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Journal of Resources and Ecology >

2024 , Vol. 15 >Issue 3: 601 - 613

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2024.03.008

Rural Tourism Destination and Homestay Development

Change and Driving Mechanism of the Daily Living Space of Residents in Rural Tourist Destinations—An Exploratory Analysis based on a Cognitive Map

  • XU Yuhui , 1, 2 ,
  • CHANG An , 1, 2, * ,
  • RONGNA A 2, 3 ,
  • DONG Baohui 4
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  • 1. College of Geographic Sciences, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022, China
  • 2. Inner Mongolia Culture and Tourism Development Research Centre, Hohhot 010000, China
  • 3. College of Tourism, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022, China
  • 4. Department of Tourism Management, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 014109, China
*CHANG An, E-mail:

XU Yuhui, E-mail:

Received date: 2023-08-30

  Accepted date: 2023-11-14

  Online published: 2024-05-24

Supported by

The National Natural Science Foundation of China(42061031)

The National Natural Science Foundation of China(41961022)

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Abstract

The research on the daily living space of residents in rural tourist destinations focuses on the spatial change and functional transformation at the regional level; however, it dedicates insufficient attention to the daily behavior and emotional changes of “individuals” in the human-land relationship. This study proposes the analysis framework of residents’ daily living space constructed by a material-behavioral-emotional ternary space, and expands the application of the cognitive map from the large scale urban-structure spatial image to the small-scale daily living space of rural residents; thus, it aims to enhance the visualization and effectiveness of the research. The study observed the following: (1) In the cognitive map, for the residents’ of Naobao Village, the cognition pertaining to the material space changes of their daily life has shifted from road-oriented to area-oriented; In the behavioral space, the residential space has shifted from scattered to focused, the employment space has shifted from the “circular focus + extended sector” structure to the “circular focus” structure, the consumption space has shifted from explicit space to implicit space, and the leisure space has shifted from the “point set” mode to “circle layer” mode. In the emotional space, the pattern of “one ring, one network and four centers” has shifted to the “single ring type” pattern. (2) Based on the findings of the interviews, natural conditions, policies, and institutions, self-organizations and other organizations jointly form the “driving system-pattern evolution-spatial representation” driving mechanism, which promotes the evolution of the daily living space of Naobao Village. This research provides relevant reference for the construction and development of residents’ living space in the development of rural tourism; meanwhile, it also attempts to analyze the change pertaining to residents’ living space form and spatial cognition using a new method.

Key words： rural tourist destination; daily living space for residents; cognitive map; driving mechanism

Cite this article

XU Yuhui , CHANG An , RONGNA A , DONG Baohui . Change and Driving Mechanism of the Daily Living Space of Residents in Rural Tourist Destinations—An Exploratory Analysis based on a Cognitive Map[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2024 , 15(3) : 601 -613 . DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2024.03.008

