Evaluating Cultural Landscape Remediation Design Based on VR Technology

International Journal of Geo-Information

Article Evaluating Cultural Landscape Remediation Design Based on VR Technology

Zhengsong Lin 1, Lu Zhang 2, Su Tang 3, Yang Song 4 and Xinyue Ye 4,*

1 School of Art and Design, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China; [email protected] 2 School of Arts Communication, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; [email protected] 3 Foreign Language Department, Wuhan Huaxia University of Technology, Wuhan 430223, China; [email protected] 4 Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Due to the recent excessive pursuit of rapid economic development in China, the cultural heritage resources have been gradually destroyed. This paper proposes cultural recovery and ecological remediation patterns, and adopts virtual reality (VR) technology to evaluate the visual aesthetic effect of the restored landscape. The results show that: (1) the average vegetation coverage increased, providing data support for remediation design evaluation; and (2) the ﬁxation counts and average saccade counts of the subjects increased after the remediation design, indicating that the restored cultural landscape reduced visual fatigue and provided a better visual aesthetic experience. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of the quality of the water environment shows that the remediation design project improved the ecological environment quality of the relics area. The results Citation: Lin, Z.; Zhang, L.; Tang, S.; of this study will contribute to rural revitalization in minority areas in southwest China. Song, Y.; Ye, X. Evaluating Cultural Landscape Remediation Design Keywords: VR technology; visual aesthetic experience; ecological remediation evaluation; Tujia Based on VR Technology. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423. https:// settlement area doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10060423

Academic Editors: Costantino Domenica, 1. Introduction Massimiliano Pepe and Cultural heritage was formally introduced at the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Wolfgang Kainz Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage, and includes mainly cultural relics, architectural complexes, and other relics [1]. In 2002, the 26th session of the World Heritage Received: 13 April 2021 Committee adopted the Budapest Declaration, which juxtaposed cultural landscapes and Accepted: 18 June 2021 intangible cultural heritage (ICH). It proposed to seek a balanced relationship between Published: 21 June 2021 World Heritage conservation and sustainable development [2]. In 2015, the 39th World Heritage Committee initiated a strategy for World Heritage and Sustainable Development, Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral emphasizing the techniques and methods of cultural heritage in sustainable conservation with regard to jurisdictional claims in and development [3]. published maps and institutional affil- The research on eco-landscapes in cultural heritage mainly includes two aspects: iations. the definition of the concept of cultural heritage and the study of its conservation and inheritance. Kurin [4] and Liu [5] gave the first clear definition of tangible cultural heritage, which was rapidly applied worldwide. Taylor, R et al. [6], Konkol, N et al. [7] analyzed the concept of cultural heritage, its connotation, and the sustainability of conservation and Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. inheritance. Mitchell [8] and Munjeri [9] first introduced the concept of ICH, and described Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. its social significance and the challenges in the process of sustainable development. Since This article is an open access article the publication of the UNESCO Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World distributed under the terms and Heritage Convention, traditional settlements, monuments and arts, and cultural landscapes conditions of the Creative Commons have been added to the cultural heritage list, leading to more complex conservation Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// efforts [10]. Rapid economic growth, may result in divergence between cultural heritage creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ conservation and development. Qiu, Q and Zhang, M [11] and Jung, K et al. [12] argue 4.0/).

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10060423 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 2 of 16

that cultural heritage conservation and development have a positive interaction, which is conducive to improving social and economic benefits, and scientific and reasonable development also positively helps cultural heritage conservation and inheritance. In addition, Ruan, Y [13] state that the two have a reverse interaction, and unreasonable development will cause secondary destruction of cultural landscape resources. Therefore, there is still no consensus on the conservation and development of cultural heritage, especially in China. Domestic research on cultural heritage conservation and development has been abundant in recent years, but there are shortcomings. The perspectives mostly focus on the broad picture of the overall development of cultural heritage and lack specific discussions on single cultural landscape resources, especially in the minority populated areas [14,15]. In terms of content, the cultural tourism development process uses replication models and development risk assessment, but lacks any exploration of deeper issues such as respecting local topographical features, historical heritage and folklore [16–19]. Due to the application of technology, the need to battle poverty and the construction of “beautiful countryside”, the development of cultural tourism projects in the Tujia settlement area has seen explosive growth. The application of technology and the need to battle poverty and construct “beautiful countryside” have contributed to explosive growth in the development of cultural tourism projects in the Tujia settlement area. However, residual waste such as paint, cement residues and metal compounds used in the development process is very likely to cause secondary pollution of water bodies and soil, adding a new workload to the work of cultural tourism development [20–22]. In terms of research methods, more qualitative methods are currently used to describe issues related to cultural landscape conservation, but they lack the data statistics and model validation components of quantitative analysis studies, which provide more objectivity and accuracy; thus, the proposed decision-making recommendations may lack relevance and practical significance [23,24]. This paper proposes a remediation design strategy including the activation of the “Linjun culture” and an eco-landscape remediation pattern to restore and recreate the cultural landscape resources in the study area, adopts VR technology to evaluate the visual aesthetic effect of the restored cultural landscape, and uses the water environment quality comparison method to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the remediation design. The proposed method provides new technical paths for the conservation of cultural landscape resources in minority populated areas and provides an example of the integration of digital culture into the Revitalization Strategy and the construction of “Beautiful China”.

2. Data Sources and Processing 2.1. Study Area The Tujia are an ethnic group with a long history, located in the high mountainous areas adjacent to Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Chongqing City and Guizhou Province, with a DEM between 1000–1500 m. The area reaches the Fanjing Mountains and the Wu River in Guizhou to the west, the Jianghan Plain to the east, the Wushan Yangtze River to the north, and the Lanli and Zhiyuan to the south, covering an area of about 100,000 square kilometers (108◦2301500–111◦2104300, and 29◦1204500–31◦1205600 N). The heart of China is located in the area at 30◦ N, with a land-use classiﬁcation and an average vegetation cover of 62.56%. The topographical features of the study area are complex and varied, and the settlement areas are mainly distributed along rivers and roads. The Tujia nationality has a population of about 8,353,900, and are the eighth largest ethnic minority in China. The study area has a typical subtropical monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 13.5–17.5 ◦C and an average annual rainfall of 1200–1500 mm [25]. According to a Google map search, there are hundreds of cultural relics in the study area. There is a popular proverb, “Xiangwang Tianzi has a horn that blows a clear river” and the local Tujia people take the image of Xiangwang Tianzi as the collective memory for protecting the water environment [26]. The three major functions of the Linjun Temple, Bagong Temple and Xiangwang Temple in Linjun include interacting with the environment, i.e., ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 16

