The Research on the Construction of Traditional Village Heritage Corridors in the Taihu Lake Region Based on the Current Effective Conductance (CEC) Theory

Abstract

This study focuses on constructing a heritage corridor for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, aiming to promote the cultural heritage preservation and sustainable development of these villages through innovative pathway design. Based on the spatial distribution characteristics of traditional villages across five cities surrounding Taihu Lake (Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Huzhou, and Jiaxing) and the existing transportation network, this research integrates the Circuit Effective Conductance (CEC) theory with ArcGIS spatial analysis methods to optimize the pathways of the heritage corridor. The results show that the expected nearest neighbor distance of 307 traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region is 5245.61 m, with the actual nearest neighbor distance being 3385.60 m, a z-score of −11.85, and a nearest neighbor index of 0.645786, indicating that traditional villages in this region exhibit clustered distribution. Combined with kernel density results, a “dual-core–four zones–multiple scatter points” spatial structure of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region is revealed, with Dongshan Island and Wujiang District serving as the primary and secondary cultural cores, respectively. By establishing a “dual-ring heritage corridor” spatial network, a stable pathway for village heritage preservation and cultural transmission has been formed, consisting of 137 heritage corridors. Meanwhile, the CEC model demonstrates high adaptability in generating circular heritage corridors, particularly in creating closed-loop structures around the lake, thereby enhancing the spatial connectivity of the corridors and facilitating the effective flow of cultural resources. Through the strategic design of outer and inner ring corridors, this study successfully links traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region and develops optimal travel routes. The study provides practical solutions for the protection, revitalization, and integration of cultural tourism in the region and offers a new perspective for constructing heritage corridors in lakefront geographies in China.

1. Introduction

The concept of heritage corridors was first proposed by American historians and cultural protection experts. It aims to form a regional protection and development strategy by integrating and protecting the cultural and natural heritage along the corridors [1]. Heritage corridors are usually based on linear or sheet-like geographical areas, connecting multiple heritage sites, scenic spots, villages, or landmarks with cultural, historical, natural, or social significance to build an organic heritage protection network [2]. While emphasizing spatial connections, heritage corridors also focus on the interconnection of social and cultural levels and strive to connect these scattered heritage sites through the optimal path to ensure the continuity of culture and history in the region, thereby achieving the overall protection and sustainable development of heritage [3].

In recent years, the study of traditional villages has received widespread attention from scholars in the fields of human geography and tourism management [4,5,6]. Scholars have analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages at different geographical scales in China and explored the evolution from single traditional villages to clustered settlements [7,8,9]. However, most of these studies are limited to traditional villages in a small area, or to the distribution network of traditional villages within the administrative area, ignoring the holistic and systematic study of traditional villages from a geo-cultural perspective. Many studies have failed to fully consider the intertwined effects of geographical, cultural, and social factors, and lack the experience of building cross-provincial and cross-regional traditional village heritage corridors [10]. In view of this, from the perspective of geo-culture, promoting the overall protection and coordinated development of traditional villages and breaking through the boundaries of administrative divisions has become a key issue in the current protection and development of traditional villages [11,12,13,14]. By studying cross-regional traditional village cultural corridors, new ideas can be provided for the sustainable development of traditional villages, and cultural and historical heritage can be effectively protected and inherited in a wider geographical range [15].

In recent years, many successful heritage corridor cases have emerged in China and other countries in the world, providing new ideas for the coordinated protection and coordinated development of traditional villages [16,17,18]. For example, Yu Kongjian’s team at Peking University constructed a heritage corridor tourism system for the Grand Canal (which was built in 605 AD during the Sui Dynasty in China, runs through the eastern region of China, connects Beijing and Hangzhou, and connects the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins, promoting China’s north–south transportation and economic development, and becoming one of the longest artificial rivers in the world) through the relevant theories and technologies of heritage corridors [19]. Shao Long’s team at Harbin Institute of Technology constructed an industrial heritage corridor system for the Middle East Railway (the Middle East Railway refers to the railway network built by Russia in the late Qing Dynasty connecting China with Russia, Mongolia, and other countries, mainly used to transport goods and strengthen regional control) [20]. At present, the construction of heritage corridors mainly focuses on linear heritage routes, relying on ArcGIS technology, combined with tools such as kernel density estimation to analyze the aggregation pattern of traditional villages, using AHP or entropy method to evaluate the weight of resistance factors for corridor construction, and determining the comprehensive resistance surface through spatial analysis and the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) in GIS to generate the optimal route [21].

From the perspective of the research content of heritage corridors, it mainly includes the construction principles, value recognition and evaluation, suitability evaluation, and multi-level spatial construction of heritage corridors [22]. Specifically, the research on the construction of heritage corridors mainly focuses on the exploration of construction principles, processes, and methods [23]. Among them, Li et al. quantitatively analyzed the spatial distribution of cultural heritage by using the nearest distance index and location entropy model, and explored the spatial scope composition of cultural heritage corridors and the distribution characteristics of regional heritage elements [24]. They analyzed the spatial layout of heritage corridors through GIS technology and proposed a construction plan for material and intangible heritage corridors based on the three levels of “points, lines, and surfaces” from a spatial perspective. Especially in the planning of the cultural heritage corridor in the Yellow River Basin, it emphasized the combination of these levels to improve the accessibility and protection effect of cultural heritage.

In terms of the recognition and evaluation of the value of heritage corridors, the research not only covers the evaluation of tourism value and cultural heritage value, but also introduces the carrying capacity model of the ecotourism system to achieve a more comprehensive evaluation [25]. For example, Li et al. used GIS technology to spatialize various influencing factors, combined with the characteristics of different regions, and finally obtained the spatial differentiation results of ecotourism carrying capacity, which provided data support for the sustainable development of heritage corridors [26]. On this basis, suitability evaluation methods and multi-level spatial construction of heritage corridors have become hot topics in the current research. Scholars Du et al. proposed a path for the suitability analysis of heritage corridors, emphasizing the importance of considering geographical, cultural, and transportation factors [27], while Wang et al. studied the multi-level spatial construction of heritage corridors from the perspective of the Grand Canal Basin by applying tools such as CCSPM model, MCR model, and hierarchical analysis method, and explored how to optimize the layout and connection of heritage corridors at different levels of spatial scale [28].

At present, the study of heritage corridors is gradually shifting from traditional linear cultural heritage connection to a more systematic and comprehensive spatial layout model. This shift not only focuses on the connectivity of cultural heritage, but also emphasizes regional coordination, urban–rural integration, and the overall protection and sustainable development of natural resources and cultural heritage [29]. In this context, the protection of traditional villages has gradually been incorporated into the spatial network of heritage corridors. By building a multi-level and multi-dimensional heritage corridor system, the cultural inheritance and sustainable protection of traditional villages have been effectively promoted. This new protection model can not only optimize the spatial layout of heritage resources, but also strengthen the connection between heritage sites, improve the mobility and accessibility of cultural resources, and provide a new path for the sustainable development of traditional villages.

This study focuses on five cities in the area around Lake Taihu, including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, which span Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and are an important part of China’s Jiangnan region. The traditional villages in this area have significant local characteristics, especially in terms of water systems and water conservancy. The existence of Lake Taihu has endowed this area with a complex water network and rich lake resources. Since most of these villages are built along the water, forming a unique water town landscape, these areas are not only the core representatives of the “Jiangnan Water Town”, but also an important carrier of water town culture, with extremely high historical, cultural, and ecological research values. However, although the traditional villages in this area contain rich cultural heritage resources, there are currently certain blind spots in the protection and development of these villages [30]. Many research and protection measures are too limited to individual villages or specific areas, lacking systematic protection and serial development of the overall cultural heritage of the area around Lake Taihu. Therefore, it is urgent to start from a broader perspective, carry out cross-regional, holistic protection and linkage development, and build a more comprehensive and sustainable serial protection and cultural tourism line activation mechanism for these villages with important cultural values [31]. The significance of constructing a heritage corridor for traditional villages in the five cities around Taihu Lake is that, first, the construction of a heritage corridor for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region can break through the “urban” perspective and elevate protection and tourism development to the “regional” perspective, thus promoting the systematic protection of traditional villages in the region and the coordinated development of the overall cultural tourism line. By constructing a heritage corridor, multiple villages, historical sites, and natural landscapes with unique cultural values are connected into a network to ensure the overall inheritance and development of regional culture [32]. Secondly, the construction of a heritage corridor can solve the current problem of fragmented cultural protection in the region, strengthen the cultural ties between villages, optimize the allocation of protection resources, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of heritage protection and utilization. It not only helps to protect the cultural heritage of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, but also promotes cultural exchanges and interactions, softens the boundaries of urban areas, and enhances the cultural cohesion and identity of the region. At the macro research level, this study provides new ideas for exploring the feasibility of cultural tourism and heritage protection across urban areas and provinces, breaks through the administrative and regional limitations in the protection of traditional villages, and adds a “regional” level of protection and development units. Therefore, through the construction of heritage corridors, we can provide a reference for similar cultural heritage protection models, promote the coordinated protection and sustainable development of culture in a wider area, and provide a new perspective for the protection of China’s traditional villages and the overall inheritance of cultural heritage.