1 Introduction

Tourism development has become a crucial method for rural areas to seek development and achieve local revitalization. Rural tourism in China has achieved more rapid development under the support of national policies. Driven by tourism, such as rural social structure, spatial form, residents’ production, and life style, aspects such as psychological consciousness have changed and are externalized in its morphological and material changes (Tao et al., 2020). In rural areas, tourism development not only promotes the conversion of production spaces into tourist destinations (Tu et al., 2018; Trang et al., 2019; Hou and Dai, 2021), but also fosters the ecological-space related landscape (Fu et al., 2021; Dou et al., 2022). Furthermore, the public space is de-living (Wei et al., 2021), the symification of the landscape space is symbolized (Yang and Wu, 2019), the cultural space is enriched (Hu and Xie, 2022), and the sustainability of the ecological space is enhanced (Liu et al., 2010; Zeng et al., 2023). With the further development of tourism, its influence began to transcend the spatial relationship of the macro domain and gradually penetrated into the micro domain of rural residents’ daily life practice (Guo, 2020).
This phenomenon has also attracted extensive research attention. On one hand, the development of tourism has adjusted the economic structure (Donaldson, 2017; Chen et al., 2020; Ouassini and Ouassini, 2021) and shaped the material landscape (Wang and Su, 2021; Guo, 2021; Bi and Yang, 2023). The replacement of social classes has led to the disintegration of the original living space. Therefore, the new living space has formed (Huang and Zhao, 2018), characterized by the openness of the intercourse space, fashionable consumption space, and centrality of living space (Li et al., 2018).
In the tourism development process, the traditional living space has diminished or even disappeared, and its traditional style, whose function has disappeared or been transformed, has been destroyed (Su, 2009). On the other hand, the spatial function is compounded (Dou et al., 2022): It not only embodies the production and living functions of the local individuals, but also encapsulates the recreation and leisure functions of tourists (Sun and Zhang, 2015). In the tourism development process, ancient village communities close to cities have witnessed an influx of foreign immigrants, represented by tourism enterprises, who gradually enter the lives of local residents (Bi and Yang, 2023). The scholars mentioned above devote increased scrutiny to the alterations in living space at the material spatial level, emphasizing the investigation of the functional evolution of living space and its subspaces in rural tourist destinations. However, they allocate inadequate research focus to the “individuals” within the individuals-land relationship and rarely take into account the daily behavioral practices of residents. Moreover, the importance degree pertaining to the process of daily behavior activities and their emotional changes should also be enhanced. As the carrier of residents’ human-land activities, the daily living space is not only a cold geometric space at the regional level, but also a crucial location that affects residents’ emotional interaction. It embodies residents’ rich emotional experience and is an action space covering residents’ memory, emotion, and daily life. In addition, when residents live in a place for a long time, they form memories and identities of the place through their daily behavior practices and accumulation of life experiences, and establish the individuals-place emotional connection, which is also an embodiment of social issues such as local power relations and policy development; however, the emotion-related social problems have been neglected (Anderson and Smith, 2001). Therefore, from the local residents’ perspective, this study defines the daily living space as a complex multi-level spatial aggregate, including the material space formed by the material landscape, the behavioral space constructed by the residents’ daily behavior, and the emotional space that influences emotional interaction, and it examines the spatial representation of the three dimensions, namely material, behavior, and emotion.
Some scholars have begun to examine the daily living space of residents in rural tourism destinations from the behavioral geography perspective. Behavioral geography emphasizes individual practice and micro-process, focuses on individuals, and dedicates positive attention to their spatial behavior (Shen et al., 2017), which provides a unique perspective for understanding the complex temporal-spatial relationship between residents’ daily behavioral activities and living environment. Li Feiran and other scholars divided the living space based on the type of behavioral activities, and discussed the process, characteristics, and mechanism that affects the living space reconstruction of the Huilongguan residents in Beijing (Li et al., 2013). Based on the three dimensions, namely space, time, and social practice, found that the daily life pertaining to the old town of Lijiang not only changed the lifestyle of local individuals and tourists, but also constructed a “the dwelling place of the mind” perspective for them (Huang et al., 2022). Most of the existing research results consider the research paradigms, theories, and frameworks of behavioral geography, but lack the deeper application pertaining to the research methods of behavioral geography.
Most of the existing literature on residents’ daily living space prefer semi-structured interviews (Li et al., 2018; Guo, 2021), in-depth interviews (Zhao, 2019; Huang et al., 2022), house-to-house interviews (Huang and Zhao, 2018; Li et al., 2022), and the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method (Cheng, 2017) applied in qualitative research, which focus on description and interpretation. The analysis of spatial forms is lacking, the scrutiny pertaining to the dynamic process of living space change is insufficient, and the analysis of residents’ emotional characteristics is also sketchy. As a crucial research tool of behavioral geography, the cognitive map emphasizes factors such as the subject’s understanding of the objective environment and the analysis of realistic behavior patterns., which can effectively address the shortcomings of the aforementioned traditional research methods. With regard to the residents’ perspective, the cognitive map deeply restores the daily-life space from the abstract material space and captures the shaping pertaining to the space of residents’ living behavior as well as the changes in the emotions of individuals and places by tracking behavior activities. It establishes a bridge between spatial cognition and emotional care using a map, which provides a powerful basis for the objective, rational, and humanistic analysis of residents’ daily living space.
Therefore, based on a review of previous research, this study introduces cognitive map tools, utilizing Naobao Village (i.e., the typical rural tourist destination of Hohhot City) as the study area, thereby exploring the change of residents’ daily living space and its driving mechanism. This research attempts to provide reference for the development planning of villages in the rapid tourism process, and also provides a novel method for analyzing the change pertaining to the daily living space of residents in rural tourism destinations.