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 3 of 16 protecting the water environment [26]. The three major functions of the Linjun Temple, Bagong Temple and Xiangwang Temple in Linjun include interacting with the environment,“worship”, i.e., “worship”, “lighthouse” “lighthouse” and “cohesion”, and “cohes and theyion”, were and alsothey used were to also promote used socialto promote stability socialduring stability the Emperor during the Kangxi Emperor and EmperorKangxi and Qianlong Emperor period. Qianlong Since period. reform Since and opening-reform andup opening-up in China, residents in China, have residents pursued have rapid pursued social rapid and social economic and economic development development and made andlarge made investments large investments in local high-speed in local high-speed railroads andrailroads highways. and highways. The functional The functional inﬂuence of influenceancestral of templeancestral relics temple distributed relics distributed on the ancient on the Sichuan ancient SaltSichuan Road Salt and Road Ten-Thousand- and Ten- Thousand-MileMile Tea Road, Tea and Road, the role and of the ancestral role of relics ancestral in reminding relics in peoplereminding to protect people the to ecologicalprotect theenvironment ecological environment has slowly faded has slowly in the lastfaded 40 in years. the last As 40 a result, years. cultural As a result, landscape cultural resources land- scapeare graduallyresources are destroyed gradually and destroyed disappear. and Therefore, disappear. strengthening Therefore, strengthening the conservation the con- and servationinheritance and ofinheritance cultural heritage of cultural resources heritage in resources the study in area the is study of signiﬁcance area is of significance as a practical asexample a practical of example the digital of culturethe digital Revitalization culture Revitalization Strategy and Strategy the construction and the construction of Beautiful of China,Beautiful as shownChina, inas Figureshown1 .in Figure 1.

FigureFigure 1. 1.TujiaTujia settlement settlement area. area.

2.2.2.2. Data Data Sources Sources and and Pre-Processing Pre-Processing ThreeThree main main sources sources of ofdata data regarding regarding the the des designign of ofecological ecological remediation remediation of ofcultural cultural landscapelandscape resources resources were were used. used. Firstly, Firstly, remote remote sensing sensing image image data data were were obtained obtained from from thethe remote remote sensing sensing image image taken taken by by GF-2 GF-2 with with a resolution a resolution of of2 m, 2 m, and and were were pre-processed pre-processed by geographic alignment, geometric correction, radiation correction and image fusion using ENVI5.2 and Arc GIS10.2 software to obtain data for the natural environment of the cultural landscape area. Secondly, social and environmental data such as water, soil, gas,

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by geographic alignment, geometric correction, radiation correction and image fusion using ENVI5.2 and Arc GIS10.2 software to obtain data for the natural environment of the ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 cultural landscape area. Secondly, social and environmental data such4 of as 16 water, soil, gas, and solid waste in the cultural landscape area were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and the pollution limits were determined based on national evaluation standards. Thirdly, samples were taken through field surveys, and the corresponding data and solid wastewere in the obtained cultural by landscape field and area indoor were experime obtainednts from as thea way National of supplementing Bureau of data sources Statistics (NBS),other and than the pollution the NBS, limitsas shown were in determinedTable 1. based on national evaluation standards. Thirdly, samples were taken through field surveys, and the corresponding data were obtained by field andTable indoor 1. Data experiments sources and processing as a way ofstatistics. supplementing data sources other than the NBS, as shown in Table1. S/N Classification Monitoring Contents Data Sources Table 1. Data sources and processing statistics. Field and indoor experiment 1 Waste pollutants water, soil, gas and solid pollutants S/N Classification Monitoring Contents Data Sources method 1 Waste pollutantsNatural environ- water, soil,geological gas and solid landscape, pollutants elevation (DEM), Field slope and gradient indoor experiment Processing method by ENVI5.2 and Arc 2 geological landscape, elevation (DEM), slope gradient 2 Natural environment ment and directionProcessing by ENVI5.2 and Arc GIS10.2GIS10.2 software software and direction number of people,number floor area,of people, and land floor use in area, the and land use in the relics 3 Social environment3 Social environment Field surveys Field surveys relics area area Note: The evaluationNote: The of evaluation waste pollutants of waste was carriedpollutants out withwas referencecarried out to China’s with reference minimum to standard China’s limits minimum (Grade III).standard limits (Grade III).

3. Methodology3. ofMethodology Design and of Evaluation Design and Evaluation This study hasThis three study analytical has three components: analytical firstly, components: the remediation firstly, the design remediation for the design for the “Linjun Culture”“Linjun through Culture” the collective through memory the collective of the memory Tujia family of the and Tujia the family unique and char- the unique characteristics of theacteristics Tujia settlement of the Tujia area, settlement which also area, proposes which an also “activation proposes +an remediation” “activation + remediation” scheme to ensurescheme the integrity to ensure of the the integrity national of ecological the national barrier ecological [27,28]; barrier secondly, [27,28]; the VR secondly, the VR evaluation usesevaluation VR technology uses VR to quantitativelytechnology to analyzequantitatively the visual analyze aesthetic the visual effect aesthetic of the effect of the remediation design;remediation and finally, design; a fieldand environmentalfinally, a field environmental data comparison, data which comparison, collects which collects water data for environmentalwater data for environmental quality comparison quality analysis comparison to verify analysis the feasibility to verify ofthe the feasibility of the method, as is shownmethod, in Figureas is shown2. in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Evaluation methods and steps of VR technology evaluation.

3.1. Remediation Design Process 3.1.1. Conceptual Foundation The ancient indicates that Linjun held high status in the Tujia region in literatures such as “The predecessors of Linjun have always come from a wizard family”, “Since ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 5 of 16

the five families competed to become the leader and Wuxiang remained aloof, so they elected him as the leader, calling him Linjun.”, and “Xiangwang Tianzi has a horn that blows a clear river”, which. A large number of temple relics related to Linjun were built during the Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong period, and these became an important contemporary cultural heritage resource [29]. Following the destruction caused by geological and geomorphological disasters in the Wuling Mountains and the expansion of towns and villages, as well as the rise of the local high-speed railroads and highways, the cultural relics distributed along the ancient Sichuan Salt Road and the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tea Road lost their unique functions of “worship”, “lighthouse” and “cohesion”, and their role in warning people to protect the ecological environment has gradually faded [30]. Therefore, this study aims to rebuild the image of Linjun and restore the unique functions of “worship”, “lighthouse” and “cohesion” of the cultural relics, carries out ecological landscape remediation design for the cultural relics area, and build the original “worship” function into the settlement’s public ritual activity area and recreational gathering square, etc. This could serve as protection against mountain fires during important holidays and as a recreational relic for the settlement during leisure time. The “Internet+” model was used to transform the “lighthouse” function into an “online popular ancient road” and a map navigation marker was used to enhance the identification of the settlement by self-drivers and tourists. The “cohesion” function was used to restore the “Linjun Mausoleum” at the birthplace of Linjun, making it a hub for millions of Tujia people to trace their roots, prompting the memory of Linjun to turn “waste” into “treasure” and “ugly” into “beautiful” in the process of “activation”, and extending new ecological protection benefits, economic benefits and social welfare benefits.