In recent years, a novel solution has been proposed by the developing circuit theory (also known as the effective conduction theory of current, abbreviated as CEC) based on the MCR framework. It has broad potential for application in nonlinear regions and can form a closed-loop corridor line [33]. In the construction of heritage corridors based on the Circuit Effective Conductance (CEC) theory, heritage sites, scenic areas, and historical monuments are regarded as the “nodes” in the “circuit”, while the connecting lines between them, such as transportation routes and cultural passages, are analogous to the paths in the circuit. The application of CEC aims to optimize the flow and connectivity of cultural resources, thereby enhancing the efficiency of heritage preservation and cultural transmission. This theory borrows from the concept of current flow in electrical circuits and applies it to study and optimize the transmission mechanisms of resources in heritage corridors [34]. Specifically, the CEC theory, as a spatial optimization tool, treats the factors that affect heritage corridor construction and cultural transmission as “resistances”, while the flow of cultural resources is likened to the “current”. In this framework, the research area is akin to a conductive surface where geographical barriers (such as elevation and slope), traffic limitations (road levels and coverage), and other factors form the resistance. The current will naturally flow through the paths of least resistance to complete the circuit loop, thus significantly improving the overall efficiency of the heritage corridor. By constructing a spatial network that aligns with circuit principles, this method helps identify and optimize path layouts, enabling the efficient circulation of cultural resources between traditional villages and related areas. This process not only facilitates cultural exchange and transmission but also reduces the impact of physical barriers to a certain extent, optimizing both the functionality and sustainability of the heritage corridor.

2. Research Aims

The core objective of this study is to comprehensively analyze the various factors that affect the construction of heritage corridors and to develop the cultural heritage network and main heritage corridors of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. Through the circuit effective conduction theory (CEC), this study aims to achieve the comprehensive protection of the cultural heritage in the region, provide a theoretical basis to cope with the challenges of heritage protection in a complex environment, and provide feasible strategies and methods for heritage protection and urban and rural planning. Against the background of the gradual improvement of cultural awareness and the continuous development of cultural tourism, this study determines the weight of each factor based on the entropy method (EM), uses the ArcGIS platform to build an experimental environment, and systematically completes the construction of heritage corridors for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region.

Specifically, the objectives of this study include the following:

• Analyze the geographical distribution characteristics of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, explore whether each city shows a clear clustering pattern, and whether the entire region has significant clustering characteristics;
• Explore the spatial distribution characteristics of the suitability zoning of heritage corridors in the Taihu Lake region, analyze whether it has spatial continuity, and evaluate whether these characteristics provide a solid foundation for the construction of heritage corridors.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Study Area

The area around Lake Tai is located in eastern China, including Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou in Jiangsu Province, and Huzhou and Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province. It is an important part of the Yangtze River Delta and has unique geographical and cultural characteristics. According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (https://www.stats.gov.cn), as of 2023, the permanent population of the area around Lake Tai is about 34.856 million. Among them, the rural population is about 6.2 million, accounting for about 17.7% of the total population. As one of the largest freshwater lakes in China, the water systems, wetlands, and rivers in Lake Tai and its surrounding areas form a rich natural landscape and have profoundly influenced the layout and cultural form of traditional villages in the region. In particular, the interweaving distribution of lakes and rivers not only shapes the local natural environment, but also promotes the close relationship between these villages and nature, forming a unique “water village” cultural landscape (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

The architectural styles of these villages are mostly influenced by the culture of the south of the Yangtze River, showing typical traditional buildings of the south of the Yangtze River, such as the Ming and Qing ancient buildings in the Dongshan and Xishan ancient villages of Suzhou, and the Ming and Qing ancient towns in the ancient villages of Huzhou and Jiaxing (the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China was from 1368 to 1912 AD). Most of these buildings use wooden structures, blue bricks and gray tiles, and exquisite wooden carvings and decorations, reflecting the historical heritage and local characteristics of the region. In addition, the folk culture of the Taihu Lake area is also extremely rich, such as the water lifestyle of Taihu fishermen and traditional folk festivals, which are all preserved and inherited in these traditional villages. The water system of Taihu Lake has endowed these villages with natural landscapes, such as lakes, wetlands, rivers, and surrounding green spaces, which also provide a rich background for the local ecological culture and further enhance the local characteristics of traditional villages. It can be said that the traditional villages in the Taihu Lake area are not only places where rural people live, but also important carriers of the material and intangible culture of the region. Therefore, protecting the traditional villages in the region is to continue the cultural heritage of the region, which is of great significance.

However, with the advancement of modernization and urbanization, traditional villages in the Taihu Lake area have encountered great development pressure. Especially when many historical and cultural landscapes and ecological environments have been destroyed, it is particularly urgent to protect these traditional villages. In this context, the construction of heritage corridors has become an effective means to connect and protect these traditional villages, cultural heritage, and natural resources. Heritage corridors not only physically connect different villages, but also integrate cultural resources to form a systematic protection path to ensure that cultural heritage is fully inherited and continued [35,36,37].

Specifically, the design and planning of heritage corridors are based on the unique geographical and cultural characteristics of the Taihu Lake area, emphasizing the cultural value of traditional villages and the sustainability of cultural systems. By establishing heritage corridors around the lake and connecting traditional villages scattered around, it not only helps to improve the efficiency of cultural inheritance and protection of traditional villages, but also promotes the integration and dissemination of different cultural elements in the region. This double-ring corridor system not only helps to protect ecological culture, but also enhances the spatial connectivity between villages, ensuring the flow and sharing of cultural resources [38,39]. Therefore, through the in-depth analysis of this study and the planning of heritage corridors, it is expected to provide an innovative protection model for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake area. Combining the landform characteristics of the lake and the uniqueness of local cultural heritage, the goal of this study is to achieve the harmonious coexistence of cultural heritage, human settlement environment, and social development, and to provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for the construction of heritage corridors in similar geographical and cultural backgrounds in the future.

3.2. Overall Research Process

This study focuses on five cities in the Taihu Lake region (Wuxi, Suzhou, Changzhou, Huzhou, and Jiaxing) to explore the development of the traditional village heritage corridor system. First, this study conducted a spatial morphological analysis of traditional villages and obtained POI points for all the villages in the geographic information system. Subsequently, the geographical location of these POI points (including elevation, slope aspect, and land use classification) and their transportation resource distribution (national highways, national roads, provincial roads, and county roads) were used as resistance factors and weighted. A comprehensive cost resistance surface and heritage corridor construction suitability zoning was created to explore areas that can be used to build heritage corridors.

At present, most existing studies create heritage corridor paths based on MCR, and then use CEC to screen the optimal path. The above method is relatively cumbersome and is not suitable for the construction of circular heritage corridors. Therefore, this study proposes to replace the “simulated corridor” generated by MCR with the existing road network for comprehensive analysis, taking the distance buffer from the road as the road network resistance, and integrating the resistance of various geographical influencing factors to generate the heritage corridor construction in the Taihu Lake region based on the existing road network, and adopt the network analysis method to verify its connectivity. The specific research framework is shown in Figure 3.

3.3. Data Source and Data Processing

This study uses the GIS 10.6 software to visualize the POI points and geographic data of 307 traditional villages, classify and record these POI points one by one, and build a POI database and geographic information vector database of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. By developing these resources, accurate data support will be provided for the subsequent construction of traditional village heritage corridors. The relevant data and their sources are as follows:

• The specific names of traditional villages are from the list of villages in the Chinese Traditional Villages Directory (national list) published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China (www.mohurd.gov.cn), the list of villages in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Traditional Villages Directory (provincial list) published by the Housing and Urban–Rural Development Departments of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces (jsszfhcxjst.jiangsu.gov.cn and jst.zj.gov.cn), and the list of villages in the municipal traditional villages directory (municipal list) published by the municipal governments of Suzhou (www.suzhou.gov.cn), Wuxi (www.wuxi.gov.cn), Changzhou (www.changzhou.gov.cn), Huzhou (www.huzhou.gov.cn), and Jiaxing (www.jiaxing.gov.cn). After checking some of the repeated villages in the list, a total of 307 traditional villages were obtained, of which 108 were located in Suzhou, 55 in Wuxi, 34 in Changzhou, 41 in Huzhou, and 70 in Jiaxing.
• The land use remote sensing monitoring data came from the Wuhan University CLCD land cover classification dataset (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4417809), with a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m. Based on the existing research and the current topographic status of the Taihu Lake region, the land use types are divided into six categories: grassland, forest land, water area, cultivated land, unused land, and construction land.
• The DEM elevation raster data of the five cities in the Taihu Lake region came from the Geospatial Data Cloud (https://www.gscloud.cn/), with a resolution of 30 m.
• The OSM vector data of national expressways, state roads, provincial roads, and municipal roads in the Taihu Lake region are from the OSM official website (https://openmaptiles.org/languages/zh/#0.47/0/0).