2 Study area and cognitive map application

2.1 Study area

Naobao Village is located in the northeast of Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, under the jurisdiction of Baoheshao Town, Xincheng District (Fig. 1). The village comprises 959 households and more than 2600 individuals, covering an area of 9.6 km2. The old village was located in the southern foothills of the Great Green Mountain; the terrain is high in the north and low in the south. Frequent floods threatened and affected the normal production and life order of residents for a long period of time. The villagers would make a living by half-working and half-farming. On the night of July 25, 2012, a mountain flood washed away nearly 100 houses in the old village: the affected population attained more than 1200 individuals, and the villagers’ production and life was jeopardized. Since August 2013, the village government led by Li (i.e., the secretary) raised funds and led the villagers in rebuilding their homes, and they began to develop tourism in the same year. In 2018, with the completion of the Naobao Village cultural tourism area and the enhancement of related services and facilities, more than 6 million tourists were attracted with its unique regional culture and beautiful garden scenery of Jiangnan. In 2019, the economic income attained over 100 million yuan; more than 3000 farmers obtained jobs, and the per capita annual income exceeded 30000 yuan. Nowadays, in the new village, new homes are emerging, cultural and tourism industries are flourishing, and the material space has been immensely modified. Meanwhile, the daily living space of villagers has gradually changed from a residents-based single production and living space to a multi-dimensional living space that comprises tourists’ leisure and sightseeing tourism space and the production and management space of tourism practitioners. In the process of rural tourism development, the change pertaining to the daily living space of the residents in Naobao Village is significant and abundant, which is a typical and representative in the case study.
Fig. 1 Location map of Naobao Village

2.2 The application of the cognitive map

This study aims to understand the residents’ cognition and understanding of their daily living space changes in rural tourism destinations. For analyzing the daily living space of rural residents at a small micro-scale, the application of the cognitive map exhibits the following advantages: 1) In regard to research scale, the living space is the most familiar micro-space for residents, and each daily action space is figurative and deeply emotional, which is suitable for cognitive map based cognition. 2) In regard to research methodology, cognitive maps have been extended into a variety of types, such as fuzzy cognitive maps (Ankomah and Crompton, 1992), map-like cognitive maps, and atlas-like cognitive maps (He and Yin, 2022). According to the research needs, the combination of methods can effectively mitigate the shortcomings of other single methods.
The cognitive map method applied herein includes not only the image map method to recognize the material space, but also the emotion map method to collect the non-material elements (Fig. 2). The image map proposed by Lynch focuses on the spatial structure (Lynch, 1960), which can vividly portray the residents’ cognition of the material space in their daily living space. The emotional map proposed by Song Wenxing (Song, 2015) addresses the lack of internal emotional memory and time measurement in the image map, and can delicately depict the dynamic and emotional considerations of residents on the behavioral activity level of daily living space (i.e., the description of behavioral space and emotional space in daily life).
Fig. 2 Application of cognitive map in residents’ daily living space
The first step entails creating image maps. Herein, the free-drawing method was selected; thus, image maps were drawn as a method of understanding the residents’ overall cognition of material space. In 2013, Naobao Village began to rebuild their homes and develop tourism; thereafter, its material landscape has changed dramatically. Therefore, we designed two image map questionnaires, namely the old village image map questionnaires and the new village image map questionnaires. To understand the changes pertaining to residents’ cognition of material space in their daily life, the interviewees are required to describe the overall appearance of Naobao old village and new village in their own cognition.
The second step entails creating emotion maps. Through the collection of different emotional elements on the map, residents’ cognition and understanding of behavioral space and emotional space in daily life are observed. According to the types of activities in daily life, this study describes the landmark locations in the residents’ daily residence, employment, consumption, and leisure, which can reflect the residents’ behavioral space. Meanwhile, it describes the factors associated with the personal senses and memory, including the residents’ personal experience, stories, and sensory experience, reflecting the residents’ emotional space (Song, 2015). First, the image map of Naobao Old village that was drawn by the interviewees is integrated and restored, and the base map pertaining to the emotional map of Naobao old village, drawn using Auto CAD, ArcMap 10.2, and Auto CAD, was utilized to draw the base pertaining to the emotional map of Naobao New Village. Second, using the interview method to facilitate the drawing of various behavior markers on the emotional map, the occurrence areas pertaining to the residence, employment, consumption, leisure, and emotional memory of the interviewees were marked on the map with digital symbols, namely ①, ②, ③, ④ and ⑤, and the areas where the events occurred were delineated on the map with light colors. Finally, the emotional map set of the old village and the new village of all interviewees were collated and drawn (Figs. 3-4).
Fig. 3 A collection of emotional maps pertaining to the residents of the old village of Naobao
Fig. 4 A collection of emotional maps of the residents of exasperated new village of Naobao
This study was conducted in Naobao Village for field research from 1st May to 10th May 2022. First, the field observation method was utilized to gain a preliminary understanding of the spatial form and function of Naobao Village and the spatial layout of shops and tourist areas. Second, the image map and emotion map of the local residents in Naobao Village were investigated. In addition to the drawing of emotional maps facilitated by the semi-structured interview method, the research was also utilized in the interviews on the driving factors of the whole village relocation process, the history of tourism development, as well as the driving factors pertaining to the spatial change of the residents’ life in Naobao Village. The information on 34 villagers’ cognitive maps and a semi-structured interview was obtained from the research; the interview time ranged from 20 minutes to 120 minutes, of which in-depth interviews were conducted among 17 interviewees (Table 1). Third, the interview materials, pictures, and written materials were reviewed again, and a total of approximately 110000 words of interview materials were collected and categorized. Finally, using the text analysis method, the first-hand information and the collected cognitive maps were comprehensively observed and analyzed; thus, the core concepts of the whole text were refined, and the concepts pertaining to the text in combination with the relevant literature were determined.
Table 1 List of interviewees pertaining to the residents of Naobao Village
Number Gender Age Status Number Gender Age Status
*NO.1 Male 72 Property management and financial staff NO.18 Male 30 Redwood boat driver
*NO.2 Female 38 B&B owners, property cleaners NO.19 Male 48 Redwood boat driver
NO.3 Male 53 Sightseeing car driver NO.20 Male 38 Pedal boat driver
*NO.4 Female 46 Ferry driver NO.21 Male 54 Redwood boat driver
NO.5 Male 68 Scenic safety officer *NO.22 Male 85 Cultural compound administrator
NO.6 Female 68 Unemployed residents NO.23 Female 43 B&B owners, property cleaners
NO.7 Female 59 Unemployed residents *NO.24 Female 42 Reception center staff at the outlet
*NO.8 Male 25 Ferris wheel staff *NO.25 Female 40 Reception center staff at the outlet, Barbershop owner
*NO.9 Male 28 Ferris wheel staff NO.26 Female 38 Scenic safety officer
NO.10 Male 61 Cultural compound administrator NO.27 Female 56 Scenic safety officer
*NO.11 Male 51 Snack street stall owner NO.28 Female 53 Waiter at red boat tea house
*NO.12 Male 45 Breeding (dairy cow) households *NO.29 Male 69 Former village clerk
NO.13 Female 20 Restaurant receptionist staff *NO.30 Female 51 Town hall staff
NO.14 Female 42 Sightseeing small train driver *NO.31 Male 27 Logistics staff
NO.15 Female 42 Yangfa hall staff *NO.32 Female 42 Housekeeping staff
*NO.16 Female 53 Village office clerk NO.33 Male 46 Electricity staff
NO.17 Female 52 Property monitoring room staff *NO.34 Female 30 Unemployed residents

