Analysis of structural characteristics and spatial distribution of the national intangible cultural heritage in China and its policy implications

BaiCui Xu,JingHu Pan

College of Geography and Environmental Science of Northwest Normal University,Lanzhou,Gansu 730070,China

ABSTRACT Based on an investigation of four published batches listing 3,140 national intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China and using GIS and some quantitative analysis methods,the spatial structure was investigated and the characteristics and distribution discussed.The distribution of ICHs in China is agglomerative and spatially dependent.From the view of ICH type,each type is distributed in different places,for different reasons,with history being the most important one we found.Nationwide,high-density cores are located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region.High densities of ICH are concentrated in flat,water-rich regions where broad-leaved forests dominate plains and low mountain areas—areas that have fertile soil,pleasant weather,a long history of culture,ethnic agglomeration,and development.This paper suggests that development of the ICH should be based on discovering unknown items,to break the existing pattern of strong cohesion and high density,and to seek a balanced development of the whole.

Keywords:national intangible culture heritage;ICH;spatial structure;influencing factor;geographical distribution;China

1 Introduction

We begin this paper with a famous saying:culture cannot be abridged to its tangible products,because it is continuously living and evolving(Williams,1960).That traditional culture has continued to inform the mass-produced products of human society is a social and historical phenomenon.Cultural heritage is a constant research topic;wherever mankind exists,there are economic and social progress and development(Liu,2013).As the most vulnerable part of"living"culture and traditions, intangible cultural heritage(ICH)represents the precious wealth of human civilization and symbolizes evidence of human beings in this world(Zhang,2018).There were different conceptions of cultural heritage before the 20th century,to evaluate building,vision,science and economic value,and so on,based on objective art and aesthetic perception(Alberto,1995;Hughes,2011).In fact,the term"intangible culture"was put forward by Japan in 1950,with its initial definition of ICH having greatly promoted the thought process of humans regarding heritage(Seegert and Stefan,2013).

Even in the 1920s,the League of Nations became aware of the growing threat to the cultural and natural heritage of the planet.In November 1972,the General Conference of the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in Paris.But the concept can be most directly traced to the"Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore"enacted by UNESCO in 1989,followed by"Regulations of Legal Protection of Oral and Nonmaterial Cultural Heritage"issued in 1998 to formally define the concept of ICH.

Until 2005,the Chinese government had promulgated the"Interim Measures for the Evaluation of National Intangible Cultural Heritage"to define ICH as follows:"the living cultural heritage of various traditional forms of cultural expression and cultural space which are conducive to the social progress and closely related to the life of people of all ethnic groups and have been handed down from generation to generation"(Liang and Ma,2008).

The multiethnic and diversified cultural environment in China has gradually taken shape within the historical inheritance of China's standing in the eastern world for thousands of years as one of the four ancient civilizations.Coinciding with the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC),China has a goal of cultural construction in the new era:adhering to the road of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics,stimulating the creativity of the entire nation,and building China into a socialist cultural power.It must bound to be inseparable from ICH,which we call a"living-fossil",to realize the Chinese dream and great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation(Liu,2015).ICH is the commonwealth of mankind,the treasure of historical culture and beautiful rivers and mountains,the demonstration of our civilization to the world.ICH has important realistic and strategic significance in building a harmonious socialist culture and motivating creativity and cultural diversity(Lombardoet al.,2016).

In the West,related studies started early and mainly focused on concept and connotation(Arizpe,2004;Gianniset al.,2018);the relationship between ICH and human life(Arizpe and Amescua,2013;Dimitropouloset al.,2018),the application and value assessment(Barrioet al.,2012;Yelmi,2016),the concept of protection(Wang and Bramwell,2012),the exploitation with a new perspective(Maet al.,2018),and the development of tourism(Rodziet al.,2013;Tanet al.,2018),etc..Those researches have received obvious benefits.In recent years,efforts have not been confined to the primary level of concept definition,type division,and inheritance and protection.

