Identification and Risk Diagnosis of Atypical Traditional Villages in Southern Anhui from the Perspective of Human–Land Coupling—Yixian County as an Example

The southern Anhui region is home to numerous atypical traditional villages. These settlements serve not only as vital spaces for residents’ daily lives but also as core venues for the transmission and dissemination of traditional culture. Consequently, effectively identifying and classifying these deteriorating traditional villages to formulate corresponding conservation and revitalization strategies has become a critical issue in cultural heritage preservation and utilization. This study focuses on 40 traditional villages in Yixian County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, as its research subjects. Based on Points of Interest (POI), media sources, village archives, and field surveys, a systematic analysis of these traditional villages was conducted. By integrating a literature review with expert consultation within a multidisciplinary framework, we constructed a three-tiered evaluation system comprising 15 indicators across three major domains: resident experience, tourist engagement, and village environmental quality. The clustering results indicate that 33 out of the 40 villages are atypical. Based on indicator aggregation, these atypical villages are further categorized into two types: B1 (endangered-type) and B2 (resident-dominant/tourist supplementary type). Using this classification system, we propose tailored development strategies for each village type. The findings offer both theoretical and practical guidance for broader traditional village conservation efforts.