Abstract:

In response to national mandates for the deep integration of culture and tourism, and to support Shanxi Province’s development into a cultural powerhouse and an internationally renowned tourism destination, this paper constructs a theoretical model to evaluate the tourism utilization potential of ancient architectural heritage resources based on the Wuli-Shili-Renli system methodology. Using the analytic hierarchy process, weighted kernel density estimation, and clustering and outlier analysis, the study examines the utilization potential and spatial patterns of these resources across Shanxi Province. Each ancient architectural heritage site is classified according to its specific advantages and disadvantages regarding tourism potential, followed by a discussion of tailored tourism utilization strategies. The results indicate that: (1) Ancient architectures with very strong or relatively strong tourism utilization potential are predominantly concentrated in the urban areas and adjacent regions of the provincial capital and prefecture-level cities, whereas those with weak or very weak tourism potential are mainly distributed in interprovincial or intercity border areas. (2) Ancient architectures advantageous in the Wuli dimension are mainly distributed in heritage-rich regions; those advantageous in the Shili dimension show a distinct cultural and tourism industry orientation; and those advantageous in the Renli dimension exhibit a clear economic orientation. (3) The spatial pattern of areas with strong tourism utilization potential presents the characteristics of “three cores and three belts”, with 26, 23, and 68 county-level administrative units identified as high-high clustering areas, low-low clustering areas, and insignificant areas, respectively. (4) According to the established classification criteria for tourism utilization potential, the architectural sites are categorized into types Ⅰ-Ⅷ, with 85, 18, 45, 42, 38, 51, 43, and 99 sites belonging to each respective type. To promote the tourism utilization of these sites, the paper proposes several strategies, including high-end cultural and tourism supply, core landscape enhancement, service improvement, resource integration-driven strategies, project cultivation, industry advantage driven strategies, industry environment support strategies, and financial support promotion. Future utilization of Shanxi Province’s architectural heritage resources should be promoted based on the classification type of each site and their broader spatial distribution patterns. Furthermore, the government should implement measures such as integrating advantageous resource elements, implementing resource zoning management, improving subject participation mechanisms, and constructing cultural relic-themed tourist routes.

Key words: ancient architecture, heritage resource, tourism utilization potential, Wuli-Shili-Renli system methodology