Exploration has been conducted in the discussion about theory construction; the duration, reflectiveness,and construction of the protection system;the empiricism of protection and management;the influence of ICHs'declaration on local economic and social development;and the reconstruction and renovation of ICH.The scale is not only the whole continent but also the individual village;the difference is that more scholars are inclined to study some specific ICH and grasp it from the perspective of divergence and the macro,and do not stick to one region.Methods mainly include case analysis,model construction,historical literature retrieval,and sample survey.In practice,countries have increased their understanding and respect for the main body of ICH through recognizing the benefits of supportive policies and measures,redirected the protection focus from"things"to"human"as the dominant concern,and vested with characteristics of vitality and dynamism of ICH.

Although Chinese research has followed external models,results have been less productive.Previous studies had substantial limitations,and the contents focused on value assessment(Rees and Liu,2017),exploitation(Mclaren,2010),tourism management(Kimet al.,2019),education curriculum(Cozzaniet al.,2017),inheritance,and protection(Massing,2017),rather than spatial perspectives.As for study areas,research concentrated on some provinces,only occasionally comparing distribution characteristics across the whole country. Researchers were more concerned about a single class of ICHs rather than all variants,which is a bit like focusing on specific regions.The methods mainly included rank methods,spatial autocorrelation,point-pattern analysis,hot clustering,and fractal methods but rarely combined natural and cultural regionalization of ICHs.Even more importantly,the latest research is the one that failed to cite updated fourth published ICH projects (Cheng and Ling,2013).The concept of ICH is essential for effectively ensuring sustainable development of traditional culture in China and constructing a beautiful China.Unfortunately,we have very little knowledge about the nationwide spatial distribution characteristics of ICHs and the factors that affect them.

The contributions of this study can be summarized as follows: The current study combined multiple viewpoints,methods,and factors with previous findings,to analyse the spatial distribution of ICHs across China;so as to probe the influence of natural and cultural features.The research efforts on various ICHs are mainly focused at the micro level on a single type.What's more,the few existing macro scale researches are mainly focused on the experience of foreign management,but it is rare to analyse the spatial distribution characteristics of existing ICHs in China.Using the spatial analysis capabilities of the Geographic Information System(GIS),this study explored spatial distribution,pattern,and aggregation of ICHs;and the relationship between distribution and natural and cultural zones.This paper clarifies the present situation of ICHs from the geographical perspective and reveals its spatial pattern.Not only can the study reflect the existing spatial structure,but it can also provide a reference for protection,inheritance,and innovation of ICHs across China.Simultaneously,enhancing the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the protection and inheritance of ICH can allow people to consider the past, present, and future; and can make it all come to life,which is a real value of ICH.ICH represents important areas for traditional protection,reflecting national intentions from the governmental level and providing the basis for culture construction in China.Also,the study has a practical significance for statistics,protection,development,and integration of Chinese regional culture.

In contrast to previous research,our study concentrates on new data and influence factors that have not yet explicitly been addressed and,in addition,includes findings from a recently published paper(Cheng and Ling,2013).In our paper,we expected to achieve these goals:(1)to use spatial methods for investigating the ICHs'spatial structure;(2)to evaluate all existing ICH projects in China from a geographical standpoint for revealing how inheritance actually occurs,to realizing the historical representation and cultural innovation;(3)to provide suggestions for optimizing the spatial pattern of ICHs'protection,so as to enhance national cultural soft power and display Chinese charm.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Materials

The ICH data are from the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Website(http://www.ihchina.cn),approved by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the State Council.There are four batches of ICH projects listed:518 in 2006,804(including 147 extensions)in 2008,519(including 164 extensions)in 2011,and 319(including 166 extensions)in 2014.Because most existing projects are distributed in multiple regions,this paper divides them based on the areas of distribution.After reconciling various ICHs,we identified them as 3,140 distinct projects.Their coordinates were obtained online from Google Maps.Owing to its scalability,Google Maps has the highest resolution,5 meters,which ensures accuracy of the extraction.Google Maps contains most ICH projects currently recognized,so we get the specific scope of an ICH project by directly entering the name.Traffic,natural,and cultural data are digitized from paper maps at 1:(4000000)scales for 2016(Wang,2004;Wang,2010;China Transportation Atlas,2016).Vector data for Chinese borders were obtained from the National Geometrics Centre of China at 1:(4000000)scales.Hong Kong,Macao,and Taiwan were not included in the study due to their particular geographical features,social barriers,and inconsistent statistical procedures.

