Historical Water Management Strategies—Case Study of Traditional Villages in Southern China, Hunan Province

Abstract

Based on the landscape architecture of traditional settlements in southern China, this study takes water as a vital element through field investigation and model analysis to explore the water management strategies of two traditional villages in Xiangjiang River Basin, Hunan Province. We have found that traditional settlements are located between rivers and mountains. The community of the settlement has a strong interaction with the water environment. The water management system consists of two parts: the rainwater collection and storage system of a single building and the settlement’ s water collection and drainage system. Through calculation, we found that the amounts of water collected (per year) between the two villages are different: ZhangGuYing (Z village) = 5.73 million L, ShangGanTang (S village) =1.784 million L, in spite of the fact that water management strategies of the two settlements are similar. Further analysis shows that the difference is related to the adaption of the precipitation and topography of the surrounding areas. The above-mentioned systematic management strategy of water resources has been used until currently, with adaptability, low cost, and sustainability. It has outstanding significance for the current demand for sustainable development from both resource management and cultural aspects.

Water-Town Settlement Landscape Atlas in the East River Delta, China

“…2 ⃝ We extracted settlement boundaries, calculated aspect ratios, and computed shape indices to assess the hydrophilic strength. 3 ⃝ We employed spatial syntax to calculate the layout within settlements and their relationship with water systems, scrutinizing the water usage characteristics of water-town settlements.…”

“…Distinctive features encompass 1 ⃝ a water network density of 1.9 km/km 2 , markedly surpassing the average water network density of 0.8 km/km 2 in the "Pearl River Delta" region, with well-maintained water network relationships; 2 ⃝ from Figure 1, it is evident that there is a close correlation between settlements and water-land transitions, where water-land transitions serve as foundational conditions for the emergence of water-town settlements in the East River Delta. Settlement activities, in turn, facilitate the generation of land, making them a prototypical example for scrutinizing the interactive relationship between Lingnan water-town settlements and water systems; 3 ⃝ as the sole independently formed delta in the Pearl River Delta, the land in the East River Delta traverses three water system types-rivers, river networks, and marine tides-over a short distance (Figure 1). Despite the impact of rapid, high-density urbanization, certain water-town settlements preserve their forms intact, offering a substantial and diverse sample size.…”

“…Comprising a delta formed by the sedimentation of the East River, it has evolved into a densely woven water network through the combined forces of natural processes and human activities [1]. Water-town settlements, shaped under the influence of this distinctive natural environment [2], are vital subjects in studying human habitats in basins [3,4]. Water-town settlements, sculpted along the network of watercourses [5], exhibit a unique spatial organization, incorporating both riverine and maritime landscapes [6].…”