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Research on the Value of Water-Related Cultural Heritage Architecture from Historical Environmental Records: Evidence from the Li River Basin in China

Author

Listed:
  • Qifan Dai

    (School of Art and Media, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Yueqing Wei

    (School of Art and Design, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Yequan Hu

    (Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK)

  • Tao Chen

    (School of Art and Media, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
    Hubei Provincial Urban Planning and Design Institute, Wuhan 430071, China)

  • Yixun Yan

    (School of Art and Media, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Yansheng Gu

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    Hubei Key Laboratory of Wetland Evolution & Eco-Restoration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Qi Wang

    (School of Art and Media, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China)

Abstract

Water-related cultural heritage architecture (WRCHA) represents a globally significant and potentially hybrid heritage found across river basins worldwide. Its spatial and temporal evolution characteristics offer insight into the development trends of river basin environments, yet their value within water-related cultural and environmental systems remain incompletely assessed. This study undertakes qualitative and quantitative analyses of the historical spatial and temporal distributions, influencing factors, and environmental changes affecting the water-related culture, climate, population, and urban areas of 295 WRCHA sites in the Li River Basin of China, employing drought–flood indices, GIS analyses, random forest algorithms, and other methodologies. The results reveal that (1) the Lishui Basin contains a significant distribution pattern of agglomeration for WRCHA within the river basin, concentrated along the river, at low altitudes, with minimal terrain variation, and radiating around ancient governance centers, with varying increases observed across different periods and aggregation zones and with significant spatial and temporal heterogeneities; (2) the distribution pattern is influenced by joint natural and human factors, closely tied to variables such as the river network density, DEM, population changes, and distance to ancient government sites; (3) the combination of the architecture’s location and elevation, along with drought–flood curves, reflects the position of the ancient riverbed of the Lishui River and its historical maximum water level. The quantity of new constructions, in conjunction with the distance from ancient government centers and the trends in population change, thus indicates the urban scale and the frequency and severity of disasters. This study provides a research paradigm and historical reference model for investigating environmental changes in watershed systems, aiding in clarifying the historical human–water symbiosis pattern in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Such insights will furnish a scientific basis for future regional ecological planning and watershed environmental management.

Suggested Citation

  • Qifan Dai & Yueqing Wei & Yequan Hu & Tao Chen & Yixun Yan & Yansheng Gu & Qi Wang, 2024. "Research on the Value of Water-Related Cultural Heritage Architecture from Historical Environmental Records: Evidence from the Li River Basin in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:6:p:838-:d:1413539
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