2.2 Methods

2.2.1 Spatial distribution pattern analysis

Each ICH project was abstracted into one point in geographical space.The spatial distribution pattern of ICHs could be revealed by examining the distribution of these points in the study areas.Therefore,this paper chose the nearest neighbour index(NNI)to analyse the spatial pattern.NNI is the average distance between neighbouring points,divided by the average distance in a random distribution model;it describes the level of deviation from a random distribution(Steiniger and Weibel,2007).

where min(dij)is the distance between pointjand itsi=1,…,Nnearest neighbour points,Nis the number of ICH projects in the study area,andAis total area of the study.Generally,NNI≤0.5 implies aggregate,0.5 ＜NNI≤0.8 aggregate-random,0.8 ＜NNI＜1.2 random,and 1.2 ≤NNI＜1.5 random-uniform distributions.

2.2.2 Density analysis

A well-established method used to identify spatial concentration is kernel-density estimation (KDE),which calculates the density of events around each point,scaled by the distance from the point to each event.KDE describes a smooth and continuous surface map of risk targets because a discrete density surface is made continuously by interpolation.Therefore,this method can compensate for a paucity of data.Also,KDE follows Tobler's First Law of Geography:"Everything is related to everything else,but near things are more related to each other."It estimates the probability-density function of a point's feature directly from sample data without any assumption about attribution(Hashimotoet al.,2016).The function can be expressed as follows:

In Formula(2),whereXiis the value of variablexat locationi,nis the total number of ICHs,his the bandwidth,andksignifies the kernel function.

2.2.3 Hotspot analysis

A hotspot is where several ICHs cluster together spatially,i.e.,an area of greater density.The closest distance(also called limiting distance,threshold value,or the minimum number of each accumulative unit)is used in a hierarchical clustering method:Firstly,to define it as being an accumulative unit according to the nearest distance of each pointi.Next,we compare the accumulative unit with the nearest distance of every project.A point is included in a hotspot when the nearest distance is less than a predefined limit.Thus,the original point is clustered in several elliptical regions,called a first-class zone.Similarly,first-class zones are clustered in several elliptical regions,called second-class zones,and so forth(Bhakta,2015).

3 Results

3.1 Distribution characteristics of ICHs

There are no specific form and carrier for ICHs,but only reflected by human lifestyle,activity and behaviourect.;therefore,a close relationship must exist between ICHs and population.So,we use the Heihe-Tengchong line (Hu Huanyong Line, Chenet al.,2016),which is an imaginary demarcation line partitioning the Chinese population into west and east areas,to do preliminary research(Figure 1).ICHs'performance in terms of quantity and density is greater in the eastern part of the country than in the western part.The area east of the line has 2,623 points,accounting for 83.54%of the total;the western area has 517.In fact,the east has a relatively good geographical environment,higher socioeconomic levels,and more frequent human activities.The 3,140 projects are distributed across 31 provinces of China,exhibiting significant inhomogeneity.

Figure 1 Spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China

According to the Chinese ICH website (http://www.ihchina.cn),ICHs are divided into 10 categories(Folk Custom,Traditional Sport Entertainment and Acrobatics,Quyi,Folk Dance,Folk Literature,Traditional Art,Traditional Music,Traditional Skill,Traditional Medicine,and Traditional Theatre),as shown in Figure 2.This study considers all 10 ICH types,with Traditional Skill accounting for the largest proportion(16.08%of all ICHs)and Traditional Sport Entertainment and Acrobatics for the smallest(3.89%).That is,the structural feature of ICHs was based on Traditional Skill and Traditional Theatre,and not on Traditional Medicine and Traditional Sport Entertainment and Acrobatics.This determination was made because inheritance of Folk Literature,Quyi,and Traditional Medicine is pass from a form of oral transmission,which may cause some loss in transmission.

