Visual perception preferences in Lingnan gardens: a semantic differential survey with a convenience sample

Lingnan gardens represent one of the three major schools of classical Chinese gardens. As the manifestation of regional culture and ecological wisdom in South China, they are considered irreplaceable in terms of their inherited historical context and role in shaping the spirit of locations. The aim of this study was to investigate the public’s perception of the commonalities and characteristics of Lingnan gardens as well as group differences in visual perception to accurately understand the public’s visual preferences for Lingnan gardens and promote their protection, utilization, and innovative development. A convenience sampling method was used to the semantic differential (SD) method, and Yuyin Garden in Guangzhou, Foshan Liangyuan Garden, Dongguan Keyuan Garden, and Shunde Qinghui Garden were selected as sample collection locations. A total of 120 valid data points were collected. Factor analysis, descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to explore the perceptual dimensions and inter-group differences. The findings of the study were as follows: (1) Principal component factor analysis revealed that the four factors with the greatest impact on public visual perception were visual attention factors, visual information content factors, field of vision factors, and spatial visual factors. (2) Among the evaluation factors in the 120 questionnaires, the overall scoring trend was consistent, and the visual perception results of Lingnan gardens in different locations were similar. Natural elements received the highest evaluation score, and the public’s evaluation of this issue was the most unified. The evaluation of area size and Western cultural elements had the most significant differences, and the opinions of the respondents were difficult to unify. (3) There were two items that differed due to different groups of people and were divided into two categories: growth factors and non-growth factors, among which growth factors have a greater impact. The differences in visual perception of Lingnan gardens were explored in this study from the perspective of the public, and a quantitative translation path for analyzing the differences in visual perception of classical Chinese gardens is proposed. Although the sample size is sufficient for an initial understanding, it is recommended that future studies involve larger and more stratified samples to enhance generalizability.