The “Water-Field-Village” Layout Pattern Under the Polder and Stack Field Landscape Pattern

Xinghua in Jiangsu Province is located in a low-lying area of the Lixiahe Plain, where numerous rivers meet. The polder and stack field landscape with rich regional characteristics has received extensive attention from many scholars in recent years. On the regional scale, and from the aspects of hydrological environment changes and human settlements construction, this research summarizes the evolutionary dynamics of the development of the polder and stack field landscape in Xinghua. On the urban scale, it analyzes the zonal characteristics of the water conservancy system, agricultural reclamation and settlement layout in Xinghua. From the perspective of morphology, it explores the internal relationship between the development of farmland and settlements in Xinghua from the east to the west, as the natural terrain decreases, the water network becomes denser, and the land texture turns more and more fragmented. It also probes into the unique “water-field-village” layout pattern in Xinghua under polder-stack fields landscape pattern, and discloses that the formation of polder-stack field landscape is the result of continuous decomposition and integration of water and land over thousands of years. The development and evolution of polder- stack field landscape pattern shows the process of mutual selection and adaptation between the construction of the traditional human settlement environment and the natural system in Xinghua, as well as the ancient wisdom of the working people in water management, farming and camping.