3.1.2. Ecological Landscape Remediation Design Methods and Technical Tools The ecological remediation design of the cultural landscape was carried out by reference to the national Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the Technical Specification for Bare Slope Revegetation and Technical Requirements for Relics Utilization after Sta- bilization in Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (GB/T25179—2010), and other remediation design guidelines to restore the unique functions of cultural heritage relics of “worship”, “lighthouse” and “cohesion”, and to guide the remediation design of cultural heritage areas in terms of architecture, vegetation, ancient roads, water bodies and rituals, etc., as well as to develop an operation mechanism for the restoration practice. The specific restoration process was as follows. The remediation design of the “worship” function was implemented with the help of drones, total station and TITAN360 imaging technology. The overall and local effects of “architecture–vegetation–ritual” was created, reflecting an atmosphere of solemnity and reminding people to protect the ecological environment. The first method was to restore the buildings, ritual platforms and public facilities in the relic areas that are well preserved, have a flat terrain and occupy a large area, so as to provide public ritual activity areas and recreational gathering squares for the settlement, which could serve as protection against mountain fires during important holidays and as a recreational relic for the settlement during leisure time. The second method was to create a solemn atmosphere in the landscape of the ancestral temples by using a linear planting method in accordance with the historical lineage of the cultural relics. The third method used VR technology in the design of ritual restoration to simulate the ritual scene and to achieve virtual immersion in the ritual scene, as shown in Figure3. ISPRSISPRS Int. Int. J. J. Geo-Inf. Geo-Inf. 2021 2021, ,10 10, ,x x FOR FOR PEER PEER REVIEW REVIEW 66 of of 16 16

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 6 of 16 thethe design design of of ritual ritual restoration restoration to to simulate simulate the the ritual ritual scene scene and and to to achieve achieve virtual virtual immer- immer- sionsion in in the the ritual ritual scene, scene, as as shown shown in in Figure Figure 3. 3.

FigureFigureFigure 3. 3. 3.Scene Scene Scene simulation simulation simulation in in in the the the process process process of of of landscape landscape landscape reconstruction reconstruction reconstruction design. design. design.

TheTheThe remediation remediation remediation design design design of of of the the the “lighthouse” “lighthouse” “lighthouse” function function function was was was implemented implemented implemented with with with the the the help help help ofofof remote remote remote sensing sensing sensing image,image, image, GISGIS GIS andand and LIM LIM model model technology, technology,technology, and andand carried carriedcarried out out in in the the form form form of of of“ancient“ancient “ancient road road road + + vegetation”, +vegetation”, vegetation”, with with with a a focus afocus focus on on onthe the the functional functional functional role role role of of modern ofmodern modern practical practical practical sub- sub- subjects.jects.jects. Specifically, Specifically, Specifically, the the the first first first method method method used used used the the the“Internet+” “Internet+” “Internet+” model model model to to include include to include the the ancient ancient the ancient roads, roads, roads,whichwhich which have have havelostlost their their lost theiroriginal original original functions functions functions with with withthe the rise rise the of riseof high-speed high-speed of high-speed railroads railroads railroads and and high- andhigh- highways,ways,ways, in in the the in theList List Listof of Cultural Cultural of Cultural Heritage, Heritage, Heritage, for for example, forexample, example, the the “Ancient the“Ancient “Ancient Tea-Horse Tea-Horse Tea-Horse Road”, Road”, Road”, to to inin- tovitevite invite a a “network “network a “network anchor” anchor” anchor” to to strengthen tostrengthen strengthen the the thepublicity, publicity, publicity, and and and transform transform transform the the theancient ancient ancient roads roads roads into into intoaa tourism-oriented tourism-oriented a tourism-oriented “online “online “online popular popular popular ancient ancient ancient road”. road”. road”. Based Based Based on on onthe the thecomplex complex complex topographic topographic topographic fea- fea- featuresturestures of of ofthe the the Wuling Wuling Wuling Mountains Mountains Mountains area area area combined combined combined with with with the the the pace pace pace of of beautiful ofbeautiful beautiful countryside countryside countryside con- con- construction,struction,struction, the the the second second second method method method was was was to to transform totransform transform the the thecultural cultural cultural landscape landscape landscape area area area into into into map map map nav- nav- navigationigationigation identification identification identification markers markers markers for for for settlements settlements and andand administrative administrative villagesvillages villages toto to strengthen strengthen strengthen the identification function of the settlement areas for self-drivers and tourists, as shown thethe identification identification function function of of the the settlement settlement areas areas for for self-drivers self-drivers and and tourists, tourists, as as shown shown in Figure4. inin Figure Figure 4. 4.

FigureFigure 4. 4. Field Field survey survey and and data data collection collection scenarios. scenarios. Figure 4. Field survey and data collection scenarios.

The remediation design of the “cohesion” function focused on restoring the Linjun Mausoleum at the birthplace of Linjun, making it a hub for millions of Tujia people to trace