3.2 Spatial distribution mode of ICHs

Table 1 presents an outline of ICH's NNI across China.On the whole,ICHs have a strong cohesiveness.Viewed from approval batches,the first and second batch are strong aggregations,and the rest are aggregate-random.Traditional Medicine,Traditional Skill,Traditional Art,and Quyi express aggregated distributions.Traditional Skill is the strongest,and its NNI index is 0.43;Folk Literature is the weakest,and its NNI is 0.586.

3.3 Spatial density of ICHs

We tried to reveal the spatial distribution pattern of ICHs based on density analysis.In Figure 3(search radius:181 km),which presents the spatial pattern of all ICHs,we found the distribution of ICHs to have been formed into two high-density cores,three subdensity cores,and several low-density cores.The two high-density cores are the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei core(the radiation-wide areas are Hebei,Shandong,and Tianjin)and the Yangtze River Delta core(the radiation-wide areas are Shanghai,Jiangsu,Anhui,and Zhejiang);the three sub-density cores are the junction of Hebei,Shandong,and Henan(the radiation-wide areas are Hebei,Shanxi,Shaanxi,Henan,and Shandong);Guangdong and Fujian(the radiation-wide areas are the coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian provinces);and the junction of Guangxi,Guizhou,and Chongqing(the surrounding provinces of the region are all involved).The low-density cores are mostly distributed in Tibet,Liaoning,Xinjiang,Yunnan,Hainan,and the junction of Gansu and Qinghai.Summing up the above results,the distribution of ICHs is greatly influenced by human factors.

Figure 2 Type-structure features of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects'in China

Table 1 Nearest Neighbour Distance Index(NNI)of ICHs in China

Figure 3 Kernel densities of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China

The maps in Figure 4 show the spatial distribution breakouts for the ten ICH types.In Figure 4a,there is hardly any dense-distribution area of Traditional Skill in the western region.Beijing is the only high-density core,and the Yangtze River Delta is a unique sub-density core;there are sporadic low-density cores in Shanxi,Sichuan,Guizhou,and elsewhere(search radius:130 km).Because of the strong dependence of skills on raw materials,there are no additional density areas even though there are a large number of projects and aggregation.Theatre originated from witchcraft rituals and Dionysian sacrifices in primitive religions and is closely related to local customs and dialects.In Figure 4b,Traditional Theatre ICHs are plotted;the unique high-density core is distributed in the junction of Shanxi,Hebei,Shandong,and Henan.Except for the three eastern provinces,Ningxia,and Qinghai,all other provinces have cores,which shows that Traditional Theatre is well distributed throughout China,especially in the eastern part,and has a variety of forms(search radius:108 km).Traditional Music is mainly made up of folk songs,ballads,and special music linked with characteristic folk instruments;the distribution in China is relatively random,thus forming a high-density core(Beijing),three sub-density cores(the Yangtze River Delta, Hubei, and Guizhou), and several low-density cores(Figure 4c;search radius:130 km).All provinces except Tibet have cores.Although there are many cores,aggregation is not strong due to the dispersal;the maximum value of KDE is only about 7.0.Figure 4d (search radius: 99 km) shows that Traditional Medicine has only one high-density core,in Beijing;in addition, there are several isolated low-density cores throughout the country.With a small number of projects,Traditional Medicine clusters mostly in provincial capitals,leading to fewer cores and higher concentrations.Figure 4e(search radius:108 km)and Figure 4f(search radius:101 km)show a special state of cores that differ from that of other types.Because the projects are relatively dispersed in space,there are many projects;but each project has its own core,which means that in the two figures,the small core has few reference values.The high-density cores of Traditional Art are Beijing and the southeastern coastal areas,Sichuan,Guizhou,and the junction of Shandong and Henan.And cores of greater densities of Folk literature,include Beijing,Xinjiang,Shanxi,Shandong, Hubei, and other provinces. Figure 4g(search radius:124 km)and Figure 4h(search radius:123 km)are similar to the Figure 4e and Figure 4f but somewhat different.Although they also have diffuse cores,they do not show isolated projects,making it easier to distinguish the high-density cores.There are three high-density cores of Traditional Dance,along with some sub-density cores that are not very obvious. Folk Custom has only four high-density cores,namely,Beijing,the Yangtze River Delta,Guizhou,and Guangdong,with a clearer aggregation level.Figure 4i(search radius:103 km)shows two highdensity cores for Quyi,namely,Beijing and Zhejiang.It is not difficult to determine that the areas'status and history of development laid the foundation for the advancement of Quyi in these two places;but unfortunately,the western region of China is still not favored by Quyi.Commentary,ditty,rap,and so on constitute Quyi;but these rural minor forms are not as much a concern as Traditional Music or Traditional Theatre.Perhaps this is why most of the cores are formed in a small county instead of provincial capital regions.Figure 4j(search radius:100 km)shows that the number and cores of Traditional Sport Entertainment and Acrobatics are the least;but the figure still shows a strong presence,mainly concentrated in Shanxi,Hebei,Shandong,Henan,Beijing,Tianjin and Zhejiang,and Shanghai regions.

