This study takes Hemu Village in the Altay region of Xinjiang as its research subject, examining how its built environment functions as an architectural semiotic system within a tourism context. Under the broader trend of spatial homogenization in tourist destinations, architectural forms are often simplified into visual symbols detached from their original contexts. Hemu presents a contrasting condition, where timber structures, spatial organization, and settlement morphology remain closely linked to environmental and cultural processes. Drawing on semiotic theory, particularly the concepts of signifier/signified and icon–index–symbol, this study analyzes how architectural forms in Hemu are gradually transformed into recognizable and interpretable signs. It further examines how these meanings shift when the space is recontextualized within tourism. Through comparison with Lijiang Old Town and Hongcun Village, the study argues that architectural vocabulary tends to evolve from generative forms toward stabilized symbolic systems. Hemu currently occupies an intermediate position, where generative logic and symbolic expression coexist. The study suggests that the key issue in tourism development is not whether architectural vocabulary changes, but whether its transformation remains grounded in its generative logic. Understanding architecture as a semiotic system provides a framework for maintaining both recognizability and authenticity in spatial design.