3.4. Research Methods

3.4.1. Nearest Neighbor Index

The nearest neighbor index (NNI) is a geographic index used to evaluate spatial distribution and is often used to measure the degree of proximity between data points in space. By calculating the distance from each point to its nearest neighbor and comparing it with the average distance of the overall data points, NNI can reveal the spatial distribution pattern of data points, it can provide a qualitative judgment on the overall distribution trend of heritage sites before kernel density estimation, and then provide accurate spatial distribution guidance for subsequent research (the kernel density estimation method). If NNI shows that heritage sites are highly clustered, it is appropriate to use a kernel function with a smaller bandwidth to highlight local high-density areas, while when the distribution is more uniform, a larger bandwidth may be required to capture the overall trend. NNI can also help researchers preliminarily locate areas where cultural resources may be concentrated or have development potential, providing a more accurate research scope for the subsequent kernel density analysis. At the same time, the distribution pattern information provided by NNI can be used as a cross-validation method for the kernel density estimation results to ensure that the results of the kernel density estimation conform to the actual spatial laws.

In this study, the nearest neighbor index was used to analyze the spatial distribution of traditional village POIs in the Taihu Lake region to determine whether they have spatial agglomeration characteristics. This analysis method can provide data support for the planning of heritage corridors, help identify cultural connections and regional characteristics between villages, and determine the role of each city’s agglomeration area in the construction of the overall corridor. The calculation formula is as follows:

$$\overline{r}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{n}}{\displaystyle {\sum }_{i=1}^n{r}_i}$$

(1)

$$\overline{r_i}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\sqrt{\frac{n}{A}}}}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\sqrt{D}}}$$

(2)

$$R=\overline{r}\sqrt{r_i}$$

(3)

Among them, $R$ is the nearest neighbor index; $\overline{r}$ is the actual nearest neighbor distance value; $\overline{r_i}$ is the theoretical nearest neighbor distance value; $n$ is the number of traditional village POIs; $D$ is the point density; and $A$ is the area. When $r=1$, the traditional village POIs are randomly distributed, while $r>1$ indicates uniform distribution, and $r<1$ indicates clustered distribution. The smaller $r$ is, the greater the degree of clustering.

3.4.2. Kernel Density Estimation Method

The kernel density estimation (KDE) method is a technique commonly used to reflect the degree of spatial agglomeration of geographical elements. This method applies a kernel function to each geographical point, calculates the point density within a certain range around the point, and then evaluates the spatial distribution characteristics of geographical elements in the entire region. Kernel density estimation can reveal the spatial aggregation of geographical elements, and help identify high-density areas and the unevenness of spatial distribution. KDE can identify high-density and low-density areas of cultural heritage resources, identify the core nodes and secondary nodes of heritage corridors, and ensure that corridor construction can maximize the connection of important heritage clusters. It can also help analyze the spatial accessibility and rationality of resource allocation between different regions and avoid inefficient resource utilization due to improper corridor planning. At the same time, KDE can also provide a dynamic evaluation basis for the sustainable development of heritage corridors, and support the zoning management and spatial optimization of future heritage protection. In short, KDE can accurately depict the spatial characteristics of heritage resources and provide decision-making support for the scientific site selection, path optimization, and resource integration of corridors.

In this study, the kernel density estimation method was used to analyze the degree of aggregation and geographical distribution pattern of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. The generated kernel density estimation map (visualization) combined with the average nearest neighbor distance (quantification) can clearly depict the spatial distribution characteristics of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, identify which areas have obvious spatial agglomeration of traditional villages, and provide data support and decision-making basis for the construction of heritage corridors. The calculation formula of the kernel density estimation method is as follows:

$$fn\left(x\right)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\left(nh\right)}}{\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^{n}k\left(\frac{x-x_i}{h}\right)}$$

(4)

In this formula, $fn\left(x\right)$ is the kernel density estimate; $h$ is the kernel density radius, i.e., the search radius; $n$ is the number of point elements; $k\left({\displaystyle \frac{x-x_i}{h}}\right)$ is the kernel function; and $\left(x-x_i\right)$ is the distance from the estimated point $x$ to the sampling point $x_i$.

3.4.3. Entropy Method

In the process of determining weights, commonly used methods include the principal component analysis, analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and entropy method. AHP determines weights by reducing the dimension of data. Although it can effectively reduce the dimension of data, it will inevitably lead to information loss, which may affect the accuracy and representativeness of weights. The analytical hierarchy process allocates weights by constructing a hierarchical model. However, this method is easily affected by the subjective judgment of decision-makers and has great subjectivity and bias. In contrast, the entropy method is a weighting method based on the degree of change in objective data. It calculates weights by measuring the uncertainty or variability of the information of each indicator, thereby avoiding the randomness and subjective bias caused by human factors [40].

In this study, we selected four resistance factors, namely elevation, slope, land use data, and road data. These factors play a key role in the construction of heritage corridors. They provide a scientific basis for the feasibility and optimal layout of corridors from the perspectives of natural geographical conditions and the human environment.

First, elevation is one of the important topographic factors affecting the layout of heritage corridors. Higher terrain often means greater construction costs and technical difficulties. The higher the altitude and the steeper the terrain, the more difficult the corridor construction is, and it may also increase the travel costs and safety risks of tourists. Therefore, in the process of heritage corridor planning, high-altitude areas should be avoided first, and relatively flat low-lying areas should be selected to ensure the connectivity and accessibility of the corridor while reducing construction and maintenance costs.

Secondly, the slope directly determines the steepness of the terrain and has a significant impact on the passability of the corridor. Areas with large slopes will not only increase the construction difficulty of the corridor, but may also cause geological disasters such as road landslides and erosion, affecting the stability and safety of the corridor. Therefore, in the construction of corridors, areas with larger slopes are usually regarded as high-resistance areas, while flat areas are low-resistance areas, which are suitable as the main channel selection of heritage corridors. Through the analysis of slope data, high and steep slope areas can be reasonably avoided to ensure the stability and sustainability of the corridor.

Land use data are also of great significance in the site selection and construction of heritage corridors. Different types of land use have different degrees of influence on the accessibility and construction feasibility of corridors. For example, construction land and farmland usually have lower resistance and are suitable as access areas for heritage corridors, while forests, wetlands, and protected areas have higher resistance and need to be avoided as much as possible in planning to reduce the impact on the ecological environment. At the same time, land use data can be used to identify village clusters, optimize the service functions of corridors, and promote the integration and display of cultural resources.

Finally, road data have a direct impact on the feasibility of heritage corridors. The distribution of the existing road networks can effectively reduce the resistance of corridor construction and provide convenient transportation connection conditions. Areas close to major traffic arteries usually have lower resistance, which is conducive to the rapid construction and later maintenance of heritage corridors and improves the convenience of tourists. On the contrary, in areas with inconvenient transportation, the cost of corridor construction is high and the connectivity is poor. It is necessary to focus on how to optimize the layout through the existing road resources to maximize the accessibility and sustainability of the corridor.

The core advantage of the entropy method is that it completely relies on the actual changes in the data and can objectively reflect the importance of each indicator. Therefore, considering the limitations of other methods and the objectivity of the entropy method, this study chooses the entropy method as the main method for weight determination. The weights calculated by the entropy method can more truly reflect the relative importance of each resistance factor and ensure the scientificity and accuracy of the model. Its operating framework and calculation formula are as follows:

First, the matrix of the original data has no dimension transformation. $m$ is the evaluation value, $n$ is the evaluation unit, and the original data matrix of the grid pixel point is as follows:

$$X={\left[X_{ij}\right]}_{m\ast n}$$

(5)

Secondly, the original data are dimensionlessly transformed, thus obtaining the following matrix:

$$Y={\left[Y_{ij}\right]}_{m\ast n}$$

(6)

In constructing the resistance of the traditional village heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region, the higher the score of each indicator, the greater the resistance and the lower the suitability. Therefore, all the evaluation indicators should be set to “<0”, that is, negative numbers. The calculation formula is as follows:

$$Y_{ij}={\displaystyle \frac{\max \left(X_{ij}\right)-X_{ij}}{\max \left(X_{ij}\right)-\min X_{ij}}}$$

(7)

$j$ is the number of indexes. The calculation formula for the $j$ information entropy value: $e_j$ is as follows:

$$e_j=-k{\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^n{P}_{ij}}1n\left(P_{ij}\right)$$

(8)

$$k={\displaystyle \frac{1}{1n\left(n\right)}},P_{ij}={\displaystyle \frac{y_{ij}}{{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^n{Y}_{ij}}}}$$

(9)

When $k={\displaystyle \frac{1}{1n\left(n\right)}},P_{ij}={\displaystyle \frac{y_{ij}}{{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^n{Y}_{ij}}}}$ and $Y_{ij}$ are the attribute values of the $j$ network cell of the $i$rd evaluation indicator.

