3.1.1 Analysis of public facility aggregation
First, satellite imagery of Jiuguan Village was obtained using WeMap. CAD software was used to draw the current village road and building conditions. Combining the results of on-site surveys and POI data obtained from WeMap (Fig. 3), ArcGIS spatial analysis tools were used to conduct public facility kernel density analysis based on periods and functional categories. A 6-level natural break classification method was employed to generate density images. Due to the relatively limited preservation of buildings before the Ming dynasty and the challenges of historical documentation, this article only considers fully preserved historical buildings as public service facilities from before the Ming dynasty. The public service facilities in Jiuguan Village are divided into five main periods based on a temporal dimension: pre-Ming dynasties (before 1368), Ming and Qing periods (1368–1912), the Republic of China period (1912–1949), post-1949 until the year 2000, and from 2000 to the present. From a functional perspective, these can be divided into six categories: defensive facilities, commercial facilities, religious facilities, cultural facilities, transportation service facilities, and daily life service facilities. Through the combination of time and public facility categories (Table 4), a detailed analysis of the evolution of village public facilities is conducted.
Table 4 Summary of POI data statistics
Period
|
Public facilities
|
Increased quantity
|
Function type
|
Location
|
Before 1368
|
Beacon tower; Inspection division, etc
|
5
|
Defensive Facilities; Religious Facilities
|
The ancient post road
|
1368–1912
|
Pawnshop; Jinyang Pavilion; Oil mill, etc
|
18
|
Commercial facility; Cultural facilities
|
The ancient post road
|
1912–1949
|
Primary school of the Republic of China; Temple; Auditorium, etc
|
4
|
Defensive Facilities; Religious Facilities; Commercial facilities
|
The ancient post road
|
1949–2000
|
Catering; Shop; School; Health center; Village committee; Theater, etc
|
4
|
Living service facilities; Commercial facilities; Cultural facilities
|
Modern transportation
|
After 2000
|
Communication service; Gas station; Auto repair shop, etc
|
9
|
Transportation service facilities; Living service facilities; Commercial facilities
|
Modern transportation
|
Before 1368, Jiuguan Village was still in a developmental stage. During the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC), China constructed an extensive network of roads radiating from Xianyang to various parts of the country. Jiuguan Village was situated on the Qinhuang Post Road, one of the "Eight Passes of Taihang," and served as a critical military and administrative route for the exchange of military information, government documents, imperial edicts, and the passage of officials between the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei. Influenced by continuous warfare, the ancestors of Jiuguan Village, out of safety considerations, chose locations near the mountains as a shield. Generations of soldiers and their families resided near the passes. Therefore, before the Ming dynasty, the public facilities in Jiuguan Village primarily served military and political purposes. They were scattered along the ancient post road near the mountain passes and included inspection division[1] and garrisons[2]. Additionally, relay stations and beacon towers (Fig. 4-a) were established to provide resting places and supplies for officials traveling to and from the area. This village, where both military and farming activities coexisted, possessed strong defensive capabilities.
Between 1368 and 1912, national stability and the "Kai Zhong Zhi" policy promoted the prosperity and development of Jin merchants. As a result, the political and military functions of the village gradually weakened, while its economic functions strengthened. The public spaces in the village began to shift from serving military purposes to meeting the demands of commerce. Along the post road, numerous shops lined the streets, creating commercial zones where people congregated. These areas primarily served as places for Jin merchant travelers to eat and stay overnight, including locations like West Store, East Store, Tianyu Store, and West Tower, as well as official residences and ancient theaters (Fig. 4-b). The growth of the commercial economy along the Qinhuang Post Road led to the development of public spaces within the village, making it highly open to external trade.
Between 1912 and 1949, China experienced significant social upheaval and transitions. The whole of China was in a state of chaos among warlords and invasion by foreign enemies. Jiuguan Village was affected by the chaos of warlord conflicts and the occupation by Japanese forces. Consequently, the post road once again played a military role as a marching route. With the decline of Jin merchants and the traditional functions of the ancient road, the previous commercial functions began to wane, although some remnants remained. Thus, during this period, the village served mixed functions in defense and commerce. During Xishan Yan's governance of Shanxi Province (1912–1949), the region implemented a "village-based political model"[3]. This model played a significant role in maintaining relative prosperity and peace in the region. Despite the impact of various wars along the ancient postal routes in Jiuguan Village, the villagers, driven by a desire to improve their living conditions, continued to develop the village. During this period, cultural facilities were constructed within the village, including a meeting hall and a school from the early years of the Republic of China (Fig. 4-c).