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their roots, andThe atremediationTheThe the remediationremediation same design time designdesign making of the ofof “cohesion” thethe “cohesion”“cohesion” ritual function area, functionfunction the focused online focusedfocused on popular restoring onon restoringrestoring ancient the Linjun thethe road LinjunLinjun and theMausoleum LinjunMausoleumMausoleum Mausoleum at the atat birthplace thethe into birthplacebirthplace a tourism of Linjun, ofof Linjun, industryLinjun, making makingmaking chain it a hub itit that aa hubforhub attracts millions forfor millionsmillions both of Tujia Tujia ofof Tujia Tujiapeople people peoplepeople to to toto trace their roots, and at the same time making the ritual area, the online popular ancient trace theirtrace rootstrace their andtheir roots, foreign roots, and atand tourists. the at same the same time timemaki making theng ritual the ritual area, area, the online the online popular popular ancient ancient road roadroadand theandand Linjun thethe LinjunLinjun Mausoleum MausoleumMausoleum into intoainto touris aa touristourism industrymm industryindustry chain chainchain that thatattractsthat attractsattracts both bothbothTujia Tujia Tujia 3.2. Evaluationpeoplepeoplepeople to and trace toAnalysisto trace tracetheir theirtheirroots of Ecological roots rootsand foreign andand Landscape foreignforeign tourists. tourists.tourists. Remediation Design Effects 3.2.1. Statistics for Landscape Patches after Ecological Remediation Design 3.2. Evaluation3.2.3.2. EvaluationEvaluation and Analysis andand AnalysisAnalysis ofof EcologicalEcological ofof EcologicalEcological LandscapeLandscape LandscapeLandscape RemediationRemediation RemediationRemediation DesignDesign DesignDesign EffectsEffects EffectsEffects The3.2.1. speciﬁc3.2.1. 3.2.1.Statistics StatisticsStatistics operational for Landscape forfor LandscapeLandscape steps Patches of thePatchesPatches After ecological AfterAfter Ecological EcologicalEcological landscape Remediation RemediationRemediation restoration Design DesignDesign project were as follows. Firstly, the geospatial data cloud was used to extract the remote sensing The specificTheThe specificspecific operational operationaloperational steps steps stepsof the ofof ecolog thethe ecologecological landscapeicalical landscapelandscape restoration restorationrestoration project projectproject were were wereas asas image offollows. Gaofen-2,follows.follows. Firstly, Firstly,Firstly, and the ENVIgeospatial thethe geospatialgeospatial 5.2 data software dataclouddata cloudcloud forwas atmospheric used wawass used usedto extract toto extractextract correction the remote thethe remoteremote andsensing sensing humansensing image imageimage eye of ofof supervisionGaofen-2,Gaofen-2,Gaofen-2, to classify and ENVI andand and ENVIENVI 5.2 extract software 5.25.2 softwaresoftware the for land atmosp forfor classatmospatmospheric data;heric hericcorrection secondly, correctioncorrection and human and Arcand humanhuman GIS10.2 eye supervision eyeeye software supervisionsupervision was employedto classifytoto classifyclassify to and classify extract andand extractextract and the landextract thethe landclassland the class classdata geographical ;; data datasecondly,secondly,;; secondly,secondly, ArcArc type GIS10.2GIS10.2 ArcArcinformation, GIS10.2GIS10.2 softwaresoftware softwaresoftware waswas and employedwasemployedwas the employedemployed LIM model wasto classify usedtoto classifyclassify for and landscape extractandand extractextract the patch geographical thethe geographical datageographical collection type tytyinformation,pepe so information,information, as to understand and theandand LIM thethe the LIMmodelLIM changes modelmodel was inwasusedwas the used used culturalfor landscape landscapeforfor landscapelandscape pattern patch patchpatch data after datacollectiondata ecological collectioncollection so asremediation. so soto as asunderstand toto understandunderstand This the changes reﬂects thethe changeschanges in the the visualinin cultural thethe culturalcultural changes land- land-land- in the culturalscapescapescape pattern landscape patternpattern after afterafterecological such ecologicalecological as construction, remediation. remediation.remediation. This vegetation ThisreflectsreflectsThis reflectsreflects thethe and visualvisual thethe water visualvisual changeschanges bodies changeschanges inin inthethe in thein culturalcultural thethe relics culturalcultural area beforelandscape andlandscapelandscape after such the such suchas construction, remediation asas construction,construction, vegetation design vegetationvegetation project, and water andand providing waterwater bodies bodiesbodies in data the inin torelics thethe support relicsrelics area areabeforearea the before visualbefore and andand aestheticafter evaluation. aftertheafter remediation thethe remediationremediation Table design2 shows designdesign project, the project,project, conceptual providin providinproviding data renderingsgg datatodata support toto supportsupport and the designvisual thethe visualvisual aesthetic after aestheticaesthetic ecology evalu- evalu-evaluation. Table 2 shows the conceptual renderings and design after ecology remediation de- remediationation.ation. design Table Table 2 andshows 2 theshows the landscape conceptual the conceptual patch renderings data.renderings and designand design after afterecology ecology remediation remediation de- de- sign signandsign the andand landscape thethe landscapelandscape patch patchpatch data. data. data. Table 2. Cultural landscape pattern after the remediation design project. TableTableTable 2. Cultural 2.2. CulturalCultural landscape landscapelandscape pattern patternpattern after theafterafter remediation thethe remediationremediation design designdesign project. project.project.

S/NS/N S/NS/N The The Landscape The The Landscape LandscapeLandscape Spatial Spatial SpatialSpatial Pattern Pattern PatternPattern The The Cross-Section Th The Cross-Sectione Cross-SectionCross-Section Data Data Data DataStatistics Statistics StatisticsStatistics

A. A.XiangwangjieA. XiangwangjieXiangwangjie A. Xiangwangjie Temple TempleTempleTemple

B. B.B.Wulingshan WulingshanWulingshan B. Wulingshan Temple TempleTempleTemple

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C. C.Shizhuguan Shizhuguan C. Shizhuguan Temple TempleTemple

D. Wuluozhong-D. Wuluozhong- lishanlishan Temple Temple

E. HanyangqiaoE. Hanyangqiao TempleTemple

Note: Note:Groups Groups B, C and B, C E andimages E images are being are beingbuilt. built.

AccordingAccording to landscape to landscape patch patch data extracteddata extracted by the by LIM the model,LIM model, the new the completednew completed area basedarea based on our on remediation our remediation design design has incr haseased increased the vegetation the vegetation cover cover in the in restored the restored relics relicsarea fromarea from46.57% 46.57% in 2016 in to2016 65.44% to 65.44% in 2019. in 2019.Among Among them, them, the vegetation the vegetation cover cover of of the Shizhuguanthe Shizhuguan Temple, Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Wuluozhonglishan Temple Temple and Hanyangqiao and Hanyangqiao Temple Temple increased increased the most,the most, by 21.25%, by 21.25%, 18.94% 18.94% and 16.21%, and 16.21%, respectively, respectively, followed followed by Miaolingshan by Miaolingshan Temple Temple and Xiangwangjieand Xiangwangjie Temple Temple with 14.59%with 14.59% and 11.34%, and 11.34%, respectively. respectively. Moreover, Moreover, the remedia- the remediation andtion reconstruction and reconstruction design design of the of buildings, the buildings, gatehouses gatehouses and ancient and ancient roads roads in the in core the core area ofarea heritage of heritage relics relicshas increased has increased the numb the number of erlocal of localTujia Tujiapeople people and domestic and domestic and and foreignforeign tourists tourists traveling traveling and sightseeing,and sightseeing, providing providing a reference a reference for the for practice the practice of the of the digitaldigital culture culture Revitalization Revitalization Strategy Strategy and th ande construction the construction of Beautiful of Beautiful China China in the in mi- the mi- noritynority areas areasof southwest of southwest China. China.

