Search Results (8)

As a unique cultural heritage of Chinese ethnic minorities, Dong architecture provides rich historical and cultural information. Rapid and accurate extraction of ethnic building information from remote sensing images in complex terrain and high-density settlement environments is highly important for the protection of architectural heritage and the management of rural space. Huanggang Dong Village in Liping County, Guizhou Province, China, is taken as a case study. This paper develops a multifeature fusion machine learning framework for the automatic recognition of Dong ethnic architecture based on centimeter-level visible images captured by UAV. First, the vegetation index, HSI color features and texture features based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix are extracted from the UAV visible light orthophoto image. Through the random forest feature importance ranking and correlation test, six key features, namely, the VDVI, HSI-S, HSI-I, mean, variance and contrast, are selected to construct a multifeature space. This step constitutes the feature construction stage of the proposed methodology and provides the basis for subsequent classification. Second, on the basis of a support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), classification models are constructed. The effects of different feature combinations and different algorithms on classification accuracy are systematically compared, and the results are evaluated in terms of overall accuracy (OA), the kappa coefficient, user accuracy (UA) and producer accuracy (PA). This second part highlights the classification phase of the methodology, which tests the feature space using different algorithms and evaluates the performance of the models. The experimental data fully show that under the condition of a single feature, the SVM model dominated by texture features performs best, with an OA of 85.33% and a kappa of 0.799; under the condition of multifeature fusion, the RF algorithm has a stronger ability to integrate multisource features. The accuracy of building category recognition based on the total feature and dimensionality reduction feature space is particularly prominent. The total feature and overall accuracy reach 89.00%, and the kappa coefficient is 0.850. The UA and PA reached 89.66% and 94.55%, respectively. Through in-depth comparative analysis, the vegetation index–color–texture multifeature fusion and machine learning classification framework based on UAV visible light images can achieve high-precision extraction of Dong architecture without relying on high-cost sensors. It can effectively alleviate the confusion between water bodies and shadows and between dark roofs and vegetation and effectively separate traditional Dong architecture from roads, vegetation and other elements. It provides a low-cost and feasible way for digital archiving, dynamic monitoring and protection management of the traditional village architectural heritage of ethnic minorities. Full article

Rapid socio-spatial change in China’s traditional villages threatens living heritage and weakens locally grounded identity. This paper theorizes place identity as a dynamic, embodied and performative ecology and examines it in Dali Dong Village across four dimensions, emotional attachment, symbolic meaning, continuity and behavioural commitment, using a triangulated qualitative design that integrates interviews, spatial observation and visual ethnography. Findings show that identity is enacted around ritual architectures and everyday settings, particularly the Drum Tower, Flower Bridge, and Sa altar. Emotional attachment and symbolic meaning are expressed consistently across sources, whereas continuity and behavioural commitment are uneven, shaped by ritual fatigue (compressed rehearsal windows), symbolic commodification under tourism, and selective continuity in intergenerational transmission. These mechanisms identify where the identity fabric is most fragile and where intervention leverage lies. Conceptually, the study relocates place identity from cognition-centred, urban models to ritualized rural lifeworlds. Practically, it offers a portable framework for community-anchored stewardship that can be adapted to similar settlements and aligned with policy aims for safeguarding living heritage. Full article

The architectural settlements of the Dong people are the core representatives of China’s Dong culture. The unique architectural forms created by the Dong people, such as stilted houses, drum towers, and wind-and-rain bridges, demonstrate the wisdom of the Dong people in adapting to mountainous environments and their exquisite construction techniques. However, with the acceleration of urbanization and the impact of tourism development, Dong village architecture is facing multiple challenges, including settlement hollowing-out, the discontinuity of traditional craftsmanship, and the destruction of authenticity. This study proposes a series of protection and restoration strategies by integrating relevant domestic and international theories and practical experiences based on the formal characteristics, cultural value, and current issues of Dong village settlement architecture. It emphasizes the principle of holistic protection, advocates for the combination of authentic restoration and adaptive renewal, and aims to achieve the inheritance of cultural heritage through means such as digital technology, community participation mechanisms, and cross-regional collaborative protection. Furthermore, this study explores the path toward balancing traditional architecture with modern needs, intending to provide theoretical support and a practical reference for the sustainable protection of Dong village settlement architecture and the continuation of cultural memory. Full article

Enhancing the quality of human settlements in traditional villages is crucial for promoting sustainable development and achieving the broader objectives of rural revitalization. A key challenge in addressing current settlement issues is the development of a scientifically grounded assessment framework for evaluating the quality of the settlement in traditional villages. To fill this gap, this study systematically constructed a theoretical and methodological system of comprehensive assessment of the settlement quality in traditional villages based on land use functions. Specifically, first, a comprehensive framework for assessing the settlement quality in traditional villages is proposed by systematically deconstructing the interrelationships among the key dimensions and elements with the guiding by the objectives of livable community development, the social–ecological system (SES) framework, and the land use functions (encompassing production, living, and ecological functions, PLE function). Second, considering the multi-scalar effects of livable community development (15 min, 25 min, and 35 min living circles), an indicator system that enables a quantitative and refined assessment of settlement quality in traditional villages, as well as a method for identifying barriers indicators are proposed based on the critical tool of land use functions. Finally, an empirical analysis of 757 traditional villages in Guizhou Province, China, is conducted to validate the feasibility and applicability of the theoretical framework and methodological approach presented in this study. The findings reveal that the overall settlement quality in Guizhou’s traditional villages is relatively low, with numerous villages in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture and Tongren City falling within a low-to-medium quality range, especially in the scale of 35 min living circle. To address these challenges, this study proposes classification-based improvement strategies to enhance the quality of the living environment in traditional villages. The results offer important theoretical, methodological, and empirical insights for the transformation and upgrading of settlements in traditional villages in Guizhou Province and other similar regions. Full article

