The Court of the Lions has been known for its architectural beauty which is universally admired. However, a closer look at the current gravel-surfaced Courtyard does not seem to harmonize with the pinnacle in architectural representation of its surrounding and the once “state of the art” technology of the fountain at the centre. According to The Official Guide - The Alhambra and Generalife published by the Petronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (1999, p. 115), "…It is not known for certain whether the four parts were paved or if they were gardens”. This uncertainty became the catalyst for this Grounded Theory landscape architectural research which employs concept mapping techniques. Computer concept and illumination models were then used to test a design concept through a series of simulations. Lastly, the possible landscapes were interpreted using photorealistic computer images and animations, re-enacting the original garden atmosphere in the year 1391 AD. The study describes the process to simulate the garden atmosphere of the Court of the Lions with the absence of primary sources of information. The approach can be used for other historic sites in similar site condition.

Both garden ontology and tourists influence garden tourism, and while many countries around the world have researched garden tourism, China's garden tourism market lacks development. This study aims to find a sustainable and distinctive development path for garden tourism development in complementary developed China. This study uses primarily qualitative research to interview visitors to Chinese garden tourism sites, using visitor experience factors and international case studies to explore the development of Chinese garden tourism. The study results show that Chinese gardens are characterized by developing essential elements: discovering tourism values, increasing infrastructure development, innovative management, and creating a and connotation of sustainable development. Thus, the study project will fill the gap in the development of garden tourism in China and provide a creative direction for the development of garden tourism in China.

Tourism has greatly increased world wide in recent decades, especially in China. Nature-dominated Scenic and Historic Interest Areas, representative of the Chinese philosophy of the 'oneness of nature and human beings', are the most popular tourism destinations in China. Tourism impacts in these areas have been receiving the attention of heritage landscape conservation. Management actions have largely been determined with an emphasis on natural values. This thesis maintains that values relating to nature are socially and culturally constructed, and that they dynamically change through history. By investigating the social and cultural structures underpinning values related to nature, a macro-history method has been applied to explore the traditional Chinese View of nature from traditional Chinese philosophies and landscape cultures. An instrumental case study method has been applied to explore the contemporary Chinese values of nature. The relationships between traditional values and contemporary values have been identified. It was found that the traditional Chinese values still have a profound influence today, although many aspects have been distorted. Historic high culture in natural areas has been replaced by mass tourism culture and Western values. The research also found that today's values are more socially and politically contested. It has been revealed that there are deep social, cultural, economic and political roots underlying heritage conservation management actions. Changing and contested values have been interpreted from these perspectives. The values inherent in the Chinese View of nature, such as holistic philosophical perspectives, sophisticated Chinese landscape languages, and evolving living landscapes, have been identified. The contributions of these values to relevant theories of environmental philosophy, cultural landscape, national park tourism and heritage conservation have been identified by this research. The implications for multi-cultural dialogues in heritage landscape conservation have been addressed.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:12:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SamiaEACB_DISSERT.pdf: 3488008 bytes, checksum: 225fa86adad8ebd0222971b7cad7c50e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-28 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This study was conducted in the city of Jo?o Pessoa, Para?ba mesoregion Forest. Having to analyze how does the appreciation of the architectural heritage to the visitor and pessoense Capital Paraiba, taking into account the narratives of Jo?o Pessoa, and practitioners of foreign tourists of cultural tourism. This research builds on a theoretical foundation on concepts of landscape and place. Was taken as a foundation to Cultural Geography. The research in question is justified by embarking on Geography and Heritage and cast a glance on the geographical cultural landscape, trying to unravel the symbols assigned to the ancient architectural examples, meaning that interfere with power relationships that cross generations, constructing and deconstructing identities, is dispersed or integrating cultures, creating cultural groups and social conflict. It is concluded that the geographical area derives from a number of factors, among them the culture and this in turn will shaping the landscape, reflecting the abstract over the concrete architecture of the oldest to the most current, turning from the material to the immaterial in World Heritage Site / O presente estudo foi realizado no munic?pio de Jo?o Pessoa, na Mesorregi?o da Mata paraibana. Tendo como objetivo analisar como se d? a valoriza??o do cultural arquitet?nico para o pessoense e para o visitante da Capital paraibana, levando em considera??o as narrativas dos pessoenses, e dos turistas estrangeiros praticantes do turismo cultural. Esta pesquisa ap?ia-se numa fundamenta??o te?rica pautada nos conceitos de paisagem e lugar. Tomou-se como alicerce a Geografia Cultural. A investiga??o em pauta justifica-se por enveredar na Geografia e Patrim?nio e lan?ar um olhar geogr?fico sobre a paisagem cultural, tentando desvendar s?mbolos atribu?dos aos exemplares arquitet?nicos antigos, significados que interferem nas rela??es de poder que atravessam gera??es, construindo e desconstruindo identidades, seja dispersando ou integrando culturas, gerando grupos culturais e conflitos sociais. Conclui-se que o espa?o geogr?fico deriva de um conjunto de fatores dentre eles a cultura e esta por sua vez vai modelando a paisagem, refletindo o abstrato sobre o concreto das arquiteturas mais antigas at? as mais atuais, transformando desde o material at? o imaterial em Patrim?nio da Humanidade