Page 152 - JCAU-7-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Tracing Minyue Kingdom’s roads with LCP

Initiative, these venerable pathways have gained renewed methodology combining environmental context with
strategic significance (Xiao et al. 2023; Wang et al. 2023). archaeological findings. By leveraging stable terrain data
Situated as a key juncture on the ancient overland Silk and advanced modeling tools, we reconstructed these
Road and at the heart of the 21 Century Maritime Silk pathways with a level of precision previously unattainable.
st
Road, Fujian province, China, is a testament to the ebb and Beyond offering insights into the socio-economic and
flow of historical and cultural shifts, marked by a plethora military history of the Minyue Kingdom, this study also
of transportation-related cultural relics (Hong, 2016). The highlights the importance of digital heritage preservation.
study of ancient roadways in Fujian dating back to the era This digital reconstruction represents an innovative step
of the Minyue Kingdom represents not only an academic forward in cultural heritage studies, allowing researchers
pursuit but also a vital effort to illuminate the history and policymakers alike to visualize the dynamics of
of the Maritime Silk Road and foster its contemporary historical networks and better understand the spatial
development (Kong, 2020; Sen, 2023; Xie et al., 2020). logic of ancient roadways. Moreover, by reconstructing
The present study addresses a significant gap by these paths, the study sheds light on the socio-economic
leveraging the least-cost path (LCP) model to reconstruct conditions of the time and explores the role these routes
and visualize the Minyue Kingdom’s road networks, played in shaping interactions among diverse communities
offering new insights into its socio-economic and military within and beyond the region.
history. Conventionally, scholarly exploration of Fujian’s Overall, this research transcends traditional historical
ancient roads has been limited to the analysis of local investigation, emphasizing the transformative value
chronicles, county records, and ancient manuscripts (Chen, of digital reconstruction in heritage preservation. By
2018). These studies have mainly focused on translating developing a systematic digital representation of the
texts, narrating historical events, and cataloging significant ancient transportation networks in Fujian, the study not
nodes along these ancient paths (Ding, 2006; Zhuang & only contributes to the academic understanding of the
Dong, 2017). region’s history but also offers a foundational model for
While traditional methods, such as the analysis of the preservation and adaptive management of cultural
historical records and manual mapping of archaeological landscapes. Bridging historical scholarship with innovative
sites, have provided valuable insights, they often fall short technology, this study seeks to inspire further explorations
in precision and comprehensiveness. This limitation into the intricate connections between cultural heritage
is particularly evident in regions such as the Minyue and modern geographical science.
Kingdom, where historical documentation is sparse.
To overcome these challenges, this study innovatively 2. Review of existing research on
applies the LCP model combined with modern geographic transportation restoration
information system (GIS) technology, enabling a digital In the field of cultural heritage restoration, transportation
reconstruction of ancient routes that incorporate the networks occupy a unique position as both historical
region’s topography and geographic characteristics. Unlike artifacts and functional components of modern
previous studies, which often relied on isolated textual infrastructure (Li et al., 2021; Lim et al., 2023; Ruiz
interpretations and focused on single nodes such as postal et al., 2017). This review delves into the myriad approaches
stations or fortresses, this study seeks to create a holistic adopted for restoring transportation systems, emphasizing
digital model of interconnected transportation networks the delicate balance between preserving historical integrity
from the Minyue period (306 – 110 BCE). By integrating and addressing contemporary functional needs. Recent
environmental context and archaeological findings, it advancements in technology and methodology have
reveals a more cohesive understanding of how ancient significantly transformed this landscape, offering novel
travelers navigated the Fujian landscape. perspectives and solutions to long-standing challenges.
A distinctive contribution of this research lies in its use
of modern remote sensing data, facilitated by the stability 2.1. Concept of transportation line heritage
of Fujian’s geographic environment. The region’s largely The concept of “heritage of transportation lines” emerges
unchanged topographical features provide the foundation from the broader framework of “cultural lines,” a term
for constructing a reliable cost surface model to simulate ratified by the International Council on Monuments
ancient travel routes. This approach addresses a crucial and Sites in the 2008 Charter of Cultural Lines (Lewis,
gap in the digital representation of ancient transportation 2023; Wang & Ruan, 2009). According to this charter,
systems, as prior studies often lacked a comprehensive cultural lines depend on transportation networks that

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4226