Psychophysical evaluation of celebrity cultural heritage landscapes: scenic beauty and semantic perception at Zhang Daqian’s sites on Mount Qingcheng

A dual-layer structure underpins public perception of heritage landscapes at Mount Qingcheng: natural topography serves as the perceptual foundation, while cultural imprints form the semantic core. This study quantifies how scenic beauty and semantic meaning interact in celebrity cultural heritage spaces using a psychophysical framework combining Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) and Semantic Differential (SD) methods. Analyzing 17 built-environment samples from Zhang Daqian’s sites, researchers found that monuments and material remains rely heavily on explicit symbolic cues to evoke meaningful responses. Sense of Cultural Accumulation and Sense of Place Identity emerged as primary perceptual drivers, explaining 92.1% of the variance in landscape perception. The findings provide a replicable model for enhancing heritage landscape legibility and place identity, offering evidence-based strategies for cultural heritage planning.

Yang, X., Boonyanmethaporn, W., & Wan, C. (2026). Psychophysical evaluation of celebrity cultural heritage landscapes: scenic beauty and semantic perception at Zhang Daqian’s sites on Mount Qingcheng. Frontiers in Built Environment, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1877251