Note: * are in-depth interview interviewees.

3 Cognitive-map based representation of daily living space change in Naobao Village

3.1 Clarity of material space: From road-oriented cognition to area-oriented cognition

Material space changes are recognized by comparing 34 image maps each of the old village and the new village described by the villagers. Based on the exhaustive classification of hand-drawn imagery maps proposed by Appleyard (1970), it was found that the cognitive structure of material space-based image maps exhibited by the residents of Naobao Village can be roughly classified into three categories (Table 2). The first category entails the path-oriented sequential image maps, including three sub-categories composed of road connections, namely segment type, chain type, and branch or ring type. The second category entails the region-dominated spatial image maps, which includes four sub-categories, namely scatter type, mosaic type, connection type, and pattern type. The third category entails a monolithic image map dominated by an individual monomer which is relatively rare and special.
Table 2 Imagery map statistics
Naobao Village Types Subclass Quantity/sheet Proportions (%)
Old Village of Naobao Sequential image maps Segment type 7 10.3
Chain type 9 13.2
Branch/Ring type 3 4.4
Spatial image maps Scatter type 5 7.4
Mosaic type 5 7.4
Connection type 2 2.9
Pattern type 2 2.9
Monolithic image maps 1 1.5
New Village of Naobao Sequential image maps Segment type 4 5.9
Chain type 2 2.9
Branch/Ring type 3 4.4
Spatial image maps Scatter type 16 23.5
Mosaic type 2 2.9
Connection type 3 4.4
Pattern type 2 2.9
Monolithic image maps 2 2.9
In regard to the cognitive structure, the image maps of the old village and the new village of Naobao as described by the residents have shifted from road-oriented sequential image maps to area-oriented spatial image maps (Table 2), and the material space has become increasingly clearer. More than half of the respondents’ cognition of Naobao Old village is mainly based on the sequential image maps. They tend to draw the material space in the image along the road network, and can accurately draw the location of the roads in the village and the buildings nearby; furthermore, they exhibit a deep impression on the roads leading to neighboring villages, such as Jailanban village, Kuisu village, and Baoheshao village, but manifest a vague impression on the building areas farther away. More than 70% of the respondents’ cognition of Naobao New Village is mainly based on the spatial image map (Table 2). Residents can clearly draw the regional structure of the new village (e.g., the residential area, scenic spot, exhibition center, outlet mall, logistics park, water world, and snack street) on paper. The object of the cognition-based material space is the large building area in the village, which is considerably clearer.

