Study on the layering of the zhongzhou ancient city based on Historical map translation

China has witnessed rapid urbanization since the 1980s, accompanied by increasingly prominent contradictions between protecting and renewing historical cities. Original protection approaches struggle to cope with the dynamic changes in urban heritage. The concept of layering in Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), which highlights the historical process, provides a powerful basis for analyzing the dynamic changes in urban space. In this study of Zhongzhou ancient city, the development history was divided into six periods based on historical maps, followed by a digitized translation of spatial elements in the order of canals, streets, and buildings. At the same time, ArcGIS and spatial syntax techniques were employed for superposition and analysis to determine the richness, continuity, and spatial structural characteristics of each element layering. Our findings revealed that main streets, such as Kaopeng Street, Dasi Street, Mashi Street, and Guoshi Street, exhibit high layering continuity and spatial permeability. Moreover, 96.2% of the historic buildings have at least two layering periods, making them of significant historical value. Based on these results, an axis system connecting the core space of the ancient city was constructed, and historical buildings prioritized for reuse were identified, providing a reference for the renewal and sustainable development of historical cities.