Historical Stratification and Contemporary Revitalization Paths of the Linear Cultural Landscape of the Huihang Ancient Road

Abstract

The Huihang Ancient Road, a mountain passage linking Huizhou and Hangzhou, is one of the most representative route-based cultural landscapes in eastern China. This paper reinterprets the road not simply as a hiking path or a collection of isolated relics, but as a layered linear cultural landscape formed through long-term interactions among trade mobility, settlement growth, ecological adaptation and social memory. Building on cultural route theory, landscape studies and recent spatial approaches to linear heritage, the paper examines the road’s historical stratification, the composition of its route-node-environment system, and the dilemmas facing its current revitalization. It argues that the most serious threats are not only physical deterioration but also fragmentation produced by tourism branding, administrative segmentation and narrative simplification. Effective revitalization therefore requires a shift from point-based restoration to integrated corridor thinking that reconnects route continuity, village life, ecological setting and multi-vocal interpretation. By proposing differentiated zoning, community-based tourism, layered storytelling and low-impact mobility, the study offers a framework for moving beyond scenic consumption toward culturally grounded revitalization of an ancient route landscape.