3.2 Behavior space

The behavior-space change pertaining to the residents of Naobao village is mainly reflected from the residents’ cognition of the four behavior spaces, namely the residence, employment, consumption, and leisure of the old and new villages of Naobao village. According to the residence locations, employment, consumption, and leisure behaviors described by the interviewees, a collection of residents’ emotional maps pertaining to the old village and the new village were depicted on Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.

3.2.1 Centralization of residential space: From scattered to focused

In regard to residential space, the emotional map indicates the change of villagers’ behavior space from scattered to focused, which exhibits centralization characteristics. When the villagers lived in the old village of Naobao, households were scattered around the village’s roads, and villagers basically dwelt in single houses and single families, and asmall number of interviewees had their residential space marked in the new town and urban area (Fig. 3). However, the residential areas pertaining to the new village of Naobao are neat and uniform, and the residential space in the cognitive map is focused (Fig. 4); this space tends to be centralized. In addition, several interviewees mentioned that the overlooking perspective of the residential area reflects that exhibited by Xuanwu, which can also be observed through the base map pertaining to the residential area in the village’s emotional maps: the residential area is divided into six areas, namely A, B, C, D, E, and F, of which the head of Xuanwu represents the entrance to the district’s Gate 2 and Gate 3; the limbs of Xuanwu represent the ADEF residential area; and the back of Xuanwu represents the BC residential area. The interior layout follows the strict spatial order, which is exquisite (Fig. 4).

3.2.2 Localization of employment space: “Circular focus + extended sector” structure→“circular focus” structure

In regard to employment space, the emotional maps depicted by residents present a transformation from “circular focus + extended sector” structure to “circular focus” structure, which exhibits localization characteristics. Figure 4 indicates that in the old village, most residents are farmers who rear cattle and sell milk, and that there are a few residents working in supply and marketing cooperatives and in the brick factory, whereas many residents work in the city. The residents’ employment space focuses on the village and expands around the city. In Naobao New Village, after the development of tourism, the scenario of residents going out to work decreases: because they chose to be employed in the village, the employment space exhibits a circular focus. Interviewees reported that most of the residents work as safety officers and mahogany boat drivers in the Naobao Cultural Tourism Zone, whereas some residents work in the community property and the Outlet Collection Reception Centre, and that a few residents work in the Naobao logistics park (Fig. 4).

3.2.3 Virtualization of consumption space: Explicit space→implicit space

In regard to consumption space, the emotional map indicates the spatial change from “explicit” to “implicit” consumption behavior, which exhibits virtualization characteristics. In Naobao Old Village, residents tend to prefer the physical consumption space. Combined with the actual distribution of the daily consumption location on the emotional map (Fig. 3), specifically, the consumption location of consumables such as vegetables, meat, food, and daily necessities is mainly in villages and towns, leading to the shortened travel distance and contracted consumption space. The consumption location of durable consumer goods such as clothing and home appliances is mainly in urban areas, with the increase of travel distance and the expansion of consumption space. The whole scenario exhibits a dominant offline multi-center trend, and the close contraction-remote expansion consumption space coexists. In Naobao New Village, the residents’ emotional map (Fig. 4) clearly indicates that the marked consumption location on the map is significantly reduced, and that the consumption space is an implicit consumption space with significant virtualization characteristics. Through the interview, we learned that a small number of residents buy vegetables in the shops downstairs and buy household appliances in the city. The majority of residents choose the implicit consumption space (i.e., the internet) to buy consumables and durable goods on online platforms such as Taobao, Kuaishou, and Pinduoduo. Meanwhile, the consumption of the consumption space itself is increasingly crucial and comprehensive, whereas the importance pertaining to the location of the consumption space is reduced.

3.2.4 Widespread of leisure space: “point set” mode→“circle layer” mode

In regard to leisure space, the emotional map presents the spatial change of leisure behavior from the “point set” model to the “circle layer” model, which exhibits wide-area characteristics. In Naobao Old Village, through the emotional map of Naobao Old Village (Fig. 3), it can be found that the main nodes of leisure space are formed around the houses, courtyards, and roads in the middle of the village. In the map, some leisure behaviors are concentrated in locations such as the theatre, Sanguan Temple, and Zhaobi, which are still not concentrated and significant, forming the consumption-space prototype. Meanwhile, the leisure space basically does not extend to the area outside the village, which is relatively limited and exhibits apparent centripetal agglomeration. In Naobao New Village, the leisure space of the residents is no longer limited to their own homes or the village, but gradually expanded to the outside of the city, the province, and even to other provinces (Fig. 4), exhibiting a “circle layer” mode. From the map, the core of the leisure space includes the downstairs, scenic spot, square, amusement park, exhibition center, and other areas inside the Naobao New Village; the periphery is Hohhot City; and the extreme periphery is the province and outside the province. According to the interview, the periphery and the extreme periphery are generally concentrated in locations such as parks, shopping malls, and scenic spots, exhibiting a significant outward expansion and a gradual broadening of the leisure space.