As the areas of human habitation have expanded and the inheritors of tradition relocated,some ICHs have spread beyond their sites of origin and merged with each other,forming some continuous regions.For other ICHs,a relatively closed environment may have produced a special cultural area that avoids the impact of foreign cultures;but the eastern plains,with widening and large tracts of land,prompted cultures to absorb and merge with each other,which makes a balanced situation with spread-out ICHs.There are various discoveries in terms of different ICH types:apart from individual types,Beijing has always been a high-density core;and the Yangtze River Delta has followed closely,allowing that various projects became highly concentrated in these two areas;that is,the cultural heritage of these two places is more inclusive than that of other areas.At the same time,we also found that the provinces which applying for one project could affect the distribution of this projects.

3.4 Regional hotpots of ICHs

Although the KDE analysis was done for each ICH type,hotspot analysis provides a clearer understanding of the level of convergence,rather than the extent of radiation,so we used CrimeStat software to detect two-tier aggregation units for various projects.A few types of projects,however,are so small in number that it is difficult to complete the detection work;fortunately,the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage divides the ICHs into five categories.For convenience of analysis,this classification method is used in the paper for regional aggregation analysis.The five categories are Verbal Tradition and Expression(Folk Literature);Performance Art(Traditional Music,Folk Dance,Traditional Theatre,Quyi,Traditional Sport Entertainment and Acrobatics);Traditional Craftsmanship(Traditional Skill,Traditional Art);Knowledge and Practice Concerning Nature and the Universe(Traditional Medicine);and Social Practice,Ritual,and Festive Events(Folk Custom).

As shown in Figure 5a,projects in the UNESCO category of Performance Art are distributed throughout most regions of the country.We find four major hotspots:Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shandong-Henan,the Yangtze River Delta,the coastal areas of Guangdong-Fujian,and Hunan-Hubei-Guizhou.But what are causes of performing art hotspots all over the country? Throughout Chinese history, Performance Art first appeared in the form of folk storytelling,folk song,folk dance,and acrobatics in the royal courts.The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shandong-Henan areas belong to the national political and economic centre;the Yangtze River Delta is the largest economic zone in China;and the performing arts in the coastal areas of Guangdong-Fujian and Hunan-Hubei-Guizhou are developing rapidly with the population explosion and under the influence of the national arts.