3.2.2. 3.2.2.Evaluation Evaluation and Analysis and Analysis of the of Vi thesual Vi Aestheticsual Aesthetic Effect Effect of the of Landscape the Landscape UnlikeUnlike traditional traditional questionnaire questionnaire interview interview methods methods [31], hierarchical[31], hierarchical analysis analysis meth- meth- ods [32]ods and [32] fuzzy and fuzzy comprehensive comprehensive evaluation evaluation [33], VR[33], technology, VR technology, which which has emerged has emerged in in recentrecent years, years, can take can peopletake people into immersiveinto immersive experiences experiences in virtual in virtual or realistic or realistic environ- environ- mentsments by simulating by simulating environments, environments, sensing sensing nature na andture sensingand sensing devices. devices. The useThe of use VR of VR technologytechnology to evaluate to evaluate the visual the visual aesthetic aesthetic effect effect of the of cultural the cultural landscape landscape after ecologicalafter ecological remediationremediation design design not only not providesonly provides visual visual comfort comfort to the to audience the audience or visitors, or visitors, but also but also servesserves to reduce to reduce people’s people’s aesthetic aesthetic fatigue fatigue and perceive and perceive the natural the natural beauty beauty [34,35]. [34,35].

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 16

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 16 ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 16

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 8 of 16 ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 16 C. Shizhuguan Temple

Table 2. Cont. C. Shizhuguan C. Shizhuguan S/NTemple The Landscape Spatial Pattern The Cross-Section Data Statistics Temple

C. Shizhuguan Temple

D. Wuluozhong- lishan Temple

D. Wuluozhong- D. WuluozhonglishanD. Wuluozhong- Temple lishan Temple lishan Temple

D. Wuluozhong-

lishan Temple

E. Hanyangqiao Temple

E. Hanyangqiao E. Hanyangqiao Temple Temple

E. Hanyangqiao Note: Groups B, C and E images are being built. E. Hanyangqiao Temple Temple According to landscape patch data extracted by the LIM model, the new completed area based on our remediation design has increased the vegetation cover in the restored Note: Groups B, C and E images are being built. relics areaNote: from Groups 46.57% B, C in and 2016 E images to 65.44% are being in 2019. built. Among them, the vegetation cover of the Shizhuguan Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Temple and Hanyangqiao Temple increased According to landscape patch data extracted by the LIM model, the new completed the most,According by 21.25%, to landscape 18.94% and patch 16.21%, data extractedrespectively, by the followed LIM model, by Miaolingshan the new completed Temple area based on our remediation design has increased the vegetation cover in the restored andarea Xiangwangjie based on our Templeremediation with design14.59% hasand incr 11.34%,eased respectively. the vegetation Moreover, cover in the the remedia- restored Note:relicsGroups areaNote: B, from C Groups and 46.57% E images B, C in and are2016 E being images to 65.44% built. are being in 2019. built. Among them, the vegetation cover of tionrelics and area reconstruction from 46.57% designin 2016 of to the 65.44% buildings, in 2019. gatehouses Among them,and ancient the vegetation roads in thecover core of the Shizhuguan Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Temple and Hanyangqiao Temple increased Accordingareathe Shizhuguan of heritage toAccording landscape Temple,relics to has landscape patch Wuluozhonglishan increased data patch extractedthe datanumb Templeextracteder by of the local and LIMby HanyangqiaoTujia the model, LIM people model, the and Temple new thedomestic completednew increased completed and the most, by 21.25%, 18.94% and 16.21%, respectively, followed by Miaolingshan Temple area basedforeignthe onmost,area ourtourists bybased remediation 21.25%, travelingon our 18.94% remediation designand and sightseeing, 16.21%, has design increased respectively, prhasoviding incr theeased vegetationafollowed reference the vegetation by for coverMiaolingshan the cover inpractice the in restored Templethe of therestored and Xiangwangjie Temple with 14.59% and 11.34%, respectively. 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The use of VR ments by Unlikesimulating traditional environments, questionnaire sensing interview nature andmethods sensing [31], devices. hierarchical The useanalysis of VR meth- technology to evaluate the visual aesthetic effect of the cultural landscape after ecological Unliketechnology traditionalods [32] to and evaluate questionnairefuzzy the comprehensive visual interviewaesthetic evaluation effect methods of [33],the [cultural 31VR], technology, hierarchical landscape which analysisafter hasecological emerged meth- in remediation design not only provides visual comfort to the audience or visitors, but also ods [32]remediation andrecent fuzzy years, comprehensivedesign can not take only people provides evaluation into visual immersive [33 co],mfort VR experiences technology, to the audience in which virtual or visitors, has or realistic emerged but alsoenviron- in serves to reduce people’s aesthetic fatigue and perceive the natural beauty [34,35]. recent years,servesments canto reduce take by simulating peoplepeople’s into ae environments,sthetic immersive fatigue sensing and experiences perceive nature thein and virtualnatural sensing beauty or devices. realistic [34,35]. The environ- use of VR ments by simulatingtechnology environments, to evaluate the visual sensing aesthetic nature effect and of sensing the cultural devices. landscape The useafterof ecological VR technology toremediation evaluate the design visual not aestheticonly provides effect visual of the co culturalmfort to the landscape audience after or visitors, ecological but also

remediationserves design to not reduce only people’s provides aesthetic visual fatigue comfort and to perceive the audience the natural or visitors, beauty [34,35]. but also serves to reduce people’s aesthetic fatigue and perceive the natural beauty [34,35].

