Comparative Study of Traditional Settlement Landscapes along Key Lines of Historical Trail in North Guangdong

Traditional settlements along the historical trail in north Guangdong is an organic component of the historical trail heritage. Previous studies of the traditional settlements rarely focused on the observation indicators in the settlements from the perspective of landscape. In this paper, we sampled and quantified the traditional settlements along the Fengyang-Dongbei historical trail in Lianzhou, Xijing historical trail and Meiling historical trail that were a part of the historical trail in north Guangdong with Google earth and ArcGis. Next, we contrasted the settlement elevation and scale at the macro-level, settlement landscape pattern, internal texture of residence and pit pond layout characteristics at the medium-level and the traditional dwelling plan at the micro-level. Combining the immigration history and local history, we analyzed the environmental action mechanism on settlement landscapes. It is concluded that the difference of settlement landscapes at different levels is affected by different dominant factors. The natural geographical conditions mainly affect the macro-level, and the ethnic and immigrant cultures play a role in the medium-level and micro-level. Through comparative research, we clarified the differences in settlement landscapes along different historical trails in northern Guangdong, providing more targeted suggestions for the protection of various historical trails.