3.3 Secularization of emotional space: “One ring, one network, and four centers” pattern→“single ring type” pattern

Through reminiscences of behaviors and activities in specific places in the material space, residents inject deep emotions into the place and form emotional space. On the emotional map, the residents’ emotional space has shifted from a “one ring, one network, and four centers” pattern to a “single ring type” pattern, and the emotional space tends to be secularized.
According to the emotional map of Naobao Old Village (Fig. 3), it can be found that the spiritual support places of residents are distributed in many areas of Naobao Old Village, with an overall emotional spatial pattern of “one ring, one network, and four centers”. “One ring” represents the fields surrounding the village. During the interview, we learned that residents live on the fields and exhibit a rooted dependence on the fields; therefore, most of the residents’ emotional space is marked in the fields. “One Network” represents the houses distributed inside the village. During the interview, residents mentioned that the houses (which are the fruits of their labor, the most stable place for their leisure life, and embody their emotional memories) are all self-built. The “four centers” are Sanguan Temple, the theatre inside the village committee, the east wall, and the south wall. The interviewees mentioned that some collective activities such as inviting the troupe to sing the opera, blessing on the fifteenth day of the first month, and running boat ceremonies are held in these places annually. On the map, the places of residents’ emotional sustenance are indicted as terrestrial and polycentric emotional spatial attributes. However, the material space of Naobao New Village has undergone tremendous changes. The demolition of the whole village relocation into Chilechuan International Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the new village no longer contains spaces such as the theatre, the Sanguan Temple, and Zhaobi and has become a site for tourism reception (Fig. 4). Through the emotional map, it can be found that the emotional areas of some residents focus on four places: scenic spots, residential areas, village squares, and amusement parks, forming a closed loop and presenting a “single ring” emotional space. Meanwhile, the marks of emotional memory areas are decreased, from “locality” to “enclave”, and the emotional space is contracted. The sacred space that originally connected the residents’ collective activities dissolved, the attitude toward cultural ritual activities gradually waned, and the spiritual space gradually became secularized.

