On October 25, 2024, the Creative Huangshan Development Conference took place in Huangshan City, Anhui Province. During the event, reporters learned that a database of Hui-style architecture has successfully documented 27 historic cultural cities, towns, and villages, as well as 12 protected urban areas. This includes three traditional villages captured through oblique photography models and comprehensive data on 9,650 buildings, resulting in a total collection of Hui-style architectural data encompassing 1,997 structures.

The types of data collected encompass a variety of formats including text, images, videos, photographs, blueprints, point cloud data models, and oblique photography settlement models. Hui studies are recognized as one of the three significant branches of regional culture in China, with Hui traditional settlements and ancient buildings serving as essential carriers for the inheritance and development of this field, which is also a major school of thought in traditional Chinese architecture. Research has confirmed that Hui-style architecture can be found in 23 provinces across China.

The Hui-style architecture database project officially commenced in 2016, with total investments exceeding 30 million yuan. Liu Renyi, the director of the Key Laboratory of Hui-style Architecture in Anhui Province, noted that since the project’s implementation, the goal of achieving “full spatial coverage and comprehensive data collection” for Hui-style architecture in Huangshan City has been accomplished. This database utilizes advanced technologies such as 3D laser scanning, drone oblique photography, and artificial intelligence in geographic information systems (GIS) to create a shared digital platform, promoting innovative development in the protection and transmission of Hui-style architecture.

Additionally, the database facilitates resource sharing for research on the preservation and transmission of Hui-style architecture, having incorporated 1,001 academic papers and 14 legal regulations. Currently, Huangshan City is home to over 30,000 Hui-style ancient buildings, the earliest dating back to the Song Dynasty. There are 49 national-level key cultural heritage sites, 117 provincial-level heritage sites, and 8,032 immovable cultural relics in the city, with 4,103 historical buildings publicly cataloged. Huangshan also boasts 27 nationally recognized historical and cultural cities, towns, and villages, along with 12 cultural heritage districts, making it the second richest in historical and cultural resources among prefecture-level cities in China.