Finally, the weight of the index value $j$ is determined, and its calculation formula is as follows:

$$w_j={\displaystyle \frac{1-e_j}{n-{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^n{e}_j}}}\left(0\le w_j\le 1,{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^n{w}_j=1}\right)$$

(10)

3.4.4. CEC Model

The principle of the CEC model is to simulate the flow of circuits and consider the resistance of each unit to find the optimal path for current. In CEC, the path of current flow is not only affected by resistance, but also closely related to factors such as electric potential and the connection method of conductors. In the CEC model, when elements such as heritage resources, cultural nodes, or path networks are constantly changing (such as terrain changes or land use changes), they will affect the flow path of current, and thus affect the connectivity and structure of the entire network. As these influencing factors change, the system can dynamically adjust the path to maximize energy (or current), form a feedback loop, and maintain the stability and adaptability of the system [41]. Therefore, CEC is particularly suitable for annular areas, forming a surrounding path and constructing a traditional village heritage corridor with a “center–enclosure” pattern [42].

The construction of a CEC-based heritage corridor requires the calculation of the current density $J_i$. Current density indicates the potential for heritage activities to occur. Areas with high current density indicate areas with greater activity potential. The calculation formula is as follows:

$$J_i={\displaystyle \frac{V_i}{R_i}}$$

(11)

Among them, $J_i$ is the current density of the $i$ area, that is, the potential of heritage activities. $V_i$ is the current density of the $i$ area, which is usually the weighted sum of the influencing factors. $R_i$ is the resistance value of the $i$ area, that is, the resistance surface data generated by ArcGIS.

The potential value $V_i$ is usually related to factors such as the resource density and historical and cultural value of the area, and can usually be calculated by weighting. The calculation formula is as follows:

$$V_i={\displaystyle \sum w_k\bullet f_{ik}}$$

(12)

Among them, $w_k$ is the weight of each influencing factor, and $f_{ik}$ is the score of the $i$ region under the $k$ factor.

The resistance value (resistance surface) $R_i$ is directly generated by ArcGIS in the above steps, which represents the resistance of each area and is usually related to the physical characteristics of the area. In this study, four physical characteristics were selected: elevation, slope, aspect, and road network buffer.

Finally, the corridor suitability $S_j$ can be evaluated by the collective current density, which is calculated as follows:

$$S_j={\displaystyle \sum J_i}$$

(13)

3.4.5. Network Analysis Method

The network analysis method is to abstract the heritage corridor network into an overall network generated by nodes and corridor links. Its principle is to analyze the network based on the “patch–matrix–corridor” principle in landscape ecology and the three structural indexes of $\alpha$, $\beta$, and $\gamma$ to obtain the evaluation results. The calculation formula is as follows:

$$\alpha ={\displaystyle \frac{L-v+1}{2v-5}}$$

(14)

$$\beta ={\displaystyle \frac{L}{v}}$$

(15)

$$\gamma ={\displaystyle \frac{L}{v_{\max }}}={\displaystyle \frac{L}{3\left(v-2\right)}}$$

(16)

Among them, $L$ indicates the number of corridors, $v$ indicates the number of nodes, and $L_{\max }$ is the maximum possible number of connections. Among them, the α index varies between 0 and 1, and the closer it is to 1, the higher the network closure degree is. The β index varies between 0 and 3, and the larger the value, the more complex and stable the network is. The γ index varies between 0 and 1, and the closer the value is to 1, the higher the degree of corridor connection is.

3.4.6. Minimum Cumulative Resistance Model (MCR)

In this study, we did not involve the application of heritage corridor construction based on traditional MCR, but in order to make CEC more convincing, we used MCR and CEC to generate corridors of two schemes, respectively, to compare the applicability of CEC in constructing traditional village heritage corridors in the “center–enclosure” pattern. (Here, we only compare the ring corridor generation scheme in the “center–enclosure” pattern, and do not imply the comparison of the applicability of MCR and CEC in other landforms.) The MCR calculation formula is as follows:

$$MCR={\displaystyle {\int }_{\min }{\displaystyle \sum _{j=n}^{i=m}\left(D_{ij}\times R_i\right)}}$$

(17)

Among them, MCR is the minimum cumulative resistance value, ${\displaystyle {\int }_{\min }}$ represents the positive correlation function between the movement process and the cumulative resistance, $D_{ij}$ is the distance from the heritage point $j$ to each element $i$, and $R_i$ is the resistance value of the location of $i$ to the construction of the heritage corridor.

4. Results

4.1. Distribution Characteristics of Traditional Villages in the Taihu Lake Region

Bulleted lists look like this: The average nearest neighbor tool in ArcGIS 10.6 was used to calculate the POIs of traditional villages in the five cities around Taihu Lake (

Table 1. Average nearest neighbor results of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region.

City	Expected Average Distance (m)	Average Observation Distance (m)	Nearest Neighbor Ratio	z Value	p Value	Distribution Type
Suzhou	3981.9001	2405.0947	0.604007	−7.872823	0.000000	Clustered
Wuxi	5552.3491	4114.3174	0.741005	−3.674548	0.000238	Clustered
Changzhou	6595.6758	4074.3045	0.617724	−4.201123	0.000027	Clustered
Huzhou	5647.6000	5817.1663	1.030024	0.367789	0.713031	Random
Jiaxing	3927.0474	3550.7751	0.904184	−1.533614	0.125125	Random
The Taihu Lake Region	5245.6086	3385.6017	0.645786	−11.853803	0.000000	Clustered
Suzhou	3981.9001	2405.0947	0.604007	−7.872823	0.000000	Clustered

). The results showed that the expected nearest neighbor distance of 307 traditional village POIs in the Taihu Lake region was 5245.6086 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance was 3385.6017 m. The z-score was −11.853803, and the significance level p-score was 0.000000. The nearest neighbor index was 0.645786, which was less than 1, proving that the traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region showed clustered distribution characteristics in spatial distribution (Figure 4). The comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 5) shows that the traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region generally present a spatial distribution of “dual cores, four areas, and multiple scattered points”. Among them, the main core settlement is located in the Dongshan Island area within Suzhou City. It is located in the core of Taihu Lake and is the center of the traditional village spatial pattern settlement integrating the Taihu Lake region, acting as a component of the main settlement. The secondary core is located in Wujiang District of Suzhou City. This area is a secondary traditional village settlement of the whole area. Its radiation surface borders the traditional villages in the north of Jiaxing City, providing support for the spatial pattern of the “four areas”. The four areas are located in (1) Yixing City in the central part of Wuxi City (affiliated to Wuxi City), bordering Changzhou City; (2) the west of Wuxi City; (3) the east of Huzhou City; and (4) the south of Jiaxing City. These four areas are bordered by the “multi-scattered” spatial pattern, forming the overall spatial pattern of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. In order to better explore the spatial pattern and distribution characteristics of traditional villages in each urban area; to explore the main and secondary cores in the Taihu Lake region, and whether the scattered points in the districts act as principal components in each city; and to more clearly explore the distribution characteristics of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, we conducted average nearest neighbor index and kernel density analysis on all the cities.

Among them, the expected nearest neighbor distance of 108 traditional village POIs in Suzhou is 3981.9001 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance is 2405.0947 m. The z-value is −7.872823, and the significance level p-score is 0.000000. The nearest neighbor index is 0.604007, which is less than 1, proving that the traditional villages in Suzhou have the characteristics of urban clustering in spatial distribution (Figure 6). The comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 7) shows that the traditional villages in Suzhou generally present a spatial distribution of “dual cores, four areas“. Among them, the main core settlement is still located in the Dongshan Island area in Suzhou, and the secondary core is located in Wujiang District. These two main traditional village settlements are not only the core of Suzhou, but also the settlement core of the entire Taihu Lake region.

The expected nearest neighbor distance of 34 traditional village POIs in Wuxi is 5552.3491 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance is 4114.3174 m. The z-score is −3.674548, and the significance level p-score is 0.000238. The nearest neighbor index is 0.741005, which proves that the traditional villages in Suzhou City have the characteristics of urban clustering in spatial distribution (Figure 8). From the comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 9), it can be seen that the traditional villages in Wuxi City generally present a spatial distribution of “two main cores and one area”. Among them, the main cores are located in the central and southwestern parts of Wuxi City, most of which are concentrated in Yixing City, bordering Changzhou. One area is located in the eastern part of Wuxi City, bordering Suzhou City. These two main cores are connected to some villages in Changzhou, forming part of the “two areas” in the spatial pattern of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region.

