environmental protection measures.	Participate in environmental action plan development and monitoring and ensure their implementation.
Heritage lecturer	Explain the coal mining heritage’s historical and cultural background and provide interpretive services.	Gain in-depth knowledge of the coal mining history, specialise in interpreting significant sites, and promote public awareness and understanding.	Interpret historical events, provide heritage knowledge, and ensure that the public understands cultural preservation strategies.
Mine technical manager	Understand the coal mining production process, industry supply chain, equipment, and technology, and be familiar with the construction of the mining area, disaster events, and worker organisations.	Be familiar with the mining areas’ processes, technology, and equipment and knowledgeable about the historical background, culture, and modern development.	Track construction and cultural and disaster events; visit designated locations; collect, organise, and process data.
Community manager	Understand the local community’s culture and activities and be familiar with the recent community organisations and their impacts.	Understand community culture and activities and their role in landscape preservation.	Track cultural activities, visit designated locations, collect data, and participate in community events.
Worker	Understand the coal mining production process, industry supply chain, equipment, and technology and be familiar with the construction of the mining area, disaster events, and worker organisations.	Be familiar with the technology and equipment in the mining area’s work environment and understand its historical and cultural background.	Track construction, cultural, and disaster events, visit designated locations, collect data, and participate in daily work.
Inhabitant	Understand the local community’s culture and activities and be familiar with recent event organisation and its impacts.	Understand community culture and activities and provide clues and information related to landscape preservation.	Track cultural activities, visit designated locations, collect data, and participate in local events.

details the specific responsibilities and core skills of the relevant stakeholders. Different occupational groups were approached through a combination of field observation, casual conversation, and, where relevant, direct experience of interpretive services. Together, these roles form an interdisciplinary and multi-level governance network linking planning, implementation, interpretation, and community participation.

To ensure analytical rigour, eight key participants were selected for in-depth analysis through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling (

Table 6. Participant backgrounds.

	Experience	Age	Sex	Nationality	Locality Status
Architect Engineer	13 years	42 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous
Landscape Engineer	12 years	42 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous
Environmental Protection Engineer	12 years	42 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous
Heritage lecturer	5 years	35 years old	Female	China	Local indigenous
Mine technical manager	25 years	53 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous
Community manager	11 years	58 years old	Female	China	Local indigenous
Worker	21 years	46 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous
Inhabitant	59 years	59 years old	Male	China	Local indigenous

). These participants included technical experts, community managers, interpreters, workers, and residents, thereby reflecting the diversity of knowledge, experience, and social position involved in heritage conservation at Anyuan.

The selected participants illustrate how different actors contribute to conservation in different ways. Technical experts were mainly involved in maintaining material authenticity and ecological integrity; interpreters and community managers strengthened socio-cultural transmission and public engagement; and workers and residents provided insight into emotional attachment, labour memory, and everyday interactions with the site. Through semi-structured interviews, this study examined their professional experience, social background, and multidimensional influence on heritage conservation decisions [28,71]. These participant profiles provide empirical support for understanding the social complexity and cultural context of coal mining heritage conservation at Anyuan.

4.3. Understanding Stakeholder Roles and Interactions Through Three Theoretical Frameworks

This study integrates LCA, HUL, and EL to analyse stakeholder roles, forms of knowledge, and interactions in coal mining heritage conservation across three interrelated dimensions: material conservation, socio-cultural value, and experiential engagement [4,63]. Building on the thematic organisation outlined in Section A Multidimensional Perspective on Stakeholder Identification, interview and observational materials were interpreted through these recurring dimensions, which structure Section 4.3.1, Section 4.3.2 and Section 4.3.3. Used together, these frameworks provide a more integrated account of stakeholder dynamics in industrial heritage governance than any single perspective alone [28,73].

4.3.1. Stakeholder Roles in the Material Dimension: An LCA-Based Analysis

Within the material dimension, technical actors—particularly landscape engineers and environmental specialists—played a central role in ecological restoration, physical repair, and site management [4]. Their work focused primarily on ecological assessment, environmental remediation, and restoration planning [52,61]. This reflects a broader conservation logic in which priorities are shaped not only by the condition of built remains but also by the ecological state of the wider heritage landscape and the practical demands of long-term management.

Interview findings highlighted two closely related priorities: the long-term ecological sustainability of the heritage site and the integration of physical repair with landscape-scale restoration. As one environmental specialist explained, “In addition to paying attention to the preserved remains, especially those included in the national industrial heritage protection list, what matters more is ensuring that the site can maintain its ecological functions in the long term, particularly around the waste dump area and the lower section of Dengzhanwo.” For these stakeholders, conservation was understood less as the repair of individual structures than as the management of a broader landscape in which ecological recovery and heritage protection had to be addressed together.