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 9 of 16

(1) Experimental design This study explores whether the visual aesthetic effect can be enhanced after the restoration of cultural landscape design by employing a subject design with a single factor and two variations. The independent variable is the change before and after the cultural landscape restoration design, and the dependent variable is the result of the evaluation of the landscape’s visual benefit. (2) Experimental equipment and materials A Tobii X2-30 virtual eye tracker from Germany and THUNDEROBOT III computer operating platform were used as the experimental instruments. The ErgoLAB man-machine environment synchronization platform from Beijing Jinfa Technology Company was used as the software. The combination of hardware and software ensures the scientific and reasonable assessment of the visual aesthetic effect of the landscape. According to the preliminary interviews, 18 cultural heritage protection experts and students interested in VR technology were randomly invited from the research area as subjects, with an average age of 35. The subjects were assigned to the expert group and student group, with 9 people in each group and a male/female ratio of 1:1. The hearing and sight, and sight-corrected visual acuity of all subjects were normal. The experimental stimulus material was taken from the image of the cultural site section before ecological restoration, which was extracted in the research area by Adobe Illustrator software, the image of the current situation after restoration design, and the simulated image in the construction. The experimental stimulus materials total 5 groups of 10 units. (3) Experimental process The head of the experiment organized the subjects to get them familiar with the experiment environment, procedures and instructions at the experiment site, so as to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the experimental process and eliminate the possible interference factors in this process. Before the experiment, the instructions were repeated to ensure that the subjects entered the experiment quickly, and to alleviate the influence of emotional factors such as anxiety and excitement on the experimental results. The whole experimental process included three stages: the pre-test stage, experimental stage and post-test stage. In the pre-test stage, all subjects provided demographic information (including gender and age), and were divided into groups based on job attributes. All devices were then cali- brated on the ErgoLAB human–computer environment synchronization platform to ensure that the error of the five sight points was within 20 pixels. After the mapping function generated by the eye movement parameters has been determined, the test could proceed. The test time was limited to 1 min to ensure the integrity of the experimental program. In the experimental stage, the head of the experiment required the subjects to inde- pendently read the 5 groups of stimulus image materials before and after the restoration design in accordance with the instructions for 3 min, and recorded the values of various eye movement parameters in real time and mapped the gaze points. The above steps were repeated until the 18 subjects finished the experiment, the experimental scenario is shown in Figure5. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 10 of 16 ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 10 of 16

FigureFigure 5. 5.Experimental Experimental scenarioscenario ofof the ErgoLAB humanhuman-machinemachine environment environment synchronization synchronization platform. platform.

InIn the post-test post-test stage, stage, the the head head of the of theexpe experimentriment imported imported the experimental the experimental data into data intoEXCEL, EXCEL, eliminated eliminated 1 piece 1 piece of datum of datum with witha large a largeerror errorin each in group, each group, and obtained and obtained 16 16pieces pieces of ofsaccade saccade tracking tracking data. data. Then, Then, SPSS21 SPSS21 was was used used to analyze to analyze the thereliability reliability of the of the experimentalexperimental data,data, and the results results showed showed that that the the αα valuevalue was was 0.882, 0.882, 0 < 0 α < <α 1,< indicating 1, indicating thatthat thethe datadata werewere reliable.

4.4. ResultsResults 4.1.4.1. VRVR Experimental Results Results and and Evaluation Evaluation and and Analysis Analysis VRVR technologytechnology was was used used to to compare compare and and analyze analyze the the changes changes in inthe the visual visual effects effects beforebefore andand after after restoration, restoration, whichwhich reflected reflected the the practical practical significance significance of of the the visual visual aesthetic aes- evaluation.thetic evaluation. Through Through the instructions the instructions of the of head the ofhead the of experiment the experiment and repeated and repeated tests, the twotests, groups the two of groups experimental of experimental data showed data sh a goodowed degreea good ofdegree fit. According of fit. According to the statisticalto the resultsstatistical of theresults fixation of the counts fixation and counts the averageand the average saccade saccade counts counts during during the experiment, the experi- the subjectsment, the were subjects usually were focused usually on focused the restored on the culturalrestored landscape cultural landscape on the left on side the firstleft side during thefirst experiment, during the experiment, accounting foraccounting 86.29% offor the 86.29% total of saccade the total counts, saccade indicating counts, indicating that this area receivedthat this thearea highest received degree the highest of attention degree from of attention the subjects. from the The subjects. saccade The counts saccade for the culturalcounts for landscape the cultural before landscape restoration before only restoration accounted only for accounted 13.71%, indicating for 13.71%, that indicating the subjects werethat the immersed subjects in were the processimmersed due in to the visual proce aestheticss due to fatigue visual oraesthetic low interest fatigue level, or low as shownin- interest Table level,3. According as shown in to Table the distribution 3. According of to the the subjects’ distribution fixation of the hot subjects’ spots (Figurefixation6 hot), the subjectsspots (Figure might 6), choose the subjects the areas might with choose better the visualareas with benefits better to visual focus benefits on according to focus to on their ownaccording interests to their or visual own interests aesthetic or effects, visual whichaesthetic is conduciveeffects, which to improvingis conducive visual to improv- aesthetic ing visual aesthetic interests on one hand, and to reducing subjects’ feelings of visual fa- interests on one hand, and to reducing subjects’ feelings of visual fatigue and improving tigue and improving aesthetic interests on the other hand. aesthetic interests on the other hand.

Table 3. StatisticsStatistics on on the the fixation ﬁxation counts counts an andd average average saccade saccade counts counts of subjects of subjects after after cultural cultural landscape landscape remediation. remediation.

ST STXT XTWT WTMT MTHT HT S/N AverageAverage AverageAverage AverageAverage AverageAverage AverageAverage FixationFixation FixationFixation FixationFixation FixationFixation S/N SaccadeSaccade SaccadeSaccade SaccadeSaccade SaccadeSaccade FixationFixation Saccade Counts Counts Counts Counts Saccade Counts CountsCounts CountsCounts CountsCounts Counts Counts Counts (N) Counts (N) Counts (N) Counts (N) Counts Counts Counts (N) (N/s) (N) (N/s) (N) (N/s) （N） (N/s) (N/s) (N/s) (N/s) (N/s) 1 16.33 6.33 492 4925.78 5.78524 5246.45 6.45524 5246.54 6.54546 5466.46 6.46468 468 2 5.62 501 5.89 503 6.03 522 6.68 523 6.68 487 2 35.62 7.12 501 4955.89 6.47503 5096.03 5.98522 5236.68 5.58523 5176.68 6.46487 502 4 6.45 501 6.52 501 6.01 511 5.89 523 6.04 511 Experts 3 7.12 495 6.47 509 5.98 523 5.58 517 6.46 502 5 6.78 523 5.77 503 6.02 486 6.47 501 4.65 495 4 6.45 501 6.52 501 6.01 511 5.89 523 6.04 511 Experts 6 6.35 496 5.87 499 5.78 499 6.48 535 5.46 489 5 76.78 7.07 523 4975.77 6.34503 4876.02 5.68486 5266.47 6.33501 5374.65 6.34495 479 6 86.35 7.22 496 5315.87 6.12499 5125.78 6.34499 5076.48 6.04535 5045.46 6.33489 478 7 17.07 7.04 497 5316.34 6.87487 4935.68 5.95526 5036.33 5.89537 5446.34 5.87479 495 8 27.22 6.14 531 5146.12 6.43512 5326.34 5.76507 4986.04 6.23504 5226.33 5.88478 492 3 7.06 533 6.11 522 6.11 538 5.56 536 6.23 523 1 47.04 6.76 531 5216.87 5.78493 5465.95 5.78503 5775.89 6.04544 5675.87 6.21495 545 StudentsStudents 2 56.14 5.89 514 5346.43 6.79532 5685.76 6.23498 5816.23 5.66522 5495.88 6.32492 548 6 6.54 545 6.03 534 6.55 544 5.67 578 6.04 498 7 6.56 567 5.98 589 5.87 602 5.59 584 6.56 509 8 7.47 678 6.03 524 5.97 514 6.26 519 6.32 493 Note: Groups ST, XT, WT, MT and HT come from Shizhuguan Temple, Xiangwangjie Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Temple, Miaolingshan Temple, and Hanyangqiao Temple. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 16

