Page 94 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Cultural landscape in Huizhou City

landscape is a continuous, living entity characterized by a example, this method has seen widespread application,
high degree of integration (Abdullah, 2011). Despite this particularly in the research of traditional villages and
rich cultural heritage, the rapid development of China’s cultural landscapes in provinces such as Yunnan, Anhui,
economy has subjected traditional villages to significant and Hebei. Notably, it has not only produced numerous
challenges. Urbanization, industrialization, tourism research outcomes based on the zoning and classification
development, and other factors have placed these villages of regional cultures but has also categorized them into
under immense pressure. The regional and heterogeneous types such as excavation and innovation, balance and
nature of their cultural landscapes has been diminishing coordination, revitalization and stimulation, as well as
due to excessive development, construction, or misguided ecological livability, cultural and tourism resources, and
protection behaviors (Lin et al., 2018). This predicament characteristic folklore. These classifications are approached
is particularly evident in traditional villages located in from the perspectives of conservation and development
multicultural areas. The formation of cultural landscapes (Li & Lan, 2016; Zhang & Liu, 2023; Yao et al., 2022; Zhang
in these areas often involves intricate and complex factors, et al., 2023).
rendering them highly fragile and non-renewable in the The research results support the scientific identification
face of external disturbances and impacts. Therefore, it and effective protection of traditional villages and cultural
is urgent to conduct specialized research and implement landscapes. It can be seen that the landscape gene and
targeted protection measures. K-means cluster analysis method exhibit a high degree
Research on the cultural landscape has yielded rich of flexibility in related research. This flexibility aids in
results in recent years, primarily categorized into conceptual extracting different components, types, and characteristics
identification and type classification of cultural landscapes of traditional village cultural landscapes, providing a fresh
(Wang, 2009; Li & Xiao, 2009). This encompasses specialized perspective for further research.
protection planning for cultural landscapes (Cao & Xiao, Huizhou City in Guangdong Province, China, serves as

2013), the revitalization and renewal of cultural landscapes a typical representative of a multicultural integration area.
(Gan et al., 2017), and innovative research methods in Influenced by its location, topography, and socioeconomic
cultural landscape studies (Song et al., 2022). factors, a diverse array of cultures – Hakka, Guangfu,
Within the realm of traditional villages, scholars and Fukuo – converges here, giving rise to exceptionally
have produced a substantial body of research. Many rich traditional villages and cultural landscapes. This
have conducted in-depth analyses of the connotations paper focuses on the traditional villages in Huizhou
of traditional village cultural landscapes. They have City, employing the genetic theory of cultural landscape
substantiated the classification of cultural landscape types and the K-means cluster analysis method. It dissects the
and the identification of characteristics by examining various subdivisions of traditional villages in Huizhou
traditional village cultural landscapes in different City, meticulously summarizing the characteristics of each
countries and regions. Building on these analyses, scholars subdivision. The aim is to identify the characteristics and
have introduced a range of cultural landscape concepts values of the traditional villages in Huizhou City, providing
(An & Park, 2017; Shen et al., 2006). Furthermore, a constructive and insightful reference for scientific
multidisciplinary theories and methods have been research and effective protection of the traditional villages
introduced to explore the responses and development in the area where multiple cultures are blending.
strategies of traditional village cultural landscapes under
different development dilemmas (Zhang, 2011; Harun 2. Methods
et al., 2017). Among these, Chinese scholar Liu Peilin 2.1. Overview of traditional villages in Huizhou
innovatively put forward the landscape gene theory, In the southeast of Guangdong Province, Huizhou is located
advocating for the complex cultural landscape to be split in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta and the middle
into interacting factors through the structure of “cell- and lower reaches of the Dongjiang River Basin. It leans
chain-form” (Liu, 2003). against the Julian Mountains in the north and the South
Following the contributions of numerous scholars, the China Sea in the south, boasting a rich topography that
landscape gene theory has evolved into a research method includes mountains, hills, plains, and basins. The diverse
represented by K-means cluster analysis, shaping a mature natural geographic environment has fostered the merging
research system encompassing the “deconstruction of of different folk cultures, giving rise to a blossoming
cultural landscape factors – data collection and processing– traditional village cultural landscape (Lai & Yang, 2022).
principal component extraction and systematic clustering Examples of this cultural landscape abound. Consider
– zoning” methodology (Song et al., 2022). In China, for the neatly organized comb-style village texture and the

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1311