The LCA-based analysis further showed that restoration decisions were closely tied to landscape-scale considerations [37,79]. As one landscape engineer noted, “Structural repair and ecological issues cannot be separated; restoration decisions must simultaneously take historical value and ecological recovery into account.” Technical stakeholders therefore played an important role in aligning ecological rehabilitation with the conservation of historically significant spatial features [63]. Their role in the material dimension was not confined to engineering intervention but extended to coordinating physical integrity, ecological stability, and long-term management needs.

4.3.2. Stakeholder Roles in the Socio-Cultural Dimension: An HUL-Based Analysis

Within the socio-cultural dimension, local communities and workers are the primary agents sustaining the social meaning of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape [16,43,81,82]. Their authority rests not on formal expertise but on cultural legitimacy and historically grounded memory. In this dimension, heritage is sustained less through technical intervention than through the continued circulation of local narratives, commemorative practices, and shared understandings of the site’s significance.

Interview findings highlighted two closely related features of community engagement: the persistence of collective memory and the continued reproduction of socio-cultural meaning through everyday and commemorative practice. As one miner explained, “We worked here for many years, and many things happened here. There were mining accidents during the coal extraction period, and it is still painful to think about them. Over there used to be a canteen for ten thousand people, but it has now been demolished.” For many participants, the site meant more than industrial production. It also evoked memories of hardship, loss, and the broader social world once tied to mining life. Interview materials also showed that residents and workers often referred to family history, labour experience, seasonal activities, and commemorative rituals when describing the significance of the site.

The HUL-based analysis shows that community stakeholders contributed forms of knowledge rooted in long-term residence, lived history, and place-based cultural understanding. Their importance lay not in providing technical solutions, but in identifying which places, practices, and memories remained meaningful within the local community, thereby giving heritage conservation historical continuity and cultural legitimacy [16]. Community stakeholders contributed less through formal decision-making than through sustaining and interpreting local heritage meanings. Their influence rested on socio-cultural legitimacy rather than institutional authority, shaping conservation by defining what remained meaningful, memorable, and worth preserving within the community.

4.3.3. Stakeholder Roles in the Experiential Dimension: An EL-Based Analysis

Within the experiential dimension, workers, residents, visitors, and heritage interpreters engaged with the heritage landscape through perception, movement, sensory familiarity, and emotional attachment [45]. Their relationship with the site was shaped primarily through everyday interaction and lived experience rather than formal institutional authority. This dimension points to another layer of stakeholder influence: heritage is sustained not only through technical intervention or cultural transmission but also through recurrent embodied encounters with the site.

Interview findings highlighted two closely related features of experiential engagement: the formation of emotional attachment through embodied and sensory experience, and the mediation of heritage meaning through interpretation and communication. As one worker recalled, “When crossing this railway, you immediately feel that you are entering the mining area. Standing at the entrance of the main haulage roadway and the auxiliary roadway, the atmosphere feels different; inside, it is narrow and busy.” For these participants, the heritage landscape was experienced not simply as a historical setting but as part of everyday life and embodied perception. Interview materials also showed that miners’ labour memories, residents’ life experiences, and visitors’ sensory impressions all contributed to the site’s experiential character [16,63].

The EL-based analysis further shows that heritage interpreters played an important mediating role in this dimension. Through storytelling, guided interpretation, and emotionally resonant communication, they connected the public to the history and value of the site and translated industrial heritage into forms accessible to wider audiences [53]. Experiential stakeholders mattered not only because they encountered the site directly, but also because they helped sustain the public communication, emotional resonance, and continued everyday relevance of heritage value.

4.3.4. Summary of Stakeholder Roles Across the Three Dimensions

The findings indicate that stakeholder participation in the conservation of the Anyuan Coal Mine heritage landscape is differentiated across three interrelated dimensions. Technical actors derive authority primarily from professional expertise and management responsibility; community stakeholders from historical continuity, local memory, and socio-cultural legitimacy; and experiential stakeholders from embodied familiarity, emotional attachment, and their capacity to sustain the site’s public relevance.

These differences do not concern role allocation alone. They also reflect distinct forms of knowledge, legitimacy, and influence within heritage governance. Rather than operating in isolation, these stakeholder groups interact through coordination, overlap, and occasional tension among technical, socio-cultural, and experiential priorities. This three-dimensional analysis helps explain how material, socio-cultural, and experiential values are distributed across stakeholder groups and how these differences shape the wider governance of coal mining heritage.

5. Discussion

5.1. Theoretical Implications of the Integrated Three-Dimensional Framework

This study proposes a stakeholder identification framework from a multidimensional landscape perspective by integrating Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, and Experiential Landscape (EL). The framework helps explain which actors need to be considered in coal mining heritage conservation and how their roles, value orientations, and forms of participation differ across contexts. The findings show that stakeholder roles are differentiated across material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions, rather than being defined solely by material remains or institutional actors. These dimensions are not peripheral to heritage governance; they shape how different actors acquire authority, legitimacy, and interpretive influence.