3 7.06 533 6.11 522 6.11 538 5.56 536 6.23 523 4 6.76 521 5.78 546 5.78 577 6.04 567 6.21 545 5 5.89 534 6.79 568 6.23 581 5.66 549 6.32 548 ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf.6 20216.54, 10, 423 545 6.03 534 6.55 544 5.67 578 6.04 49811 of 16 7 6.56 567 5.98 589 5.87 602 5.59 584 6.56 509 8 7.47 678 6.03 524 5.97 514 6.26 519 6.32 493 Note: Groups ST, XT, WT, MT and HT come from Shizhuguan Temple, Xiangwangjie Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Temple, Miaolingshan Temple, and Hanyangqiao Temple.

A1. After remediation A2. Before remediation

B1. After remediation B2. Before remediation

C1. After remediation C2. Before remediation

Figure 6. Cont.

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D1. After remediation D2. Before remediation

E1. After remediation E2. Before remediation

FigureFigure 6. DistributionDistribution of of fixation ﬁxation hot hot spots spots of subjects of subjects before before (right (right) and) after and after(left) (theleft remediation) the remediation design designproject. project. Group Group(A–E) images (A–E) images come from come the from distri thebution distribution of fixation of ﬁxation hot spots hot before spots beforeand after and the after restoration the restoration of cultural of cultural relics cross- relics cross-sectionssections of Shizhuguan of Shizhuguan Temple, Temple, Xiangwangjie Xiangwangjie Temple, Temple, Wuluozhonglishan Wuluozhonglishan Temple, Temple, Miaolingshan Miaolingshan Temple, Temple, and Han- and Hanyangqiaoyangqiao Temple. Temple.

Through VR VR technology technology evaluation evaluation analysis, analysis, it was it was found found that that the thefixation fixation counts counts and andthe average the average saccade saccade counts counts increased increased by 61.19% by 61.19% and 59.23%, and 59.23%, respectively, respectively, after the after reme- the remediationdiation design design was applied. was applied. The heat The map heat of map saccade of saccade counts counts is mainly is mainly concentrated concentrated on the onnodes the after nodes the after restoration the restoration design, design, and the and more the successful more successful the restoration the restoration is, the is,better the betterthe directivity the directivity of the saccade of the saccadefixation fixationeffect, indicating effect, indicating that the restored that the cultural restored landscape cultural landscapeincreased the increased subjects’ the visual subjects’ interest. visual This interest. reflects This a reflectsgood visual a good aesthetic visual aesthetic effect, and effect, re- andduces reduces the visual the fatigue visual of fatigue the subjects of the with subjects a more with pleasant a more visual pleasant experience. visual experience. Moreover, Moreover,our visual ouraesthetic visual evaluation aesthetic evaluation of the rest ofored the restoredcultural culturallandscape landscape enhanced enhanced our under- our understandingstanding of ecological of ecological environmenta environmentall protection protection in the inrelics the relicsarea. area. 4.2. Water Environment Quality Comparison Analysis and Effect Test 4.2. Water Environment Quality Comparison Analysis and Effect Test The Tujia settlement area is mainly distributed along watersheds, and water pollution The Tujia settlement area is mainly distributed along watersheds, and water pollu- is one of the typical factors reflecting the ecological and environmental quality of the study tion is one of the typical factors reflecting the ecological and environmental quality of the area. In this paper, data on water pollutants were extracted from the Environmental Quality study area. In this paper, data on water pollutants were extracted from the Environmental Report (2016–2019) of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the study area to further Quality Report (2016–2019) of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the study area to examine the effects of the ecological remediation design project of the landscape on the improvementfurther examine of ecologicalthe effects quality. of the ecological The changes remediation in pollutant design concentrations project of in the water landscape bodies inon thethe culturalimprovement landscape of ecological areas before quality. and Th aftere changes the ecological in pollutant remediation concentrations design in (2016, wa- 2019)ter bodies of the inlandscape the cultural were landscape compared areas and before analyzed and after by reference the ecological to the remediation Environmental de- Qualitysign (2016, Standard 2019) of for the Surface landscape Water were (GB3838-2002) compared and [36– 39analyzed], as shown by reference in Table4 to. the Envi- ronmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB3838-2002) [36–39], as shown in Table 4.

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 13 of 16

Table 4. Comparison of changes in pollutant concentrations and statistics of water quality.

Monitoring Points Limits in Standards for Classiﬁcation S/N Monitoring Item WT MT XT ST HT Grade III Water Bodies 1 pH 7.9 7.7 7.8 7.5 7.7 6~9 2 DO (mg/L) 4.47 4.43 3.45 4.58 4.02 ≥5 3 NH3-N (mg/L) 1.08 0.37 1.01 0.57 1.27 ≤1 4 CODMn (mg/L) 2.10 2 2.10 1.90 2.20 ≤6 After remediation (2019) 5 BOD5 (mg/L) 0.73 0.68 0.79 0.68 1.69 ≤4 6 F− (mg/L) 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.13 ≤1.0 7 TP (mg/L) 0.32 0.13 0.32 0.31 0.41 ≤0.20 8 CODCr (mg/L) 25.78 12 23 11 15 ≤20 9 TN (mg/L) 1.78 1.72 1.82 1.58 2.03 ≤1.0 1 pH 7.9 7.7 7.8 7.6 7.7 6~9 2 DO (mg/L) 4.52 3.89 4.96 4.02 4.43 ≥5 3 NH3-N (mg/L) 1.27 1.07 1.13 1.07 1.34 ≤1 4 CODMn (mg/L) 1.08 1.02 2.10 1.04 2.14 ≤6 Before remediation (2016) 5 BOD5 (mg/L) 0.76 0.82 0.69 0.82 0.68 ≤4 6 F− (mg/L) 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 ≤1.0 7 TP (mg/L) 0.32 0.23 0.29 0.31 0.25 ≤0.20 8 CODCr (mg/L) 21 18 23 21 19 ≤20 9 TN (mg/L) 1.82 1.77 1.94 1.67 1.72 ≤1.0 Note: Groups WT, MT, XT, ST and HT come from Wuluozhonglishan Temple, Miaolingshan Temple, Xiangwangjie Temple, Shizhuguan Temple, and Hanyangqiao Temple.