In terms of definition,projects in the UNESCO category of Traditional Craftsmanship refer to arts and crafts produced and circulated among the people,reflecting the feelings of the people;in China,these mainly include carvings,painting,dip-dye,and weaving.We found that Traditional Craftsmanship in China is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Delta,Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,and Shaanxi-Shanxi,as shown in Figure 5b.Traditional Craftsmanship has grown out of folk practices,it is passed down among people and inherited through a process of continuous adaptation and innovation.Under the concussion of the modern industrialization wave,there has been a great change in people's lifestyle and patterns of consumption.In addition,shortages of raw materials,difficulties inherent to the technology,and deficits of technical talents contribute to the slow development of Traditional Craftsmanship. Furthermore, some kinds of craftsmanship have a strong tradition of family inheritance and no spread beyond that;some were forbidden by rulers and nobles of the feudal period.These sources of interaction have caused the loss of some technologies, along with difficulties in their spreading beyond the point of origin.

Figure 4 Kernel densities of various intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China

Figure 5 Hotspot areas of different types of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China:(a)Performance Art;(b)Traditional Craftsmanship;(c)Verbal Tradition and Expression;(d)Social Practice,Ritual,and Festive Event;and(e)Knowledge and Practice Concerning Nature and the Universe

Projects in the UNESCO category of Verbal Tradition and Expression are mainly literary works,namely folk literature.Because those projects originated in public,they could reflect the feeling of the common peoples;included are myths,fables,and legends arising and transmitted mostly by word of mouth,sometimes within relatively small kinship groups or among residents of a limited locale.In contrast,in the process propagating stories and singing, oral language can be very unstable;this effect prompted variation or even loss based on different nationalities,space,time,and so on,as well as the subjective thoughts and feelings of the communicator,the will of leaders,even the wars(for example,3,607,074 pieces and 1,870 boxes of public and private cultural relics were looted and destroyed;741 historical sites were destroyed during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression).Accordingly,Verbal Tradition and Expression is only a small cluster in more developed areas.As shown in Figure 5c,regions of Verbal Tradition and Expression distribution are concentrated in Henan,Jiangsu,Anhui,Hubei,and Shaanxi—areas with urban populations in ancient times,which is in accordance with characteristics of oral tradition and expression.

Projects in the UNESCO category of Social Practice,Ritual,and Festive Event include Folk Custom,mainly related to festivals,sacrifice,clothing,weddings,and so on.As shown in Figure 5d,ICHs of this type exist mostly in the southeast coastal area of China.After careful observation,it was determined that the main projects are festivals.These phenomena have a close relationship with the strong regional character of Chinese folk culture,for example,the Chinese temple fair culture in different regions of China or ethnic minorities'costume,weddings and sacrifices of all nationalities have their own characteristics;its range of influence is mostly in local areas and produces a small area of aggregation spatially. Otherwise, some general festivals(such as Spring Festival,Lantern Festival,etc.)are found throughout the country,based on the location of the province that submitted the application,they are mainly distributed in coastal areas such as Fujian and Jiangsu.

Projects in the UNESCO category of Knowledge and Practice Concerning Nature and the Universe relate to Traditional Medicine.As shown in Figure 5e,this type was mainly distributed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions;in ancient times,most recognized forms were gathered in rules and entry books,such as for acupuncture,mainly spread in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions.Other small hotspots assume a strong regional flavour,such as Tibetan medicine(in Tibet),Miao medicine,Dong medicine,and Yao medicine spread only in regions of the ethnic minorities.But as most traditional medicines and medical methods are not recognized by modern medicine,traditional medicines can be spread only minimally in the present.In addition,the type has a wide range of coverage; and the particular medicines or medical methods in each region are quite different from one another,so although the projects are distributed over the all provinces,their numbers are fewer.

