Page 100 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Cultural landscape in Huizhou City

villages were regarded as point elements. These villages 3.2. Characteristics of cultural landscape areas of
were classified as points on the map after vectorized traditional villages in Huizhou City
processing on the ArcGIS geographic information 3.2.1. Cultural landscape area of traditional villages
platform. The results of the clustering analysis of in the northern mountain valleys
cultural landscape factors were then combined with
four descriptive indexes to identify common features The Northern Mountain and River Valley Traditional
in images, mapping, and other aspects. Spatial Village Road Cultural Landscape Area is located in the
superposition and fine-tuning of boundaries were northern part of Huizhou City, encompassing six districts
carried out. Finally, the traditional villages in Huizhou and counties, including Longmen County and Henghe
City were categorized into five traditional villages Town. The landscape pattern of this area is characterized
and cultural landscape areas (Figure 4). Drawing on a by mountains and river valleys positioned between the
Jiulian Mountains and Luofu Mountains. The primary
“three-stage” naming method, these sub-districts were terrain consists of mountainous hills featuring heavy
named based on the topographical features of each area. rocks, peaks, and varying elevations. The village locations
The names follow the format “geographic location + major are significantly influenced by the natural geographic
topographical features + traditional villages and cultural environment. This cultural landscape area, adjacent to
landscape areas,” resulting in the following designations for Heyuan, a city within the Hakka cultural circle, intersects
the sub-districts: Northern Mountain Valley Traditional with Guangfu and Hakka cultures. Historically, it has
Village Cultural Landscape Area, Central Dongjiang River been a settlement for a large Hakka population, mirroring
Basin Plain Traditional Village Cultural Landscape Area, the mountainous areas they originally inhabited.
South-Central Xizhijiang River Basin Plain Traditional Consequently, this cultural landscape area is deeply
Village Cultural Landscape Area, Southern Coastal influenced by Hakka culture, showcasing distinctive feng
Traditional Village Cultural Landscape Area, and Eastern shui concepts of the Hakka people. Traditional villages in
Mountainous Hills Traditional Village Cultural Landscape this cultural landscape area are mostly located in relatively
Area. flat river basins or hilly plains near the river, with an
orientation toward sunny places. This orientation results in
a landscape pattern of “mountain-forest-village-field.” This
pattern not only addresses the practical needs of villagers
for production and daily life but also aligns with their
traditional feng shui beliefs and their desire for a stable and
secure life (Figure 5).
The landscape space of the traditional village cultural
landscape area in the northern mountainous valley is
characterized by grouping around enclosures, which
are well organized. Positioned at the intersection of the
Guangfu and Hakka cultural circles, the spatial layout
and form of the villages distinctly emphasize regional
Figure 3. Elbow law plot for determining K-value in K-means cluster cultural integration. Due to limitations imposed by the
analysis. natural geographical environment, traditional villages in

Table 4. Final clustering centers for key factors of the cultural landscape
Cultural landscape key factors Clustering
1 2 3 4 5
Spatial scale factor −0.07499 −0.66840 −0.23598 −0.45181 2.00417
Natural terrain factor 0.49667 1.40021 −0.29343 −0.41375 0.11214
Spatial form factor 1.26412 0.32281 −0.72396 −0.10823 −0.26252
Village water system factor −0.95651 0.82967 −0.69733 0.50478 0.54006
Feng shui landscape factor −0.45141 1.77795 0.00599 −0.19464 −0.00094
Architectural landscape factor 0.15605 −0.14661 −0.95472 0.58514 −0.02457
Public space factor −0.24020 0.33191 −0.15547 0.18199 −0.10750

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 8 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1311