According to the statistical results in Table4, it was found that the pollution concentrations of DO, NH3-N and TN indexes in all relic areas were signiﬁcantly reduced after the remediation design, indicating that the remediation works on buildings, vegetation and water bodies in the cultural landscape area have improved the efﬁcacy of water-containing forests, and that the dirt-holding capacity of rivers was conducive to the degradation and dilution of some pollution source concentrations, leading to better water ecosystem functions and improved water environment quality, as shown in Figure7. In some of the relic areas, CODMn, BOD5, TP, CODCr and other pollution index concentrations before and after remediation showed uneven changes, indicating that residual household waste, cement ash and debris and other residues in some of the relic areas in the remediation process have caused secondary pollution of the water body, requiring secondary clean-up. F- and pH remained essentially unchanged, indicating that both have relatively little impact on the relics area. Overall, the water qualities were better than before, which proves that our design intervention effectively improved the eco-environmental quality. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 16

Figure 7. Visualization of the water body remediation process and results.results.

5. Discussion Discussion and Conclusions By proposing an activation and eco-landscapeeco-landscape remediation pattern to preserve the cultural landscape resources in the study areaarea and using VR technology to evaluate the visual aesthetic effects of the remediation design, this study investigatedinvestigated the restorationrestoration of the the Linjun Linjun Culture Culture through through the the collective collective me memorymory of the of Tujia the Tujia family family based based on the on char- the acteristiccharacteristic culture culture of the of Tujia the Tujia population, population, and andintroduce introduce the theory the theory of “activation” of “activation” into into the disappearingthe disappearing cultural cultural landscape landscape resources resources with with the support the support of China’s of China’s digital digital culture culture Re- vitalizationRevitalization Strategy Strategy and and policy policy on the on theconstruc constructiontion of Beautiful of Beautiful China China to achieve to achieve the goal the ofgoal cultural of cultural heritage heritage protection protection and inheritance. and inheritance. Applying the VRVR technologytechnology evaluation evaluation method method to to the the conservation conservation and and inheritance inheritance of ofcultural cultural landscape landscape resources resources is, on is, the on onethe hand,one hand, conducive conducive to “activating” to “activating” the characteristic the charac- teristicculture culture of the Tujiaof the settlement Tujia settlement and enhancing and enhancing people’s people’s awareness awareness of the of conservation the conserva- of tionthe culturalof the cultural heritage heritage around around them; and them; on and the otheron the hand, other the hand, environmental the environmental restoration res- torationand landscape and landscape remediation remediation design of design the cultural of the landscapecultural landscape resources resources on the verge on the of vergedestruction of destruction in the study in the area study is not area only is not conducive only conducive to turning to “waste”turning “waste” into “treasure” into “treas- and “ugly”ure” and into “ugly” “beautiful”, into “beautiful”, but also tobut improving also to improving the ecological the ecological environment environment qualityof qual- the itystudy of the area. study area. This research research shows shows that that the the proposed proposed VR VR technology technology evaluation evaluation method method is not is only not conduciveonly conducive to exploring to exploring new newpaths paths to protect to protect cultural cultural heritage heritage resources resources through through the thein- heritanceinheritance and and innovation innovation model model in order in order to ac tohieve achieve the benefits the beneﬁts of the ofbeauty the beautyin the human in the landscapehuman landscape and natural and environment, natural environment, but also butto achieve also to achievethe goal theof harmonious goal of harmonious coexist- encecoexistence between between humans humans and the andenvironment the environment through throughthe practice the of practice ecological of ecological environ- mentalenvironmental protection protection [40]. The [40 experimental]. The experimental procedure procedure in this in study this study may mayhave have affected affected the accuracythe accuracy of the of data the data because because only only 16 subjects 16 subjects were were randomly randomly invited invited to participate. to participate. The nextThe nextstep stepwill willbe to be increase to increase the the number number of ofsubjects, subjects, and and this this will will help help to to improve improve the accuracy of the evaluation results. accuracy of the evaluation results. Extracting landscape patch information through the LIM model [41] is beneﬁcial to Extracting landscape patch information through the LIM model [41] is beneficial to the overall statistics of land use changes in the study area and provides data support for the overall statistics of land use changes in the study area and provides data support for the VR technology evaluation of the visual aesthetics of the cultural landscape. In the next the VR technology evaluation of the visual aesthetics of the cultural landscape. In the next step, the group will also form a cultural heritage protection association in the relics area in step, the group will also form a cultural heritage protection association in the relics area conjunction with local ethnic departments to provide image data, subjects and evaluation

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 423 15 of 16

tools for the visual evaluation of the landscape. The introduction of the LIM model and VR technology to the evaluation of landscapes’ visual aesthetics is a new breakthrough in both research technology and method, which can be further applied to the conservation of cultural landscape resources in the ethnic minority settlement areas in Southwest China. Additionally, we could also invite “net celebrities” to go to the cultural heritage relics in the study area for live streaming promotions and to create a number of online popular scenic spots, which will not only help attract domestic and foreign tourist groups but will also realize the internal circulation of protected resources. Moreover, the water environment quality was compared before and after the restoration, which showed that the pollution concentrations of DO, NH3-N and TN in the water environment were significantly reduced after the remediation design. The research results showed the effectiveness of VR technology for evaluating the visual beauty of cultural landscapes after ecological remediation design. It was shown that the landscape ecological remediation design improved the ecological environment quality in the research area, and the crossover study of landscape ecology [42] and environmental science together with ecological environment management is significant in practice to protect the cultural landscape resources of ethnic minority settlement areas in poor mountainous areas. It also provides a reference for the practice of the Rural Revitalization Strategy and the construction of Beautiful China. The application of VR technology in cultural heritage protection and construction effectively verifies the changes of the cultural landscape before and after restoration through the quantitative assessment method. In the next step, the research team will extend the method to study areas with different location characteristics, explore the heterogeneity characteristics of different locations, and summarize the evaluation indicators to promote the protection of cultural heritage, to finally form a scientific and reasonable evaluation system.

Author Contributions: Zhengsong Lin designed the research and wrote the paper; Lu Zhang and Su Tang performed the research and analyzed the data; Yang Song co-wrote the paper; Xinyue Ye co-designed the research and extensively updated the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Funding: This research was supported by the Culture and Tourism IP Design based on AR/VR technology (No. 202002064005). This research was also supported by Hubei Province Ecological Environmental Design Research Center and Hubei Cultural Industry Economy Research Center Open Project (HBCIR2021003). Conﬂicts of Interest: No potential conﬂict of interest were reported by the authors.

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