Adaptation of Chinese traditional villages from the perspective of locality preservation

Recently, traditional villages in China have received multiple policy protections and capital injections. While these external interventions protect the cultural heritage of traditional villages and provide opportunities for development, they have gradually eroded their intrinsic adaptive cycle system. This study focused on 6819 traditional villages, revealed the characteristics and transitions of the adaptive cycle stages in traditional villages and described the internal mechanisms of adaptability within these villages. The research findings are as follows: Regarding adaptability characterisation, the adaptability of traditional villages has developed a regionally significant imbalance. The highest proportion of adaptability cycle stages was found in the poverty trap, exploration (r) and gambling traps. Traditional villages are mostly in a rigid state, with a few adaptive processes shifting between the poverty trap and exploration (r), requiring a new impetus to guide positive cycles. In terms of adaptability mechanisms, there was a significant negative relationship between locality, mobility and resilience in traditional villages. Intrinsic adaptive mechanisms gradually disintegrate, and there is an increasing risk of falling into a lock-in trap. This study provides empirical evidence for analysing the issues in traditional villages and offers recommendations for long-term planning and policy formulation of locality protection in traditional villages.