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Implications for Cultural Landscape in a Chinese Context: Geo-analysis of Spatial Distribution of Historic Sites

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Abstract

The protection of historic sites, especially their relationship with urban development, has become a worldwide issue, both in developed and developing countries. In the context of rapid urbanization in China, the realistic compatibility between urban construction and the protection of historic sites is always a key research topic. In this study, first, to comprehend their spatial distribution patterns, 828 historic sites throughout the country are selected based on certain criteria. Then, we conduct quantitative research using GIS software, adopting indicators that include Nearest Neighbor Index, Gini Coefficient, and Geographic Concentration Index to analyze the spatial characteristics of historic sites on the three levels of city, province and nation. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of the different types of historic sites is an agglomeration on the nationwide scale, most of which is located in the regions of the Pearl (Zhujiang) River Delta, Yangtze (Changjiang) River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin Region. Because the majority of historic sites are located within approximately 10 km of the downtown area, a certain pattern has emerged, showing that the larger cities own more historic areas, which are in a more incomplete state of preservation, indicating the fragmentation of heritage spaces. The formation mechanism of the historic sites’ distribution pattern is based on the conditions of the cities/towns as well as the bid-rent theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sino-German Joint Laboratory on Urbanization and Locality Research (UAL), College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Fang Wang

  2. Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Fang Wang

  3. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Wen Mao & Ying Dong

  4. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Xiaohua Zhu

Authors
  1. Fang Wang
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  2. Wen Mao
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  3. Ying Dong
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  4. Xiaohua Zhu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaohua Zhu.

Additional information

Foundation item: Under the auspices of the Sino-German Center (National Natural Science Foundation of China and the German Science Foundation) (No. GZ1201), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51078003)

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Wang, F., Mao, W., Dong, Y. et al. Implications for Cultural Landscape in a Chinese Context: Geo-analysis of Spatial Distribution of Historic Sites. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 28, 167–182 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-017-0915-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-017-0915-5

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