Page 42 - JCAU-6-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Utilization of rural heritage

questions: (i) What is the correlation between changes Land Space Planning of Jinggang Town, Wangcheng
in physical and visual environments and individuals’ District, Changsha City (2021 – 2035)” to acquire basic
perceptions within a rural heritage tourism site? (ii) Which data such as building outlines and road networks. In
critical spatial elements significantly influence subjects’ conjunction with field research, 26 public space nodes in
perceptions? The term “optimizing public spaces” in this Jinggang historic town were selected as sample points (SP)
study entails proposing strategies for spatial transformation for the study (Figure 1).
based on the study’s findings. These strategies aim to create SP1 is located in the eastern area of Jinggang historic
and implement an effective restorative environment for town, featuring a contemporary treehouse-style guest
tourists while improving the quality and efficiency of the house. SP2 – SP8 are situated on the Baoan and Baojian
optimized design. Such optimized spaces are envisioned historic streets of Jinggang historic town, characterized by
to alleviate tourists’ stress and fatigue, evoke positive narrow streets measuring 3 – 5 m wide and 2 – 3-story
emotions, and mitigate negative emotions (Kaplan, 1983; rural dwellings lining both sides, with ground-floor shops
Wu et al., 2023). Furthermore, the implementation of offering various specialty snacks such as fried fish, tea, and
proper spatial optimization strategies not only enhances desserts. SP9 – SP12 are located on Banbian Street (Banbian
the environmental quality but also fosters the growth of means “half” in Chinese), named for the dwellings on
the tourism industry in the historic town and augments one side and the Lujiang River on the other. SP13 – SP16
residents’ income (Balsas, 2022). The research methodology are situated on another historic street, Baoliang Street
employed in this study can also provide theoretical and (Baoliang means “guarantee rice’s security” in Chinese),
practical references for spatial research in other rural named for its historical significance related to rice security,
heritage tourism sites. as Jinggang was one of the four major rice markets in
2. Methods Hunan. S17 – S21 are located on renovated streets with
relatively spacious roads of 8 – 10 m and a square for large-
2.1. Study area and data sources scale activities (SP21). SP22 – SP26 primarily showcase
The historic town of Jinggang boasts an extensive legacy natural scenery, with scattered dwellings in the fields,
spanning millennia, with its name believed to honor Jing among which SP24 is a famous historical and cultural
Li (571 – 649), a revered military leader during China’s scenic spot. Guofan Zeng (1811 – 1872), a prominent
Tang dynasty (618 – 907). Located at the convergence figure in Chinese history, once trained the water army
point between the Lujiang and Xiangjiang Rivers in here to launch an attack against the Taiping army (an army
Wangcheng district, northwest of Changsha City, this comprising peasants led by Xiuquan Hong [1814 – 1864]
town enjoys excellent accessibility due to its well- to overthrow the Qing dynasty [1644 – 1912]).
developed water transportation system. From the 15 to 2.2. Methodology
th
19 centuries, Jinggang had emerged as a significant rice
th
market within Hunan province and served as a pivotal In the initial stage of this study, visual environmental data
center for commodity distribution, attracting countless collection and SP calculation were conducted. A panoramic
merchants and fostering vibrant commercial activities. camera was used to simulate the pedestrian’s viewpoint and
The town retains its original spatial pattern of eight streets, capture street scene images in the field. Jinggang historic
four alleys, and seven wharves, boasting 1008 green-brick town is divided by the Lujiang River, with the northern bank
and gray-tile dwellings alongside dozens of monumental serving as the primary residential area and the southern
historical relics. Due to its exceptional natural geographical bank characterized by natural landscapes. For this study,
resources and rich historical and cultural heritage, Jinggang 26 street nodes were selected as SPs for data collection
historic town was bestowed the prestigious title of “Famous (SP1 – SP26). The camera was set at an acquisition angle
Historical and Cultural Town of China” in 2004, leading to of 0°, with a parallax height of 1.6 m, corresponding to
tourism development. Furthermore, in 2011, the National the average human eye level (Supervision, 2023). Initially,
Tourism Administration recognized it as a national 4A the camera was positioned perpendicular to the street,
tourist attraction. In 2016, Jinggang received 275,000 capturing a panoramic photo at each SP. Subsequently,
visitors during the 7-day National Day holiday, a figure the segment of the individual’s field of view encompassed
that decreased to 90,000 by 2023. Therefore, the spatial within the panoramic image was extracted as the ultimate
evolution of Jinggang historic town serves as a microcosm street image data, specifically spanning 30° upward and 40°
of the transformation and development process of rural downward vertically and extending 60° in the left and right
heritage sites in China, making it a representative and directions horizontally (Hui, 2004). Image acquisition
exemplary case study for this research. This study is based occurred during sunny daytime from September 14 to
on the data obtained from the Baidu map and the “General 15, 2023. A total of 26 panoramic images depicting public

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.2481