**4. Big Data Analysis Results**

The word frequencies of all third-level indicators were integrated into an analysis of the word frequencies of the three first-level indicators. The activities category was mentioned the most, 42,376 times (52.22%), followed by the perceptions category, 25,698 times (31.67%), and the landscape elements of focus category, with a word frequency of 13,069 (16.13%). These large numbers indicate the popularity of Central Park, showing that visitors' postoccupation comments about the park focused more on descriptions of activities and their own perceptions.

#### *4.1. Analysis of Tourists' Focus on Landscape Elements*

The landscape elements that tourists focused on in the park are shown in Figure 4. The waterscapes received the most attention, followed by the overall view of the park and the animals, trees and colors it contains.

**Figure 4.** Distribution of tourists' focus on landscape elements (Source: created by authors).

Among the natural landscape elements expected by Olmsted to attract attention, waterscapes were the most popular with visitors, accounting for 18.69%, which confirms Olmsted's theory that "the waterscape should be designed in the most prominent position" [10]. The comments included not only descriptions of waterscape features, such as "The frozen lake is so scenic", but also of activities performed on the lake. The trees and lawns in the park also received some attention, accounting for 8.51% and 3.57%, respectively; as the current research results show, people usually preferred a natural environment with plants [23]. These comments not only included the praise of trees and the lawn—"The colours of the trees were amazing", "It was nice to see lawn and trees in a big city"—but also descriptions of related activities—"You can sing along with someone playing a guitar strummed Beatles song or lay out on the grass and have a special pic with your family". There were also some expressions of emotion—"When I actually go to the park and sat down to rest a little bit on the law. I gradually felt so calm and happy, just like in a movie". Sheep Meadow, the oldest green space in the park, was originally used as a pasture for raising sheep (as shown in Figure 5a). It was used to enhance the British pastoral quality of Central Park, and was only used as a place to enjoy the scenery, rather than for entertainment. After the sheep were moved out of Central Park in 1934, Sheep Meadow became a gathering place for public activities. The lawn is now not only part of the picturesque scenery of the park, but is also a place for people to undertake activities and socialize, as shown in Figure 5b. The terrain of the park was often mentioned by tourists in their comments, accounting for 5.05%. The gentle sloping terrain ingeniously designed by Olmsted is still considered beautiful in the minds of tourists—"Some great views from the castle. Random stair leading to the top of rock formations. Thick tree areas and open plains".

**Figure 5.** (**a**) (**left**). Sheep in Central Park, c. 1900 (Source: Central Park Conservancy, 2021). (**b**) (**right**). Sheep Meadow, 2009 (Source: Central Park Conservancy, 2021).

The road cleverly designed by Olmsted also achieved the desired effect. In order to prevent the city from invading the park, he flooded all the transverse roads in the park to reduce and eliminate the presence of the urban landscape and sound [24,25]. Such an arrangement did not affect people's activities, nor hinder the traffic around the park. Tourists also paid attention to roads, with this constituting 8.51% of observations. Walking along the path, tourists could experience plenty of fun, away from the noise of the city—"It provides continuous enjoyment as you wander around the endless paths and avenues that criss-cross the park", "The screech of sirens was muffled as we leisurely wandered along the pathways".

Tourists also paid significant attention to the overall view in the park, with this accounting for 11.69%. The park landscape received praise for its scenic beauty, which was evident in comments such as "very clean park with unreal views!" and "we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful view the park had to offer". Tourists also focused on the elements of color (7.22%), sound (2.60%) and materials (2.28%) in the park, which together formed the beautiful environment of the whole park—"Central Park is the greatest work of art in New York. Everywhere you go, at each turn, there is a wonderful vista which shows the eye of a landscaping genius".

People's attention towards flowers comprised 4.35% of observations, and their evaluations were very high. "There are flowers, making it romantic, fun and family friendly at the same time". Typhina's research also showed that parks with gardens are more popular [26]. However, Olmsted thought that parks should use less or no delicate flowers, because the colors of these flowers would disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in the park.

The sculptures (4.87%), playgrounds (3.65%), architecture (3.27%), plazas (1.50%) and other artificial elements in the park were also mentioned by many tourists, and comments indicated that these could enhance the attractiveness of the park—"The pounds, sculptures and bridges make this park stand out from others", "Belvedere Castle offers a territorial view of the park and the Merry Go Round is sweet". Just as in the current research, younger people have previously been found to prefer the artificial facilities in the park [27]. The park is more popular when containing more conveniences [28]. However, Olmsted believed that these elements were not in harmony with the natural landscape of the park and should feature as little as possible.

Central Park is an ideal place for bird watching and photography because of its diversity of animal species. Animals were the focus of 9.99% of the comment about Central Park. Birds, squirrels and other animals were described more frequently. Some comments praised them—"The squirrels running around was spectacularly"—and some described related activities, such as "You could hear birds singing and squirrels in the leaves", which increased the vitality of the park—"We had the added bonus of bumping into Big Bird too amongst the glorious changing colours of the trees and lovely peaceful landscape". In Olmsted's original design ideas, however, animals are not mentioned.