The expected nearest neighbor distance of the 34 traditional village POIs in Changzhou is 6595.6758 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance is 4074.3045 m. The z-value is −4.201123, and the significance level p-score is 0.000027. The nearest neighbor index is 0.617724, proving that the traditional villages in Changzhou show clustered distribution characteristics in spatial distribution (Figure 10). The comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 11) shows that the traditional villages in Changzhou generally present a “single core, double areas” spatial distribution. Among them, the main core is located in the east of Changzhou, bordering the main core of Wuxi City, and together they constitute a major area in the traditional villages around Taihu Lake. The two areas are located in the north and west of Changzhou, both bordering Wuxi City. Among them, the western area participates in the formation of the “four areas” of the overall pattern.

The expected nearest neighbor distance of the 41 traditional village POIs in Huzhou City is 5647.6000 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance is 5817.1663 m. The z-value is 0.367789, and the significance level p-score is 0.713031. The nearest neighbor index is 1.030024, proving that the traditional villages in Huzhou City show insignificant distribution characteristics in spatial distribution (Figure 12). The comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 13) shows that the traditional villages in Huzhou City generally present a “single area, multiple scattered points” spatial distribution. Among them, the main area is located in the eastern part of Huzhou City, in Nanxun District, a well-known ancient town and rural tourism destination in China. It is the main carrier area of the concept of “Jiangnan Water Village” in Huzhou City, and it is also one of the main components of the “four areas” of traditional villages in the entire Taihu Lake region. The spatial layout of “multiple” scattered points also shows that traditional villages are distributed throughout the entire area of Huzhou City. It is a city with rural cultural tourism as the main industry pillar, with Nanxun District as the main area and traditional villages throughout the area as the auxiliary.

The expected nearest neighbor distance of the 70 traditional village POIs in Jiaxing City is 3927.0474 m, and the actual nearest neighbor distance is 3550.7751 m. The z-value is −1.533614, and the significance level p-score is 0.125125. The nearest neighbor index is 0.904184, proving that the traditional villages in Jiaxing show insignificant distribution characteristics in spatial distribution (Figure 14). From the comprehensive kernel density estimation map (Figure 15), it can be seen that the traditional villages in Jiaxing City generally present a spatial distribution of “single area, multiple scattered points”. Among them, the main area is located in the south of Jiaxing City, close to the estuary of Qiantang River, and is one of the “four areas” of the overall spatial pattern. The other scattered points cover the entire area of Jiaxing City. It can be said that Jiaxing and Huzhou together constitute the spatial composition of traditional villages in the northern part of Zhejiang Province and the southern part of Taihu Lake.

4.2. Construction of Comprehensive Resistance Cost Surface and Suitability Zoning

In the process of constructing the comprehensive resistance cost surface, this study used ArcGIS buffer tools to integrate highways, national roads, provincial roads, and county roads to construct the road network around Taihu Lake. Then, five levels of buffers were established with 10 m, 10–100 m, 100–300 m, 300–500 m, and more than 500 m. The traditional villages included in each level of buffer represent the distance from the road and determine the size of the resistance. In this study, since the differences in traffic smoothness among the four levels of roads (i.e., expressways, national roads, provincial roads, and county and township roads) are not significant, the main differences are reflected in the speed limit standards, while there is no obvious gap in road accessibility and traffic capacity. Therefore, when analyzing the spatial distribution of traditional villages, we focus on the impact of road buffers on the spatial coverage of traditional villages, rather than the differences in road grades themselves. Specifically, the road grade has little impact on the planning of heritage corridors, and the service capacity of transportation infrastructure can basically meet the connection needs of traditional villages in the study area. Therefore, in order to simplify the analysis, we use road buffers as an important parameter to measure village accessibility, focusing on evaluating its spatial “inclusion” effect, that is, the coverage of roads to traditional villages within different distances and its impact on the feasibility layout of heritage corridors. Through this method, while maintaining the accuracy of the research, we can avoid the complexity caused by differences in road grades, making the research more targeted and operational.

Due to the short relative distance, the heritage sources near the transportation network are usually denser, and the roads of various levels are the key driving elements in the heritage corridor; they are close to the traditional village poi points, resulting in lower resistance values. This method can ensure that the current direction in the circuit theory goes along the road as much as possible, generate a traditional village heritage corridor based on the existing road network, and explore the potential heritage transportation value of the existing road network (Figure 16a). Secondly, referring to the existing literature [43,44,45], the three factors of land use data (Figure 16b), elevation (Figure 16c), and slope (Figure 16d) were graded, and 35 experts in landscape architecture, urban and rural planning, architecture, and human geography were invited to score. The entropy method was then used to determine the weights and generate resistance values (

Table 2. Resistance classification and resistance value of each basic resistance surface.

Basic Resistance Surface	Weight	Resistance Level	Resistance Value
Land use data	3	Construction land	5
		Arable land	20
		Grass garden	40
		Unused land	60
		Woodland	80
		Waters	100
Elevation data	1	≤100 m	10
		100–300 m	40
		300–600 m	70
		600–900 m	90
		>900 m	120
Slope data	6	≤2°	5
		2–10°	10
		10–20°	50
		20–40°	100
		>40°	500
Road net data	1	≤10 m	20
		10–100 m	50
		100–300 m	70
		300–500 m	100
		>500 m	120

). Subsequently, the reclassification tool in ArcGIS was used to reclassify it and generate a comprehensive resistance cost surface (Figure 17).

As shown in Figure 18, in the construction of the suitability zoning of the heritage corridor, the suitability evaluation results were divided into five levels: highly suitable area (1,259,788 m²), medium-high suitable area (998,331 m²), medium suitable area (389,123 m²), low suitable area (152,714 m²), and unsuitable area (36,703 m²). Most areas around Taihu Lake are suitable for the construction of traditional village heritage corridors. Among them, the Taihu waters in the middle of the Taihu Lake region and the Longwangshan area in Huzhou City in the southwest are less suitable for the construction of corridors. Comprehensively considering various resistance factors, it can be concluded that the road network in the large water Taihu Lake region, the high elevation area, and the water area with a large slope is poor, which makes it difficult to provide a small resistance for the heritage corridor. This result provides reference and evidence for the construction of the subsequent heritage corridor and the strategy of the research discussion part. Combined with the real geographical environment and village distribution characteristics of the study area, the scientificity and applicability of the research results are further verified. The study shows that the results of suitability zoning are affected to a certain extent by topography, hydrological conditions, land use type, and transportation network. Among them, topography has a significant restrictive effect on suitability zoning. The higher altitude and steep slope increase the resistance to the construction of heritage corridors, making the high-altitude mountainous areas and hilly areas less suitable, while the flat lakeside areas are more suitable. In addition, hydrological conditions are also a key factor affecting village distribution and suitability zoning. The densely distributed water network areas around Taihu Lake restrict the layout of the corridor to a certain extent. It is necessary to consider avoiding large areas of water, and at the same time optimize the connection path in combination with the existing infrastructure such as bridges and dams. Land use type also has an important impact on suitability zoning. Urban construction land and farmland areas have good accessibility due to their high degree of development, while natural ecological protection areas such as forests have become high-resistance areas due to their strict development restrictions and need to be avoided in corridor planning. Traffic network is an important factor affecting suitability zoning. Studies have shown that villages near major traffic arteries are more accessible and more suitable, while villages far from major traffic hubs are less suitable due to limited traffic conditions. Therefore, by comprehensively considering these actual geographical factors, the suitability zoning results are closer to the actual situation of the study area, providing a reliable basis for the scientific layout of heritage corridors.

4.3. Potential Heritage Corridor Construction

4.3.1. Potential Corridor Characteristics

Due to the differences in resistance values among different villages along the heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region, the convenience of recreational activities in and around the heritage sites and the cost of corridor construction vary. In order to improve the convenience of activities for visitors in the corridor and achieve the overall protection of cultural heritage in the Taihu Lake region at a lower cost, this study uses the circuit theory to identify key areas in the corridor (i.e., areas with lower resistance). The circuit theory was first introduced into the field of landscape ecology by McRae et al., which simulates the properties of electron flow in a circuit to analogize the diffusion process of species in an ecological environment. According to the circuit theory, areas with lower resistance have stronger permeability and higher current density [46].

This study attempts to use this analogy method to use the resistance encountered by visitors when participating in heritage recreational activities in the heritage corridor as an indicator to measure the possibility of the activity. Specifically, the study inputs the vector data of the heritage “source” area and the comprehensive resistance surface raster data into the Pinchpoint Mapper tool of the LM plug-in, uses the All-to-one mode for calculation, and finally outputs the current density result. When the resistance value of a certain area is low, its connectivity is strong, and the number of currents flowing through the area also increases, which in turn leads to an increase in the current density, indicating that there is a high probability of heritage recreation activities in this area [47].

