Mapping Suzhou’s Cultural Heritage Sites: Exploring Gusu Prosperous Map through Data Visualization

The Gusu Prosperous Map by Xu Yang offers a vivid portrayal of Suzhou’s urban cultural landscape during the Qing Dynasty, embodying abundant cultural data that deserve digital preservation. To establish a national cultural park, this article advocates for the development of a digital mapping approach to preserve this cultural legacy. Focusing on the Gusu Prosperous Map as a case study, this research utilizes data visualization techniques and GIS-based mapping methods to delve into the multifaceted historical data in the traditional artwork. Through systematic categorization of tangible and intangible cultural heritage sites, encompassing spatial, temporal, functional, and perceptual dimensions, a digital GIS map is created to illuminate the spatial distribution of diverse cultural sites and highlight the interplay between tangible and intangible heritage. Tangible cultural heritage prototypes are constructed, while the intangible cultural heritage is dissected through perceptual analysis. Utilizing matrix and choropleth graphs, correlations within cultural data are elucidated from spatial and temporal perspectives. Ultimately, this study showcases a digital framework for visualizing cultural data, underscoring the significance of heritage sites. The resulting mapping framework not only translates the cultural panorama depicted in the painting into digital visuals but also holds promise as a valuable resource for landscape design and urban planning endeavors.