Background As a model of mine restoration and ecological civilization construction, the restoration model of mining sites in Huaxia city, Weihai, Shandong province, is highly instructive in protecting the ecological environment and improving social and economic benefits. Mining caused many ecological and environmental problems in mining sites, also restricted regional economic development. Currently, research on ecological restoration of mine landscapes is mostly carried out with a single element such as soil restoration, ecological governance, and landscape reconstruction, lacking a multi-functional coupling of various elements and an overall grasp of ecology, economy, landscape, and culture.

Methods Taking the Huaxia city of Weihai as the object, the terrain of the mine footprint as the research base, and various landscape elements as the research patches, an ETZLM design model for ecological management of the mine landscape was established. Then, we designed elements from aspects such as terrain, base, vegetation, etc., and carried out functional design of different elements in combination with horizontal and vertical spatial layout design, internal and external network connectivity design. We proposed and built a strategic and technical framework for ecological restoration of mine landscapes, and developed design and practical research on ecological restoration of mine landscapes that conformed to terrain gradients.

Results In terms of element design, the terrain structure design that conforms to the terrain and surface undulation perfectly integrates the natural environment and landscape design, while saving development costs and avoiding resource waste caused by transitional excavation. The base reconstruction design of slopes and ponds, taking into account the back-end benefits after restoration, provides a high-quality platform for later vegetation growth and biological reproduction. The vegetation restoration design of the mountain has constructed a diverse and ornamental landscape environment, providing support for tourism development. In terms of structural design, the spatial layout of the horizontal structure of the site should grasp the spatial configuration of various elements as a whole, which is conducive to maintaining the consistency between the landscape and the environment. While the ecological spatial layout of the vertical structure of the vegetation community, which combines different types of plant communities in a hierarchical manner, is crucial to protecting the habitat of animals and plants and stabilizing the stability of the slope. As an important node of the regional ecological network, the landscape ecological restoration of Huaxia city mining pits provides good support for regional soil and water conservation, water conservation, and climate regulation. The combination of elements and structural design improves the functional requirements of Huaxia city from different perspectives such as soil, vegetation, landscape, and economy.

Conclusions The practice of mine restoration based on environmental factors, structures, and functions has made the scenic area of Huaxia city excellent in ecology and beautiful in scenery after completion, realizing a virtuous cycle of ecological, economic, and social benefits, and playing a exemplary role in the restoration of the mine ecological environment and greening landscape design practice.