A study on visual impact assessment of the enclosing wall entourage of Chinese traditional private garden

Abstract

The enclosing wall is one of the key elements for traditional Chinese private garden. Its entourages are of great historical and cultural values, exerting a significant impact on the life quality of tourists, and especially urban residents. With the enclosing wall entourage of traditional Chinese private garden as research object, this study explored the influence of five landscape elements on respondents' visual impact assessment. The five landscape elements involved in this study were as follows: the number of plant species, the vertical structure of plants, the shielding factor, window, and stone. Three demographic variables, specifically gender, age, and education level, were taken into account as factors for the participants in this study. This study conducted a questionnaire survey, surveyed 339 citizens, and collected a total of 301 valid questionnaires. The analysis of how five distinct landscape elements affect participants' assessments of visual impact was conducted using a photo stimulation method. The findings demonstrate that each of the five landscape elements indeed influences participants' evaluations of visual impact. To be specific, the enclosing wall that wins great popularity among the respondents is featured with the following landscape elements: rich plant species, a vertical structure with three heights of plants, a medium shielding factor, a window on it, and the application of stone. Simultaneously, Chinese residents exhibiting diverse demographic attributes also yield varying assessments of visual impact concerning the distinct landscape elements within the enclosing wall surroundings.