This study explores the dynamic relationship between rural tourism and traditional architecture, emphasizing their joint role in cultural heritage preservation and sustainable development. Utilizing CiteSpace (6.3.R1) and VOSviewer (1.6.19) tools, this study analyzes 1356 publications from the Web of Science database and identifies three development stages: the initial stage (1996–2008), the growth stage (2009–2016), and the peak stage (2017–2024). The main findings highlight a focus on climate-adaptive design, community collaboration, and the integration of digital technologies in heritage preservation. Emerging topics, such as green building materials and virtual reality, have also gained increasing attention. Despite these advancements, limitations persist in terms of data diversity and the regional scope of research. Future studies should address how to balance heritage conservation with modernization needs, enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, and leverage digital tools to promote urban–rural interaction and ecological design.

Protecting traditional village buildings is a global challenge, as it relates not only to cultural identity but also to the sustainable development of rural tourism. Establishing a unified protection system has become an important objective in the field of cultural heritage. This study applies a bibliometric approach using the BERTopic model to analyze 602 academic papers published between 1999 and 2024 in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Web of Science databases. The analysis provides quantitative evidence for the integrated development of traditional building protection and rural tourism. Topic evolution analysis based on the BERTopic model reveals that research on traditional village buildings has progressed from building culture to material technology, then to function adaptation, community participation, and finally to digital transformation. This trajectory reflects a shift from static preservation to dynamic regeneration and from a focus on physical space to social relationships. Using topic similarity analysis and semantic clustering, nine original topics were consolidated into five main dimensions—building features, materials and construction, spatial and functional adaptability, building culture, and social culture—forming a five-dimensional framework for evaluating building protection. This framework has theoretical depth and potential for policy use. This study advances beyond traditional qualitative approaches by proposing a quantitative model of semantic modeling, topic evolution, and framework construction, offering structured and visualized data to support theoretical understanding and policy development in cultural heritage protection and rural tourism.