ABSTRACT Night tourism is increasingly recognized as a strategy to revitalize cultural heritage sites and nighttime urban economies. However, limited research has examined the structured mechanism through which illuminated heritage landscapes translate physical design elements into higher‐order psychological evaluation. Drawing on Nicolai Hartmann's aesthetic theory, this study develops and empirically tests a four‐stage model (Design → Form → Experience → Psyche) using survey data from visitors to Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond. Structural equation modeling reveals a sequential pathway in which design shapes spatial form, which influences emotional experience and ultimately consolidates higher‐order psychological meaning. Results provide empirical support for the proposed pathway. By operationalizing a philosophically grounded layered aesthetic framework within an empirical tourism context, this study advances tourism aesthetics research and offers practical implications for heritage night tourism landscape design.
Kim et al. (Sun,) studied this question.