3.5 Spatial distribution discrepancy of ICHs

The province is an extremely important administrative unit in China.If we start analysing from this perspective,more favourable data can be obtained.By adopting the spatial analysis of 3,140 projects and carrying out visual processing,we obtained the provincial domain distribution of ICHs,as in Figure 6.The number of ICHs reduces gradually with the terrain steps from east to west.Among the provinces,Zhejiang accounts for the largest proportion and has become the first echelon of ICH distribution;Shandong and Shanxi are the second echelon;Guangdong,Jiangsu,Guizhou,Hebei,and Sichuan have become the third echelon,with the proportion of the five provinces between 4.5%and 5.0%of the total.Finally,Ningxia is the area with the least number of these projects.

Next,let's check the relation between types and provinces.Figure 6 shows various types of differences within provinces.Overall,Performance Art is the primary category in most provinces;and Traditional Craftsmanship is the secondary category.But there seems to be as a few exceptions to this pattern.Performance Art ranked second and accounted for many fewer projects than Traditional Craftsmanship in Beijing,Ningxia,and Jiangsu;and the two categories have similar numbers in Shanghai,Fujian,Guangdong,Zhejiang,Hainan,and Sichuan.As the third category,Social Practice,Ritual and Festive Event falls in the middling rather than at either extreme.In most provinces, Verbal Tradition and Expression, and Knowledge and Practice Concerning Nature and the Universe are represented by the fewest projects;for Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Tianjin, and Shanghai, the lowest is Verbal Tradition and Expression,while other provinces show the opposite pattern. It should be pointed out that the number of these two types are closely similar in Shaanxi,Jiangxi,and Hainan.

3.6 The factors of ICHs distribution

ICHs generally showed agglomerate distribution,i.e.,the characteristic depending on the different aims of ICHs'orientation of respective features and values.Therefore,we do an overlay analysis of ICHs and natural and cultural geographical features with distribution,to understand the significant factor of distribution at a macro level and over a greater geographical unit.

Figure 6 Provincial distribution of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China

3.6.1 Geomorphic distribution

Geomorphicrefers to various surface features of the earth,often involving significant influence from human activities and economic construction.China is situated on Asia's continental margin formed from the collision of continental plates,which affected both altitude and surface features of the terrain;the magnitude of the effects reduces gradually with the threestep terrain,from west to east;the country's geo-environment differs across the regions.Human beings have been considered to be among the most significant geomorphic agents(Ikemi,2017).Simultaneously,geomorphic features have severe impacts on a population's aggregation and cultural exchange,which affect spatial distribution of ICHs.Empirical results show that flat conditions,which attract assembled multitudes and promote cultural exchanges,are important for production of ICHs.According to the Figure 7a,the bulk of ICHs are in the low plain of eastern and northern China and the mid-height and low mountains in Zhejiang-Fujian;but no ICHs occur on Karakorum Mountain,with its high and extremely high relief.Here is a summary of the overall pattern of Chinese geomorphology:most ICHs have occurred in the low mountains and plains in the eastern part,followed by low and mid-height mountains in the southeast,high and mid-height mountains and plains in the northern part,and high and mid-height mountains in the southwestern part; the Tibetan Plateau had the fewest projects.That is to say,ICHs were negatively correlated with terrain height;and distribution of ICHs are taken obvious differences in different geomorphic.In addition,some special circumstances should be paid attention to,as distinctive geomorphology could have unusual projects.The author found a very interesting example related to fishing:the"River Song"was distributed in the Yellow River area and along the Yangtze River;and the"Scripture of South China Sea Canalage"was located in Hainan;projects in those locations are all dependent on local topography and geomorphology.

3.6.2 Climate distribution

Climate is a long average of atmospheric and physical characteristics,and affects all living things.It has an important influence on human production activities and a significant effect on ICH distribution.According to a standard classification system,China is divided into 14 climatic zones,as in Figure 7b.ICHs are mainly distributed in three of these:the warm temperate, the northern subtropical, and the middle subtropical;but there are no projects in the plateau subtropical mountain and the plateau tropical north-fringe mountain areas.Hence,one can see that the ICHs are mainly concentrated in moist areas that galvanize population growth;and then,the culture was born at the right moment”resolve this confusion.The effect of climate on ICHs is more prominent in Folklore than other types of ICUs;examples include the 24 solar terms,the De'angs'Jiaohua Festival,the Tibetan astronomical calendar,and paddy-cultivation customs,all of which are based on the local climate.It can be said that full range of climate types in China laid the foundation for the ICHs.