Between 1949 and 2000, as military and commercial functions along the ancient postal routes gradually disappeared, the village's traditional layout centered around these routes weakened. Due to the convenience of transportation, new development areas in Jiuguan Village were extended along the transport routes. To expand their sources of income, the villagers developed a "roadside economy" by establishing businesses such as restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, and automobile repair shops (Fig. 4-d). As a result, the ancient postal route's commercial street lost its former prominence, and most of the regular markets and small businesses relocated to both sides of the 307 National Road.
After 2000, in response to the national initiatives for beautiful rural areas and the preservation of traditional villages, the village's infrastructure improved further. The village witnessed the development of more life service facilities and cultural amenities, including China Mobile, the Jiuguan Convenience Service Station, and a cultural square (Fig. 4-e). As a result, the villagers' quality of life gradually improved, leading to higher satisfaction levels.
As shown in Fig. 5, the density of public service facilities in Jiuguan Village is relatively small, ranging from 0 to 0.002. The spatial distribution follows a pattern of "one core, one zone, and multiple nodes." Specifically, the "core" is primarily situated at the intersection of Weijiu Road and National Highway 307. After 1949, with the development of external transportation in Jiuguan Village, the transformation of the village's socioeconomic structure was triggered. The social structure, previously based on blood ties and geographical proximity, was reorganized. The "zone" refers to the spiritual belief space formed by the gradual expansion to the west and north along the ancient post road as the skeleton. "Multiple nodes" refers to the public service spaces such as gas stations, auto repair departments, parking lots, and Jiuguan convenience service stations formed along National Highway 307 as a skeleton scattered to serve the needs of traffic development. In summary, the primary public spaces in Jiuguan Village shifted from the "religious and belief-related spaces" along the postal route towards the "comprehensive service spaces" along the National Highway 307. These spaces have grown in size, increased in comprehensiveness, and expanded their range of services. However, no matter which development period the village is in or how the scale and attributes of public space change, the main public space is located near the external traffic, such as the Quanshen Pavilion and village committee. The reason is that in order to equalize public services, public space needs to have good accessibility, and the higher the level, the higher the requirement for accessibility.
3.1.2 Road analysis
According to the existing data, the history of the change in external transportation in Jiuguan Village is summarized. Before 1949, the ancient post road, as the main external traffic of the old pass, assumed different functions in different historical periods. Before 1368, it played a crucial role in defense and military functions. Between 1368 and 1912, it transformed into a commercial route, emphasizing trade and economic activities. Between 1912 and 1949, the military role was re-played, and the function of combining military and commerce was formed. After 1949, Shanxi's transportation infrastructure development started in a relatively backward and closed state and gradually transitioned towards open and modern road networks. This marked a new phase in the modernization of Shanxi's road infrastructure. As shown in Table 3, the main external transportation phases for Jiuguan Village after 1949 can be divided into three stages: In 1956, Weijiu Road from Jiuguan Village to Niangziguan Town was completed and opened to traffic, which integrated Jiuguan Village into the modern transportation network of Shanxi Province and strengthened the connection between Jiuguan Village and the surrounding villages and towns. 2) In 1973, National Highway 307 in Pingding County was completed and opened to traffic. During the 1970s and 1980s, due to the increased transportation of coal, minerals, and other goods in Shanxi, traffic congestion became a severe issue. The construction of the National Road provided favorable conditions for resource transportation in Jiuguan Village and opened up a vast market for its transportation and logistics industry. In the 1990s, Shanxi initiated the construction of expressways, and in 1996, the Taijiu Expressway, the first expressway in Shanxi, was opened. It extended from the provincial capital, Taiyuan, to Jiuguan at the provincial border. The construction of the Taijiu Expressway contributed significantly to the economic development of Jiuguan Village, serving not only as its primary external transportation route but also as a vital transportation artery in the Yangquan area, particularly for the transport of coal from the Jinzhong area (Table 5).
In the morphological theory of Conzenian, the street system serves as the most stable form, providing the backbone and support for organizing the entire spatial growth of a village. It not only carries out the transportation function but also effectively reflects the relationship between the spatial form, production, livelihood, and cultural heritage of the village. The author employed spatial syntax theory to construct a model of the village road network. Initially, satellite images of Jiuguan Village were obtained through WeMap, and current road networks were drawn using CAD software. To enhance the tolerance of the axis model, an extended section of the road network was processed, resulting in the axis model of Jiuguan Village. This model served as the foundational data for research using Depthmap software.