According to the results (Figure 19a), most of the heritage corridors in the Taihu Lake region are generated based on the existing road network. In this process, the traditional village POI points, resistance surface, and cost distance were considered to calculate the optimal path. A total of 307 POI points took turns to serve as the starting point of the current, all the results were superimposed, and a total of 887 potential heritage corridors were identified. It can be seen that the heritage corridors in the Taihu Lake region present a “net” structure and have reached a closed-loop state. The net structure is the center of Taihu Lake, connecting various traditional village POI points, and determining the spatial form and network characteristics of the traditional village heritage corridors in the Taihu Lake region.

4.3.2. Extraction of Main Corridors and Post Station Nodes

In the process of extracting main corridors, taking into account the principles of integrity and continuity, by comparing the layout of the actual traffic road network (such as the four main sections of highways around Taihu Lake: Beijing–Shanghai Expressway, Shanghai–Yixing Expressway, Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway, and Changtai Expressway), the network structure of the potential traditional village heritage corridors around Taihu Lake was optimized. The optimization measures include eliminating routes that do not cross the existing roads, eliminating routes that are too long, and retaining the lowest resistance roads. The above measures are aimed at meeting the demand for the shortest route to maximize the connectivity of traditional village POI points between different regions. A total of 137 main heritage corridors were identified (Figure 19b). The network pattern of the traditional village heritage corridors around Taihu Lake is a spatial network pattern of “double main rings, multiple branches, and one water line”. Among them, the “double main rings” are the inner and outermost rings around Taihu Lake, which play the role of assuming the main transportation function; the “multiple branches” are the transportation lines within the two main rings, which play the role of supporting the entire corridor network and connecting various traditional village POIs; and the “one water line” is the water line that runs through Dongshan Island and Xishan Island of Taihu Lake in Suzhou.

In order to connect the heritage corridors, this study proposes to set up post nodes to become the most developed place for traditional village transportation in the Taihu Lake region. For the selection of post nodes, according to the principle of “the most times crossed by the corridor”, all traditional village POI points serve as starting points and crossed points. In the statistics of traditional village POIs in the Taihu Lake region, the POI with the most corridor crossings is 12 times, and the POI with the least corridor crossings is 1 time. Therefore, this study selects the POI points that have been crossed by the corridor 10 times or more as the main nodes. As shown in Figure 20, all post stations are located on the south side of the Taihu Lake region, and there are no more than 10 (including 10) roads passing through the nodes on the north side. The selection of the post station nodes is based on objective facts rather than subjective results. Therefore, the design of the post station nodes on the north side of the Taihu Lake region will be included in the discussion section.

4.3.3. Construction of Corridor Buffer Zone

The width of traditional villages in heritage corridor planning is crucial to their protection and development, and directly affects the efficiency of the overall protection and development of heritage. By drawing on relevant research results, the GIS 10.6 software was used to calculate the shortest straight-line distance between each traditional village POI point and the main heritage corridor, thereby revealing the spatial relationship between the village and the corridor. This analysis provides a scientific basis for determining the appropriate width of the heritage corridor [48].

According to the results of a spatial analysis, in the Taihu Lake region, the main heritage corridors contain 164 traditional villages within a radius of 3 km, accounting for 53.4% of the total, and within a radius of 5 km, it covers 197 traditional villages, accounting for 64.1% of the total. The “Neighborhood Buffer” tool in the ArcGIS 10.6 software was used to conduct a detailed buffer zone analysis of the spatial relationship between POI points and corridors and we finally created buffer zones with radii of 3 km and 5 km (Figure 21), clarifying the impact area of each buffer zone on the heritage corridor. In addition, combined with the “core-periphery” ecological community structure model proposed by Li [49], the intangible cultural heritage corridor was divided into a “core heritage area” and a “peripheral buffer zone”.

The “core heritage area” is 0–6 km wide, covering most traditional villages. It is the core area of the heritage corridor, concentrating most of the traditional village resources in the region, and has significant radiation and agglomeration effects. Therefore, the focus should be placed on this area, fully exploring its cultural connotation and historical value, promoting the protection of traditional villages, and strengthening the integrated development of cultural tourism to form sustainable ecological and economic benefits. The “peripheral buffer zone” is 6–10 km wide. Since the villages in this area are relatively scattered, the connection between traditional villages and the integration of regional resources should be gradually realized by designing and planning rural tourism routes with different themes (such as self-driving corridors, cycling routes, etc.). This not only helps to enhance the inheritance and display of intangible cultural heritage, but also provides more opportunities for tourism development in the region. In summary, the scientific planning of the reasonable width of the heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region can effectively promote the protection and revitalization of traditional villages and the coordinated development of their cultural tourism, and provide a useful reference for the construction of heritage corridors in other regions.

4.3.4. Verify the Connectivity of Corridors

In this section, the principle of patch–mechanism–corridor in landscape ecology is used to analyze the existing heritage corridors by analyzing the $\alpha$, $\beta$, and $\gamma$ indexes. As shown in

Table 3. Corridor connectivity verification index.

$\alpha$	Edges	Nodes	Actual loop	Maximum possible number of loops	$\alpha$ value
	884	307	579	607	0.954
$\beta$	Edges	Nodes	$\beta$ value
	884	307	2.889
$\gamma$	Edges	Nodes	Maximum possible number of connections		$\gamma$ value
	884	307			0.969

, the $\alpha$ index is 0.954, with a value between 0 and 1, close to 1. It can be seen that the corridor connectivity is good and there are many available loops, which proves that the traditional village heritage corridor network in the Taihu Lake region has a high degree of closure and a high degree of development of the corridor network, reaching a closed-loop state. The $\beta$ index is 2.889, with a value between 0 and 3, close to 3, indicating that the traditional village heritage corridor network in the Taihu Lake region is complex and stable, and the road network connectivity is high. The $\gamma$ index is 0.969, with a value between 0 and 1, close to 1, indicating that there are many connecting lines in the overall historical heritage corridors of Macau, forming a relatively dense and widely covered heritage network.

5. Discussion

5.1. Constructing a Heritage Corridor Pattern of “Double Ring Lines—One Water Line”

The construction of the traditional village heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region is not only of far-reaching significance in theory, but also shows great potential and value in practice. As a typical representative of the Jiangnan water town in China, the Taihu Lake region has formed an organic cultural network relying on its unique historical, cultural, and natural resources. However, the current protection and development of traditional villages is facing the dilemma of fragmentation, and many historical and cultural heritages have not been effectively integrated and inherited. In this context, the construction of a ring-shaped traditional village heritage corridor is particularly important.

(1) 

Focus on the construction of a “double-ring” corridor pattern network

As the core “skeleton” of the traditional village heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region, the double-ring corridor plays an important role in connecting cultural resources in the region and promoting heritage protection. As shown in Figure 22, the double-ring corridor successfully connects the traditional village spatial pattern of “dual cores, four districts, and multiple scattered points” through its spatial layout. Covering the traditional villages in five cities including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, it realizes the sharing and inheritance of cultural resources along the line. This structure not only enhances the protection of cultural heritage, but also promotes cultural exchanges and the coordinated development of different districts, and promotes the integration and development of regional cultural tourism industries. The double-ring corridor effectively optimizes the inheritance path of traditional village culture and provides strong support for cultural protection and sustainable economic development in the Taihu Lake region.

The functions of the outer ring corridor are mainly reflected in the two aspects of “inclusion” and “connection”. It not only includes the traditional villages in the four districts of the Taihu Lake region, but also effectively connects the key village nodes along the waypoint. The spatial characteristics of the outer ring corridor can be summarized as “far from the lake” and “enclosure”. Geographically, the outer ring corridor is relatively far away from Taihu Lake, but it encloses various supporting corridors in a circumferential manner, which plays a role in stabilizing the overall corridor structure, just like demarcating a natural “wall” for the region, effectively linking the cultural resources of different regions together, and forming a continuous cultural protection and tourism development network. In contrast, the role of the inner ring corridor is more focused on “contraction” and “divergence”. It focuses the core scope of the heritage corridor on the area around the lake while assuming the role of the starting point of each supporting line, diverging to the outer villages, and forming a network structure that gradually expands outward. The characteristics of the inner ring corridor can be summarized as “transit” and “centrifugal”. As a transit route for each node and area, it closely links traditional villages and cultural heritage sites, and extends outward through a centrifugal structure, allowing culture and resources to radiate to a wider area and promoting the coordinated development of the entire Taihu Lake region. The two-ring corridors echo each other and form a complementary network structure. The outer ring corridor ensures the comprehensive protection of cultural heritage through its wide spatial coverage and regional connectivity, while the inner ring corridor guides cultural resources to the core area around the lake and expands outward, enhancing cultural mobility and regional economic interaction. Through the connection of supporting lines, the two-ring corridors jointly build an organic and closely connected heritage protection and tourism development network, promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between different villages in the Taihu Lake region, and also provide important infrastructure guarantees for local sustainable development.