4 The driving mechanism pertaining to the daily living space change of Naobao Village residents

According to the history of tourism development in Naobao Village and the feedback from the residents, the spatial change pertaining to the daily life of the residents in the village is a consequence of the joint action of multiple forces under the influence of tourism and the gradual progression of the change. Meanwhile, the change pertaining to the daily living space of Naobao Village residents represents a systematic project, involving a series of links such as driving elements, an evolution process, and spatial response. Therefore, the study constructs the driving mechanism pertaining to the daily living space change of the residents of Naobao Village from the perspectives of driving system, pattern evolution, and spatial representation (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 Driving mechanism pertaining to the evolution of the daily living space of the residents in Naobao Village
(1) The realistic demand of natural conditions is the entry point for the change of residents’ daily living space. On one hand, the sowing environment is harsh, and the semi-agricultural-semi-industrial livelihood mode increases the difficulty with which a livelihood can be maintained, and new livelihood capital is urgently required. “The land was relatively infertile, the crops were not favorable; we relied on the weather to eat. There was no water here; therefore, because grain was insufficient, we had to migrate to Bayan town and downtown to obtain work” (No.2 B&B owner, property cleaner, female). There are significant seasonal problems in the Inner Mongolia region such as long, cold winters where residents have no place to work; therefore, the adoption of traditional livelihoods increases the difficulty with which the development needs of residents who are trying to explore new livelihoods can be met. Therefore, tourism livelihoods arose. On the other hand, due to the natural disaster of mountain floods, the relocation of the whole village provided the leading conditions for the formation of a new living space. In 2012, a flash flood destroyed nearly 70% of the houses, and the production and life of residents were subjected to difficulties, thereby necessitating reconstruction; subsequently, the material space was drastically changed.
(2) The positive guidance of policies and institutions considerably influences the change of residents’ daily living space. Policies and institutions can often guide the change process of residents’ daily living space, and can change the direction and speed pertaining to the change of residents’ daily living space. In regard to direction, through the government’s top-level design, the material space structure and industrial development trend of Naobao Village are repositioned. In 2013, the Hohhot municipal government proposed to build the construction direction that influences the back garden of the autonomous region’s capital in combination with ecological governance, thereby guiding the overall positioning of the New Village of Naobao; thus, a rural characteristic tourism town was built, thereby creating a scenario where the material spatial functional zoning is clear and strengthened the imaginative nature of the area’s structure. Meanwhile, the production space dominated by agricultural production began to be dominated by tourism production. In regard to speed, with the policy inclination and financial support, villagers could settle down promptly. In 2015, the government of the new urban district issued the “Announcement of the Naobao Village Expropriation and Compensation and Resettlement Plan”, which entailed policies for ensuring the orderly progress of the demolition work associated with Naobao village. In 2015, through the land compensation for road construction in the new urban area of Hohhot City and the allocation of the National Ministry of Housing and Construction, as well as the land compensation for the International Convention and Exhibition Center in 2017, related policy compensation has promoted the smooth implementation of the residential project associated with the new village of Naobao; thus, residents can promptly relocate to new home.
(3) The interaction between self-organization and other organizations crucially induces the change of residents’ daily living space. Self-organization development is mostly characterized by spontaneity and internal characteristics, which is a process of gradual evolution from the lower foundation subtly driven by the underlying foundation, and its power source is mainly reflected in the following: First, as a village elite, Li Hengbiao (the village secretary) led the villagers to develop the tourism industry, which localized the residents’ employment space, and simultaneously condensed the emotions of residents in Xiabao village community, forming the enclave’s emotional space. An interview with the former village chief revealed that when Li Hengbiao was young, he left his hometown to start his own business and had a successful career. After the village was subjected to flooding, he was elected as the village head and secretary on the recommendation of the former village chief. He returned to the village, guiding the villagers in rebuilding their homes, developing the tourism sector, and creating hometown employment opportunities. “Secretary Li is immensely burdened. Although we are members of a considerably large family, he wants to enrich all the villagers. The scenic spot has been optimally developed; however, it will be continually enhanced. We are all influenced by his contribution, which considerably affects us, and are willing to partake in this endeavor for Secretary Li to create an excellent village” (NO.30 Township government staff, female). The emotion of residents is not only anchored in the local place buildings, but also in the sense of community and sense of mission. Second, the village committee actively guides residents to return to their hometowns for employment and entrepreneurship; thus, their employment space is localized and exhibits a circular focus. In 2019, Naobao Village collectively established Inner Mongolia Naobao Cultural Tourism Development Limited Liability Company; thus, residents can identify jobs in scenic spots and create their own businesses in the snack street. The company also provide free training to advance residents’ professional skills. According to the interview, the village committee conducted a seven-day theoretical and practical training for the drivers of the redwood boats, and also conducted exams; moreover, they organized the snack street vendors to visit locations such as Chengdu, Xi’an, and Chongqing for learning and training.
The term “other-organization” is typically an external force intervention. This term represents the top-down spatial practice of tourism planning companies, foreign investors, tourists, and other foreign subjects focusing on the demand for tourism production and consumption that drives the change of residents’ daily living space. Its power source is reflected in the following: First, Naobao Village hired a professional tourism planning company to perform spatial planning, indicating that the village’s functional layout was clear, which altered the residents’ cognition of the material spatial structure, shifting from road-oriented sequential cognition to area-oriented spatial cognition. Second, the entry of foreign investors and the promotion of a large number of tourism projects have created conditions for residents to secure in-village employment. The company continues to attract investment, and has implemented projects such as the cultural courtyard, Naobao cultural tourism area, and a hotel. In 2020, the company introduced OWI Outlet Business Operation Management Company to build Naobao Outlets shopping mall, joyful water world, a ferris wheel, and a train theme square. Third, tourists permeate the mass consumption and leisure concepts into the village culture, which has effected an exemplary role in modifying the residents’ original consumption and leisure behavior, and began to utilize the implicitly fashionable network consumption space and circle leisure space. Meanwhile, the development of local tourism affects the resident’s communication space, forming a business relationship based on commercial production and embedding them in the network of blood and kinship relationships exhibited in the villages.