In spatial syntax analysis, integration refers to the average distance from one axis to other axes, reflecting the degree of local spatial aggregation or dispersion with respect to other spaces. Higher integration indicates stronger accessibility, higher centrality, and increased spatial vitality. Warmer colors in the axis lines represent higher integration, which implies greater accessibility and centrality. In Figure 6, there are two segments of high integration in Jiuguan Village, which include the village's major transportation arteries: the National Highway 307 and the Qinhuang Post Road. These roads are essential transportation routes for the village. Before 1949, most villagers settled on both sides of the post road, and with the continuous development of The Times, the roads in the village expanded outward with the post road as the framework. After 1949, with the ongoing improvement of modern transportation, the road network within the village continued to expand along both sides of National Highway 307. Although the Taijiu expressway is modern traffic, its closure inhibits the village's eastward development and eventually forms a fishbone-shaped road system. Whether it's the Qinhuang Post Road or the National Road, these routes are not only essential for entering and leaving the ancient village but also serve as primary transportation links connecting the surrounding villages and towns.
Spatial selectivity reflects an indicator of spatial permeability within a certain range, typically indicating the likelihood of being traversed. A higher value indicates better location and transportation conditions, making the area more attractive to pedestrian flow and thus facilitating the congregation of people [22]. From Fig. 7, it is evident that the overall spatial selectivity in Jiuguan Village is relatively low. The fact that the 307 National Road exhibits the highest selectivity underscores that it has become the most frequently used road by the villagers. In turn, this emphasizes the influence of modern transportation changes on the daily lives of the villagers. Combined with the above analysis of public facilities, it once again confirms the demonstration that external traffic has certain guidance for village development.
3.1.3 Spatial form analysis
In this paper, an analysis of floor area ratio and village boundary morphology for the various historical periods of Jiuguan Village was conducted. Based on the temporal development sequence, the dynamic and diachronic changes in settlement morphology are analyzed quantitatively. The author imported the building outline with attributes drawn by CAD and village roads into Arc GIS software to draw the distribution of buildings in Jiuguan Village and calculated the density and floor area ratio of village buildings by using the digital analysis technology of GIS software. Thus, the evolution of the external shape profile and floor area ratio distribution of Jiuguan Village under the influence of external traffic changes is obtained (Fig. 8).
A single characteristic value cannot accurately define the morphology of a village; only a simple change rule can be obtained. Therefore, in addition to calculating the distribution of the floor area ratio, this paper combines common landscape analysis indices such as length-to-width ratio and shape analysis index to accurately determine the morphological characteristics of the village.
Due to the lack of ancient maps, this study relied on field visits and information provided by villagers to estimate the historical locations and outlines of the buildings from different historical periods. First, the historical image maps were vectorized using CAD software, creating a precise dataset for the study. Starting from the corner vertices of the individual buildings at the outer edge of the settlement, non-crossing lines were drawn sequentially along each base point to form closed shapes. The minimum bounding geometry tool in ArcGIS spatial analysis software was then used to obtain the minimum bounding rectangle, which allowed for the calculation of the λ data. This λ data was then used in the formula for calculating the settlement boundary shape index S.
From Fig. 10 and Table 6, comparing the overall boundary shape and scale, it can be observed that S is on an upward trend throughout the study period, indicating an increasing complexity in the settlement's shape. It can be observed that S is on an upward trend throughout the study period, indicating an increasing complexity in the settlement's shape. Before 1949, the area around Jiuguan Village was characterized by mountainous terrain and gullies. Influenced by the Ancient Post Road, the village primarily served military functions, with residents scattered in the vicinity of the post road. The original settlement had a relatively small volume, and the buildings were naturally and randomly distributed in a strip along the ancient post road. In 1368–1912, influenced by commerce and trade, the village expanded westward, and the village's morphology extended to the north and south of the original strip, forming a morphology with a tendency towards a compact village. In 1919–1949, the Japanese expanded the roads to the north and built Beitou Street. The villagers arranged residences along both sides of Beitou Street, and the village's morphology took on a compact form. Since 1949, with the construction of the road through the village, the settlement scale of Jiuguan Village has been continuously expanded, and the external communication system of the village has been continuously improved. The economic value of the land along the line has become prominent, shifting from land fertility to land rent gradients based on transportation location. External transportation became a key factor in the contemporary evolution of Jiuguan Village. Under the influence of the road network, the village expanded in multiple directions, forming a planar morphology that extended in a radial pattern along the transportation lines.
Table 6
Spatial quantification data of Jiuguan Village
Period
|
Settlement scale(ha)
|
λ values
|
S values
|
Settlements category
|
Reason
|
Before 1368
|
0.627
|
2.104
|
0.5936
|
Band settlements
|
Military
|
1368–1912
|
1.327
|
1.839
|
1.377
|
Cluster settlements with band tendency
|
Commerce
|
1912–1949
|
1.429
|
1.177
|
1.685
|
Cluster settlements
|
Military
|
1949–2000
|
7.983
|
1.531
|
4.972
|
Finger-like settlements without obvious tendency
|
Transport
|
After 2000
|
18.7331
|
1.560
|
4.314
|
Finger-like settlements without obvious tendency
|
Transport
|