Fire accidents have been reported frequently in Chinese townships over the past few years, where people’s lives and properties have been subjected to huge losses. As a result, a considerable number of traditional villages have disappeared. In this study, field surveys and on-site monitoring were used to study the village of Gao Tuan, while seven scenarios were set up in Pyrosim for simulation and analysis. As indicated by the results of this study, the hidden dangers of Dong traditional settlements in the western Hunan region were identified in terms of the construction materials, street width, and fire use. The Pyrosim simulation analysis results were as follows: scenarios 1/2 show that by utilizing the topography and layout, the wind speed was reduced layer by layer, which reduced the fire spreading disaster by nearly half; scenarios 3/4/5/6 show that, except for the 1000 mm wide street, the degree of fire spreading was negatively correlated with the width of the street, and the fire could no longer be spread to the other side of the street when it was 8000 mm; and scenario 7 shows that, in the case of a fire in a residential house, it is safer to evacuate the people in the building in a unit within 320 s. Based on the survey and Pyrosim simulation results of fire spreading, the strengths and weaknesses of Gaotuan Village in the face of fire events were analyzed, and targeted recommendations are made based on the study for the Dong traditional settlement in the western Hunan region for fire prevention. Full article

Rural settlements, as crucial human habitats, encompass various values such as residential living, cultural tourism, and industrial development. This paper investigates the environmental physical and aesthetic factors perceived by tourists, which influence their preferences for rural settlement environments. Previous studies have predominantly focused on evaluating the impacts of physical or aesthetic factors on tourists’ environmental preferences, with limited research simultaneously examining their combined effects. To reduce this research gap, we selected Zhaoxing Dong Village in China, characterized by typical rural environmental traits, and collected 450 valid questionnaires. The questionnaire data underwent correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicate that when considering only environmental physical quality factors, most of the physical quality factors are significantly correlated with tourists’ preferences. Among them, “visual quality” shows the highest correlation, followed by “facility” and “maintenance”, while “security” shows the lowest correlation. When aesthetic quality factors are added to the model as independent variables, they enhance the explanatory power of the model and exhibit more significant associations compared to the relationship between physical quality factors and preferences. Among the aesthetic quality factors, “multisensory” and “sublime” demonstrate the highest correlation, whereas “diversity” shows the lowest correlation. The current study demonstrates the validity of the two scales for measuring tourists’ perceived levels of physical and aesthetic quality in rural settlement environments. These findings contribute to the effective utilization of environmental capital within rural settlements and provide guidance for rural settlement planning and design. Full article

With the implementation of China’s Rural Revitalization Strategy, more and more traditional villages have been developed. However, due to the lack of value awareness, many rural planning policies are unreasonable, and therefore, characteristics disappear. In the past, the value identification of traditional villages mostly stayed in the general value description, which was not enough to highlight the unique overall value of the village. From the perspective of the cultural landscape, taking Liufang village in Liping County of Guizhou Province as an example, this paper interprets the value of cultural landscape from the concept of “long-term interaction between human and nature,” and then carry out three value themes of “settlement landscape of Dong people in the low and middle mountain valley area,” “agricultural landscape and activities of Dong people under traditional rice farming,” and “spiritual landscape of Dong People’s beliefs, systems and customs”. Moreover, by interviewing local residents, this paper summarizes two aspects of Liufang village value consensus—traditional culture and landscape construction, as well as tourism development opportunities and challenges—and analyzes the relationship between them. The new attempt to identify traditional village’s value in this paper lies in the combination of object value and subject perception, which is more conducive to the scientific formulation of traditional village protection and tourism sustainable development strategy. Full article

A sustainable environment needs the effort and experience from both urban and rural areas. Some villages have achieved sustainability utilizing the concept of ecological stability. This paper takes the Dong villages in the Duliujiang River Basin in the Southeastern Guizhou as an example. Based on the anthropological “ethnographic text” and the morphological “village space information”, this paper analyzes the impact of the mountain rice livelihood model and different hydrological–topographic conditions on the spatial pattern of settlements, focusing on the sustainable construction wisdom. The findings are as follows: (1) Dong people’s migration follows the “River Valley–Mountain Valley–Mountain Slope” path, with maintenance of the rice livelihood model and, finally, derived from the “Mountain–Water–Forest–Paddy Field–Village” spatial pattern, the “Mountain–Water–(Pond)–Field–Forest–Village”, “Mountain–Water–Terrace–Forest–Village” settlement space patterns are formed. (2) The Dong’s settlements form a sustainable overall space. “Mountain–Water–Forest–Paddy Field” each play an ecological role and form an organic whole. Their management mechanism of utilizing limited natural resources has played an important management and supervision role. (3) The natural base of “Mountain–Water–Forest–Paddy Field–Village” is in accordance with their livelihood model and social culture, forming a unique ecosystem. It has become the basic environment for them to obtain survival sustenance, which still has prominent values today. Full article