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Paper short abstract

This research uses participatory photography to examine how natural elements are interpreted by Dong villagers as markers of agricultural time, ancestral presence, and spatial orientation. It considers how visual narratives express embedded environmental knowledge and local cultural values.

Paper long abstract

This research draws on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in the Dong village of Tang’an through a Photovoice project, to explore how natural elements are encountered, remembered, and interpreted in everyday life. Situated in the mountainous region of Guizhou province in southwest China, Tang’an is one of the first-generation ecomuseums jointly established by the Chinese and Norwegian governments. As an early institutional experiment, it integrates village life, cultural practice, and environmental context within a framework of community-based heritage.

Participants in the project used cameras to document their surroundings from their own perspectives. Among the photographs and reflections, recurring attention was given to natural elements such as tung blossoms, cedar trees, water systems, and terraced fields. These were not selected as aesthetic motifs, but appeared as temporal indicators, spatial markers, and references to ancestral presence. For instance, the phenological stages of the tung blossom were described as corresponding to different phases of agricultural work, while cedar trees were associated with ritual boundaries and long-standing village orientations. These associations emerged organically through participants’ commentaries and image-making, reflecting long-term patterns of engagement with place.

The visual and verbal narratives generated through this process offer insight into how natural elements are integrated into local systems of value, identity, and place-making. Beyond its analytical value, Photovoice proved to be an effective method for engaging with community perspectives on environmental change. The findings may offer useful contributions to local dialogues concerning natural resource management, conservation strategies, and community resilience and development within heritage-oriented rural contexts.