(2) 

Improve the branch line of the “Water Tour Line” corridor

The development of the “Water Tour Line” has always been an important challenge for the protection of cultural heritage and tourism development in the Taihu Lake region. As one of the largest freshwater lakes in China, Taihu Lake has a vast water area and a complex water system. Water transportation was once an important means of connecting various places along the lake. However, with the rapid development of land transportation, water transportation has been gradually marginalized, resulting in the increasingly weak connection between many traditional villages and the outside world, especially the villages located in the center of the water area, which are facing an increasingly isolated situation. Traditional villages are widely distributed in the Taihu Lake region, and the core area is located on Dongshan Island in Suzhou City. However, with the change in transportation mode, the function of traditional waterways has gradually weakened, resulting in the lag of the transportation network in the water area, which in turn limits the cultural and economic interaction between traditional villages and the outside world and affects the sustainable development of villages. Through preliminary experimental research, it was found that although the water surface resistance was set to the highest value among all land use types, the construction of the heritage corridor still needs to pass through the surface of Taihu Lake, especially in the path connecting Dongshan Island and Xishan Island. This finding shows that the waters of Taihu Lake play a key role in the protection of traditional village heritage and cultural exchanges.

As shown in Figure 22, the water heritage corridor of traditional villages around Taihu Lake starts from the northern end of Suzhou City in the north and ends at the junction of Huzhou City and Suzhou City in the south. It passes through Suzhou Taihu Bay, Suzhou Guangfu Scenic Area, Suzhou Xishan Island, and Suzhou Dongshan Island, and finally reaches the Nanxun District of Huzhou City. This route not only covers the scenic tourist area, but also most of the traditional villages in the core area, and runs through the “main core” of traditional villages around Taihu Lake, forming a cross-lake and cross-city route that integrates water transportation, water and land sightseeing, and village experience. The water tour line can connect the traditional villages around Taihu Lake through Taihu Lake to form a cultural ecosystem, promote cultural inheritance and interaction between villages in a local area, and stimulate local economic vitality. Especially in the context of limited land transportation conditions such as existing bridges, the water tour line is particularly important. Taihu Lake has a vast water area and covers a wide range. At present, a single bridge facility cannot meet the growing transportation needs. In contrast, as a flexible and economical mode of transportation, cruise ships can provide more efficient and local solutions. By increasing the number of cruise ships, the isolation of traditional villages can be effectively broken, the connection between the eastern part of Taihu Lake and the traditional villages and scenic spots in Suzhou can be promoted, and a unique water tourism experience can be provided for tourists.

Therefore, the construction of the heritage corridor of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region is not only an inevitable demand for cultural heritage protection, but also an important way to promote regional social and economic development. By constructing water tour lines, the limitations of traditional protection models can be broken through, and a more comprehensive and systematic approach can be adopted to protect and inherit the historical and cultural heritage of traditional villages, providing long-term guarantees for the sustainable development and cultural inheritance of the region.

5.2. Stabilize the Village Pattern of “Dual Cores-Four Districts-Multiple Scattered Points”

(1) 

Enhance the central leading role of the dual cores

Through preliminary research, the core position of the “dual-core” structure in the traditional village pattern in the Taihu Lake region has been clarified. The so-called “dual cores” refer to two core areas of cultural and historical importance in the Taihu Lake region: the Dongshan Island traditional village cluster area and the Wujiang District traditional village cluster area. Dongshan Island, as the main core, is the cultural center of traditional villages in Suzhou and even the Taihu Lake region, carrying rich historical and cultural heritage and local memories, while Wujiang District, as the secondary core, in addition to its unique historical and cultural value, also has strong tourism development potential, which can provide important support for the cultural and economic development of the surrounding areas. Through the construction of the heritage corridor, these two core areas can not only better play their cultural leading role, but also promote the coordinated development of the surrounding “scattered” villages. The cultural status of the core area in the entire village pattern determines its leading role. Dongshan Island and Wujiang, as core areas, bear the responsibility of protecting and inheriting the traditional village culture. In the process of building the heritage corridor, the two should serve as cultural hubs to further strengthen their status in the historical and cultural heritage protection system. The construction of the heritage corridor provides a platform for resource integration for these two core areas, which can centrally allocate cultural resources and promote the systematic utilization of various cultural, historical, and ecological resources. Specifically, the heritage corridor effectively promotes the interaction between Dongshan Island and Wujiang District through physical and cultural connections and enhances its influence on the regional cultural system.

(2) 

Ensure the coordinated development of the “four areas”

In the Taihu Lake region, the construction of heritage corridors has played an important role in promoting the coordinated development of the four areas, especially in promoting the coordinated development of villages and the integration of culture and tourism, demonstrating effective overall planning capabilities. Through the planning and implementation of the inner and outer rings, the culture, resources, and economy of the four areas of East Taihu Lake, North Taihu Lake, South Taihu Lake, and West Taihu Lake are organically connected through the existing road network, promoting the interconnection between regions.

Specifically, the construction of heritage corridors not only breaks through the limitations of administrative boundaries in terms of planning concepts, but also plays an important role in cultural protection. There is huge potential for sharing between the cultural and tourism resources of each area. For example, the East Taihu Lake region is represented by traditional villages in Suzhou City. Through linkage with other areas, it has not only effectively promoted the development of local tourism, but also promoted the inheritance of culture and resource sharing in the region. Especially in terms of the protection of traditional villages, through the construction of heritage corridors, the cultural resources in the region can be more comprehensively integrated to achieve the systematic protection and revitalization of cultural heritage. The West Taihu Lake region, represented by Changzhou and Huzhou, has further strengthened its cultural ties with the East Taihu Lake region through the construction of the double-ring corridor. This linkage effectively breaks the traditional concept of “provincial boundaries” and embodies a more flexible “geo-cultural” protection concept (for example, although the Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province belongs to Guangdong Province administratively, from a geo-cultural perspective, it has the same cultural roots as the Minnan area of Fujian Province). This cross-administrative cultural linkage provides a new idea for the protection and development of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. Through the connection of heritage corridors, the cultural resources of villages in each area have been stably and systematically protected. This systematic protection is not limited to the cultural heritage of a single village, but can also promote cross-regional and cross-area cultural integration and inheritance. Ultimately, the heritage corridor in the Taihu Lake region will form a cultural protection and tourism route with local characteristics, providing support for local economic development and sustainable use of cultural heritage.

Therefore, the construction of the Taihu Lake Heritage Corridor not only stabilizes the spatial pattern of the four areas in geographical space, but also promotes the coordinated development of traditional villages in the region through the sharing and integration of cultural and tourism resources. It not only provides an effective solution for the protection of cultural heritage in the Taihu Lake region, but also provides new impetus for the sustainable development of the local economy.

5.3. Increase the Construction of Post Station Nodes on the North Side of Taihu Lake

Post station villages are an indispensable component of the construction of the heritage corridor of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. By selecting traditional villages with good traffic connectivity, they can become potential post station nodes. In the subsequent application of heritage corridors, the villages of these post station nodes have the potential to undertake functions such as traffic transfer, tourist distribution, and cultural communication nodes.

From the distribution of the current 12 potential post station nodes, all the post station nodes are located in the East Taihu Lake region. This distribution pattern shows that the traditional villages in the East Taihu Lake region have strong advantages in traffic connectivity and have the potential to become important post station node villages in the future construction process. However, there are no obvious post station nodes in the traditional villages in the West Taihu Lake region, which indicates that the traffic accessibility of the area is relatively weak and the existing road network fails to effectively support it to become a post station node village. This difference reflects the differences in transportation infrastructure and connectivity between the two regions. Specifically, the natural geographical conditions in the West Taihu Lake region are relatively complex, and the distribution of mountains, hills, and water systems makes it difficult to build a transportation network. Especially in mountainous and hilly areas, the construction of roads is restricted by the terrain, and the construction cost of transportation infrastructure is high, which directly affects the accessibility of traditional villages. For example, the elevation changes in the Taihu Mountains and the surrounding areas in the West Taihu Lake region make the traditional villages in this area more scattered and lack good transportation node connections. The nearest neighbor index also confirms that the traditional villages in Huzhou City, located in the southwest of the Taihu Lake region, are not significantly clustered, which also shows that the area is in urgent need of post-style villages.

To alleviate this problem, measures to improve the connectivity of the road network should be taken in subsequent constructions to improve the transportation accessibility of the West Taihu Lake region. First, efforts should be made to strengthen the layout of heritage corridors in the region, especially to strengthen the construction of corridors in mountainous and hilly areas, break through natural barriers, and improve transportation accessibility. When promoting the construction of post node villages, the comprehensive factors of the village’s transportation convenience, cultural resources, and ecological environment should be considered. For the existing post node villages in the East Taihu Lake region, we should continue to increase resource integration efforts; enhance their functions in cultural heritage, tourism development, etc.; and make them cultural and economic hubs in the region.

