Towards religious landscape: Protection of Tibetan Buddhist heritage in Aba Prefecture

Abstract

Aba Prefecture is a prominent Tibetan inhabited area with profound Tibetan Buddhist sites that need to be protected. This study demonstrates that the value of religious sites lies in their terrain-based nature with perceptions by people, and advocates to interpret and preserve them from the religious landscape perspective. Using geographic data and online geo-tagged images, geographical and visual characteristics of religious landscapes in Aba Prefecture are drawn with the support of MaxEnt and FCN models. The results of the two models are cross-validated and complimented, to ensure that the analyzed religious landscape is interpreted in religious atmosphere, geographic context, and visual perception. Further, this study provides region-specific preservation proposals for religious landscapes in Aba Prefecture and a transferable preservation framework for religious landscapes in other regions.