Image Library of Research Subjects: Facade Images of Traditional Chaoshan Dwellings for Surface Defect Identification

This dataset, “Image Library of Research Subjects,” constitutes the image component of a larger research data collection on surface defect identification in traditional Chaoshan dwellings. It contains the original and processed facade images collected from 30 national-level traditional villages in the Chaoshan region of southeastern China. The dataset is organized into two subfolders: 1. Original Images of Each Elevation – unprocessed photographs of building exteriors captured during field investigations, covering a variety of lighting conditions, viewing angles, and complex backgrounds; 2. Processed Images of Each Elevation (Converted to Front View and Image Mosaicked) – images that have been geometrically corrected to a frontal view and, where applicable, stitched into complete elevation mosaics for standardized analysis. These images document six common categories of exterior wall surface defects—including mottled discoloration, surface layer detachment, microbial colonization, and fine cracks—and serve as the foundation for training and evaluating computer vision models for automated heritage condition assessment. This image library is provided solely for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the associated research and supporting peer review; no other uses are permitted.