5.4. Comparison Between CEC and MCR

At the end of the discussion section, we added an experimental comparison, focusing on the applicability and limitations of the two models of CEC and traditional MCR in the construction of ring heritage corridors. From the visualization results in Figure 23, it can be seen intuitively that the corridor generated by CEC shows obvious networking characteristics, forming a complete closed-loop structure, which accurately meets the needs of ring line design (Figure 23a). In contrast, the network generated by MCR presents a “vein-like” distribution pattern. Although it has certain network nodes and path connectivity, it lacks the overall structure of the closed loop and tends to be more linear or branch-like (Figure 23b).

Ring networks and vein-like networks each have their own applicable scenarios and advantages and disadvantages in the construction of heritage corridors. The ring network can significantly improve the spatial integration efficiency of the corridor through the closure of the path. It is particularly suitable for building a heritage space network around central landforms such as lakes and water systems, providing tourists with a flexible circular cultural and tourism experience, meeting the needs of self-driving tours and circular tours, and promoting resource sharing and functional complementarity among heritage sites along the route. The venation network is more of a linear model that spreads outward, which is suitable for the planning of long or one-way heritage corridors, such as mountain corridors or river valley corridors. Its advantage lies in the series connection and linear display of heritage resources along the route, but it is difficult to meet the needs of spatially closed loops in lake or circular landforms.

The advantage of the CEC model lies in its path optimization capability based on the circuit theory. By simulating the flow process of cultural resources in geographic space, and comprehensively considering factors such as resistance and current density, a highly optimized spatial network is generated. This enables it to form an adaptive network structure in complex landforms, especially in scenes such as lakes that require closed-loop design, which can maximize the spatial connectivity and interactivity between heritage sites. Although the MCR model shows good regional distribution optimization ability in suitability analysis, its single minimum cumulative resistance path calculation method makes it difficult to generate a multi-level and multi-dimensional network structure in complex landforms, so it is relatively insufficient in the planning of ring heritage corridors.

In summary, through the experimental results and theoretical analysis, it can be concluded that in the construction of heritage corridors around lake landforms, the CEC model has the potential to be superior to the MCR model with its powerful network generation ability and closed-loop design advantages. In future research, it is recommended to further explore the adaptability of the CEC model in multiple types of landforms, and at the same time combine the distribution characteristics of specific cultural resources in the region to provide more accurate and scientific support for the construction of heritage corridors.

6. Conclusions

This study systematically explored the construction of heritage corridors for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. Based on the circuit effective conduction theory (CEC), it deeply analyzed the spatial pattern of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, the path of heritage corridor construction, and its role in promoting regional development. By constructing heritage corridors for traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, this study not only provides a new perspective on the protection of traditional villages, but also provides a specific practical path for regional coordinated development and cultural tourism integration.

(1) The study shows that the spatial distribution of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region presents obvious clustering characteristics, and the overall spatial pattern of villages is formed as “dual cores, four areas, and multiple scattered points”. Dongshan Island and Wujiang District, as the main core and secondary core areas, play a key role in connecting the culture, history, and resources of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region. The construction of a double-ring corridor based on CEC can not only make the two core areas more closely connected, but also provide an effective connection path for the four areas and scattered villages, thereby realizing resource sharing and cultural inheritance. The outer ring corridor assumes the functions of “encompassing” and “connecting” the four areas, while the inner ring corridor, under the effects of “contraction” and “divergence”, gathers the traditional villages in the lakeside area, providing a solid foundation for the mutual connection and linkage between the villages.

(2) This study breaks through the limitations of administrative boundaries and proposes a cross-regional heritage corridor construction plan. This plan not only effectively promotes cultural interaction between traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, but also strengthens the integration of resources between different areas and solves the problem of fragmentation in regional cultural protection and development. Through the planning and construction of heritage corridors, traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region are expected to be systematically protected and revitalized, providing new impetus for promoting cultural tourism integration and regional economic development. In particular, the role of heritage corridors in the protection of traditional villages is not only to ensure the inheritance of the historical culture of each village, but also to promote the common development of villages along the route through the design of cultural tourism routes, which is expected to enhance the cultural appeal and economic vitality of the entire region.

(3) Based on the ArcGIS platform, this study quantitatively analyzed the spatial distribution and cultural resources of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region through the entropy method, kernel density estimation method, and nearest neighbor index; established a comprehensive resistance surface; and carried out suitability zoning. The study found that most areas in the Taihu Lake region are suitable for the construction of heritage corridors, especially in areas with good traffic accessibility, where the construction potential of heritage corridors is relatively large. By combining the analysis of geographic information and transportation network, the study determined the potential heritage corridor path and proposed a heritage corridor planning scheme based on the existing road network, maximizing the potential of existing transportation resources.

(4) In the comparison between the CEC and traditional MCR model, the study showed that the CEC model has stronger spatial optimization ability; especially, in the construction of heritage corridors in lakeside landforms, CEC can provide more accurate path selection and resource flow simulation. Compared with the MCR model, CEC has obvious advantages in path closure and network integration, and can more effectively adapt to the characteristics of ring landforms, providing scientific theoretical support for the construction of heritage corridors.

In general, this study proposed a highly adaptable and operable heritage corridor construction method by introducing the CEC model and the minimum resistance model, which not only provides a theoretical basis for the protection and revitalization of traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region, but also provides new ideas for heritage protection and cultural tourism development in other areas. Through the construction of heritage corridors, traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region have not only been effectively protected, but also provided new impetus for the inheritance of regional cultural heritage, ecotourism, and sustainable development. Future research can further explore the application of the CEC model in a wider range of regions and different cultural backgrounds, and promote the deep integration of the protection of traditional villages and regional coordinated development.

The conclusions of this study indicate that heritage corridors serve as an important means for the protection and development of traditional villages, enabling the systematic connection of various traditional villages in the Taihu Lake region to achieve the holistic preservation of cultural heritage and the effective integration of resources. The findings demonstrate that constructing heritage corridors by leveraging the existing transportation network and geographical characteristics in a “linkage” approach not only enhances cultural connectivity among villages but also strengthens the integration and presentation of regional heritage elements, forming a cross-administrative cultural transmission network. The proposed heritage corridor construction plan based on the CEC model further confirms its applicability and effectiveness in the lakefront landscape, particularly in optimizing the spatial layout of heritage resources, improving village accessibility, and promoting the revitalization and utilization of cultural heritage. However, it is noteworthy that the construction of heritage corridors in the Taihu Lake region is still at an initial exploratory stage, and a mature implementation model has yet to be developed. The practical execution of the corridors requires alignment with the urban development plans and transportation infrastructure of various government levels to ensure successful implementation. The key contribution of this study lies in proposing a feasible framework that integrates heritage corridors with traditional village preservation, emphasizing a spatial strategy that combines cultural heritage with natural landscapes. It also highlights that the construction of heritage corridors requires not only the involvement of cultural departments but also the collaboration of transportation, tourism, and other sectors to establish a holistic and sustainable protection and development pathway.

In the future, the research and practice of heritage corridors will pay more attention to scientificity, systematicness, and sustainability to achieve the overall protection and revitalization of cultural heritage. At the research level, it is necessary to further deepen the theoretical system of heritage corridors; explore the deep integration of heritage corridors with regional development, urban–rural coordination, and ecological environmental protection; and form a heritage corridor construction model with Chinese characteristics. In particular, in the relationship between the protection of traditional villages and the construction of heritage corridors, multidisciplinary cross-disciplinary research should be strengthened, and a more complete theoretical framework should be constructed by combining historical geography, cultural heritage, landscape ecology, and other disciplines to provide support for the scientific planning of heritage corridors.

At the practical level, the construction of heritage corridors should pay more attention to the excavation of local characteristics; fully consider the historical culture, natural ecology, and socio-economic characteristics of each region; and formulate protection and development strategies according to local conditions. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the in-depth investigation and systematic evaluation of heritage resources; clarify their cultural value, spatial distribution, and evolution trend; and provide a scientific basis for the layout of heritage corridors. Through the hierarchical and classified protection mechanism, it is ensured that the core area of the heritage corridor is strictly protected, the buffer zone is reasonably utilized, and the expansion area promotes the innovative transformation of cultural resources, forming a long-term mechanism that emphasizes both protection and development.

At the management level, the development of heritage corridors in the future needs to rely on a multi-party collaboration mechanism to promote the joint participation of government, academia, and social forces. It is necessary to strengthen cross-regional cooperation and build a collaborative management system to ensure the effective linkage of heritage corridors between different administrative divisions and form a holistic, continuous, and complementary spatial layout. In addition, a model combining market-oriented operation with policy guidance should be explored to encourage social capital to participate in the protection and rational development of heritage corridors and promote the sustainable use of cultural heritage.

In short, the construction of heritage corridors in the future should, on the basis of respecting history, give full play to the positive role of cultural heritage in promoting regional coordinated development, rural revitalization, and ecological civilization construction. Through scientific planning, reasonable management, and multi-party participation, heritage corridors will become an important link for carrying regional cultural memory and promoting local economic development, providing strong support for the protection of cultural heritage in the new era.