Strategies for digitizing cultural heritage of traditional villages based on scene theory

Traditional villages are important carriers of national civilization. Traditional village cultural heritage is a valuable resource for sustainable development, and its holistic protection has become an important research topic. Digital technology can empower the protection of traditional village cultural heritage and provide a new digital method for holistic innovative development. This study introduced scene theory and proposed a digital scene conceptual research framework for traditional village cultural heritage. Ding Village in Shanxi Province, China, was selected as a case study, where digital scene elements were divided into priority conservation areas, traditional buildings, population diversity, folklore, and festivals, as well as cultural connotations. The data were then analyzed and integrated. Based on the value dimensions of wholeness, authenticity, and interactivity in the digital scene, strategies such as digital twins, space-time archives, interactive games, and virtual communities are proposed. The outcomes support the all-element, all-round, and all-cycle management of digital scenes for traditional village cultural heritage.