The study makes three main theoretical contributions. First, it rethinks stakeholder analysis in industrial heritage research by showing that heritage governance cannot be understood solely through expert-led or institution-centred models. In the Anyuan case, memory bearers, local residents, workers, and experiential participants are integral to the production, maintenance, and public recognition of heritage value. Second, it shows that coal mining heritage is better understood not simply as an assemblage of industrial remains but as a layered post-industrial landscape in which ecological restoration, social memory, place attachment, and everyday use are closely intertwined. Third, it foregrounds emotional identification and lived experience as analytically significant dimensions of conservation, thereby extending debates on the shift from object-centred preservation towards value-based and participatory approaches.

A further contribution lies in demonstrating the complementarity of the three frameworks. LCA provides an analytical basis for understanding how material and ecological conditions shape conservation priorities [4,37,79]; HUL explains how heritage is embedded in community life, social identity, and historical continuity [43,52]; and EL reveals how perception, affect, and embodied familiarity shape place attachment and patterns of participation [48,63]. These dimensions together help explain why stakeholder participation in industrial heritage conservation is differentiated and why interventions that appear materially successful may still remain socially fragile when socio-cultural and experiential dimensions are overlooked.

5.2. Practical Implications for Coal Mining Heritage Governance

These implications follow from a central finding of the Anyuan case: stakeholder participation differs across material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions, and each dimension shapes conservation governance in a different way.

First, the findings indicate that effective governance requires a multi-stakeholder structure that moves beyond predominantly expert-led or administrative models. In the Anyuan case, technical professionals, local communities, and everyday users each contribute distinct forms of expertise, memory, and lived knowledge [28,73]. Community participation needs to be recognised not as an auxiliary supplement to technical planning, but as a substantive component of conservation strategies.

Second, the findings suggest that technical restoration and cultural transmission should be approached as closely interconnected rather than separate domains of intervention. Physical repair, ecological remediation, historical interpretation, and community memory work are not isolated tasks; in practice, they overlap and condition one another. Where conservation focuses mainly on architectural repair, visual upgrading, or land redevelopment, there is a risk of producing technically competent but socially thinned forms of heritage renewal. Linking material conservation with community-based narration and locally grounded interpretation can strengthen both the legitimacy and long-term sustainability of post-industrial heritage interventions [16,43,82].

Third, emotional attachment, social recognition, and experiential continuity should be incorporated more explicitly into conservation assessment. At coal mining heritage sites, support for conservation is shaped not only by formal designation, policy enforcement, or economic valorisation but also by whether local people continue to recognise the site as meaningful to their own histories, identities, and everyday spatial experience. Conservation assessment needs to move beyond measures of physical integrity and economic performance and include indicators of social resonance, public attachment, and ongoing experiential relevance [28,45,63,80].

5.3. Limitations and Future Research

This study has two main limitations. First, the analysis is based on an in-depth case study of the Anyuan Coal Mine, which allows close examination of the historical layering, spatial complexity, and socio-cultural specificity of stakeholder interaction within a post-industrial heritage landscape. The value of this case-study approach lies in analytical depth rather than statistical representativeness. Future research could build on this foundation through comparative studies to examine whether the form and relative importance of the material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions vary across different types of industrial heritage site and institutional contexts.

Second, the qualitative design is particularly well suited to identifying stakeholder perceptions, memory, emotional attachment, and differentiated forms of participation, all of which are central to understanding how heritage value is recognised, negotiated, and sustained in practice. Future research could therefore incorporate mixed-methods approaches, such as social network analysis, perception-based surveys, or structural equation modelling, to examine more systematically the patterns of influence, interaction, and relational structure among stakeholder groups.

Future research may also explore how digital heritage tools, immersive interpretation, and participatory media shape emotional engagement and public involvement in post-industrial heritage conservation.

6. Conclusions

This study shows that coal mining heritage conservation involves not only the preservation of physical remains but also the negotiation of social memory, cultural identity, and lived experience. By integrating Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, and Experiential Landscape (EL), it develops and applies a three-dimensional analytical framework to explain how different stakeholders engage with and shape heritage conservation across material, socio-cultural, and experiential dimensions.

The analysis identifies three main stakeholder categories—technical actors, community actors, and experiential actors—whose roles differ across these dimensions. Technical actors are central to physical preservation and ecological restoration; community actors sustain cultural memory and social legitimacy; and experiential actors contribute to emotional attachment and the continued public relevance of heritage. Overall, the findings indicate that coal mining heritage governance is not just about managing industrial remains. It also involves coordinating material conservation, collective memory, and everyday experience within a changing post-industrial landscape.

More broadly, the study demonstrates that effective coal mining heritage conservation depends on recognising the differentiated forms of knowledge, value, and attachment that stakeholders bring to the site. A governance approach combining technical protection, socio-cultural continuity, and experiential relevance is therefore better suited to the long-term conservation and adaptive reuse of coal mining heritage.