5 Discussion

First, this study applied a cognitive map to analyze residents’ daily living space, overcoming the previous living space research paradigm, which mainly focuses on qualitative research. The application of the cognitive map has expanded from large-scale urban structure spatial image research to small-scale rural residents’ daily living space research, attempting to address the shortcomings of the cognitive map method in research fields and research objects. Applying the cognitive map to the research on the daily living space of residents in a rural tourism destination can effectively enhance the visualization and efficiency of the research. Researchers can observe the following: 1) The transformation of the spatial practice directly affects the material-space cognitive structure of residents. From the traditional bottom-up spatial practice of villagers to the top-down spatial planning of the government and planning companies, the cognitive structure of residents on the material space has been disintegrated. 2) The transformation of rural business forms, especially the development of tourism, has altered the residents’ multi-dimensional behavior space: In the cognitive map, the spatial mobility of residential space and employment space tends to be weak, the spatial span of markers shrinks, and the spatial constraint is enhanced, which indicates that owing to the development of rural tourism, a large number of residents find employment in their hometowns, thereby actualizing the integration of employment and residence. The consumption space and leisure space tend to exhibit strong spatial mobility, the spatial span of markers is expanded, and the spatial constraint is weakened, which indicates that the development of rural tourism has occasioned the gentrification of residents’ consumption and leisure behavior. 3) The increased markers of residents’ emotional space in the emotional map symbolize the geography-based emotional space, and the decreased markers of residents’ emotional space in the emotional map symbolizes the enclave-based emotional space. Through the changes in emotional memory, it is found that under the promotion of rural tourism, residents’ emotional space based on the industrial relationship is constantly expanding, overcoming the blood-kinship network of traditional villages.
Second, this study seeks a humanistic analysis of living space from residents’ perspective. The existing scholars have exhibited an increased understanding of residents’ daily living space as the presentation of living, employment, consumption, and other daily behaviors in the regional space, and ignored the emotional element. Therefore, this study not only considers the spatial representation of residents’ daily living space at the regional level, but also the spatial character of individuals’ daily behavior and emotional memory. Residents’ daily living space is not only the physical field that residents rely on for production and living practice, but also the space created by residents’ daily behavior activities and emotional memory atmosphere, covering three spatial levels: Material space, behavior space, and emotional space. This study attempts to address the insufficiency and neglect of “individuals” in human-land relations, enrich the existing theoretical framework, and lay a foundation for future empirical research.
Third, this study focuses on the daily living space of village residents in rural tourism destinations, indicating the overall spatial morphology of the village and the daily living behavior of residents and transmitting the emotional memory of residents. It enables researchers to analyze the characteristics pertaining to the evolution of village spatial forms and changes pertaining to emotional attachment in the development of rural tourism, enabling planners to more optimally incorporate into their analyses the fundamental issues of how users perceive and utilize their surroundings, and the manner in which the emotional and social nature of their spaces can be considered. For example, the planning and reconstruction of villages should comprehensively consider the basic demands of residents; the construction of scenic spots and tourism infrastructure should also consider the wishes of surrounding residents, and effectively protect the quality of life of residents while promoting tourism development. Therefore, the research of residents’ daily living space in rural tourism destinations can provide relevant reference and practical guidance for the construction and development of residents’ living space in the development of rural tourism.
Finally, there are some limitations in attempting to construct a research system pertaining to the daily living space of residents in rural tourism destinations based on cognitive maps only through the study and discussion of a case. In addition, the research on the change of residents’ daily living space in rural tourism destinations should entail long-term diachronic observation and more comprehensive and specific investigation in the same scenario. Therefore, through additional case studies, the study aims to form scientific evidence based on the cognitive map of rural tourist residents’ daily life space research theory and research paradigm, and extend it to the cognitive map research on the daily living space of residents in other tourism destinations, thereby providing beneficial guidance for the spatial planning of tourism destinations, resource layout, and the enhancement of residents’ life quality.

6 Conclusions

This study utilizes the typical rural tourism destination of Hohhot city Naobao Village as an example, and based on the cognitive map method, the residents’ cognition of daily living space changes in Naobao Village is analyzed, and the following conclusions are obtained:
(1) Residents’ daily living space includes material space, behavior space, and emotional space. First, in regard to material space, residents’ cognitive structure shifted from a road-oriented sequence-type image map to an area-oriented spatial image map. The material space of Naobao Village presents a clarified spatial representation through top-down spatial practices. Second, in regard to behavior space, it mainly includes residential space, employment space, consumption space, and leisure space. The residential space of Naobao Village has changed from scattered to focused and tends to be centralized. The employment space of Naobao Village has shifted from a “circular focus + extended sector” structure to a “circular focus” structure, which tends to be localized. The consumption space of Naobao Village has shifted from an explicit space to an implicit one, and tends to virtualization. The leisure space of Naobao Village has shifted from the “point set” mode to the “circle layer” mode, which tends to be widening. Finally, in regard to emotional space, the “one ring, one network, and four centers” pattern has shifted to the “single ring” pattern. The sacred place of spiritual support in the village has been dissolved and replaced by a place of spiritual support of entertainment, and the emotional space tends to be secularized.
(2) The evolution of the daily living space pertaining to the residents of Naobao Village is influenced by many factors, and the driving mechanism is formed, including the natural condition as the entry point, the policies and institutions as the influencing factor, and the self-organization and other organizations as the power source. Under the joint action of the driving factors, the pattern of residents’ daily living space evolves, and is finally represented at the spatial level, forming the systematic driving system-pattern evolution-spatial representation driving mechanism.

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