Figure 7 Density of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)projects in China,summarized by regionalization

3.6.3 Hydrologic distribution

From ancient times to the present,water resources have directly affected humans'choice of living environment,resulting in patterns of human settlement.There are 11 hydrological belts in China;and Figure 7c shows that ICHs are mainly distributed in four of these:the abundant and balanced region in the northeast with warm temperate climate,the abundant region in Southeast China with subtropical and tropical climate,the abundant region in southwest China with subtropical and tropical climate,and the balanced region in the Qinling-Dabie Mountains with a north subtropical temperate climate.In contrast,very few ICHs were in the dry region on the Qiangtang Plateau with its subfrigid and frigid climate.Water distribution in China occurs on a diminishing scale from east to west and from south to north.A further observation of Figure 7c shows that intensively distributed ICHs are located in the eastern and southern parts of China,which are more likely to be moist,with abundant rainfall.As this paper said at the outset,water affects distribution of ICHs.The results support the statement.

3.6.4 Soil distribution

The soil is loose on the surface,which affects terrestrial and some marine organisms directly or indirectly.ICHs are distributed across 17 soil belts in China,with the largest number in red and yellow soils,followed by brown and cinnamon,yellow-brown,and yellow-cinnamon(Figure 7d).Few ICHs occur in regions with mountain meadow soil,cold brown and lime soil,alpine steppe soil,and subalpine desert soil.In addition,alpine desert soil has no ICHs.Fertile soil promotes human rootedness;and they laboured,lived,and multiplied,breeding an everlasting human culture.Thus,the distribution of ICHs has been highly correlated with soil fertility,with most ICHs being located in high-fertility, high-humus-content soils with cultivation potential,such as aluminium-rich red and yellow soils and free-leaching brown soils.

3.6.5 Vegetation distribution

Vegetationis a general term for the plant communities that cover the land's surface and have a special ability to reflect the environment.Figure 7e shows that most ICHs have occurred in moist,broad-leaved/evergreen forests in the eastern part of the subtropical region and in broad-leaved forests in the warm temperate region;the remaining ICHs are dispersed across many vegetation types,but the proportion of each distribution is not more than 5%;the dense areas occupy almost the whole southeast part of China.Thus,the following is a key output of the current study:current ICHs are mainly located within pleasant environments in broad-leaved forest regions,with many also in landscapes of higher ornamental value,whereas few ICHs occur in regions with minor vegetative cover or coniferous forests.That is to say,the rich fruits of culture can be bred most readily in areas with warm or moist,broad-leaved forests rather than in other areas.Like any other regionalization,there is also no underestimated influence of the production and distribution of the vegetative environment upon ICHs in the same area.For example,Yichun is one of the famous forestry cities in China,and the city's ICHs projects are mostly related to forestry;the Songming woodcarving directly relies on the local vegetation.

3.6.6 Cultural distribution

Cultural patterns were also expected to significantly influence ICH distribution.Different people breed different cultural areas;this feature is particularly evident in distribution areas of ethnic minorities.Every ethnic group has created various characteristics of native culture;and there are great differences in life customs,festivals,traditions,and dress and makeup.Cultural regions are geographically divided into two first-level cultural areas,four secondlevel cultural subregions,and thirteen third-level cultural subregions.The largest concentration of ICHs was in the loess plateau cultural region,the Wuyue cultural region,and the agricultural cultural region of the minority nationalities in southwestern China.Figure 7f shows that ICHs decrease gradually,in the form of an arithmetic progression,in other cultural regions.The most densely distributed areas are frequently areas of human activity associated with developed agriculture or some minority nationality communities:the Yellow River,the Chinese mother river,has created Chinese civilization,whereas the middle reaches of the Yellow River where Sanmenxia is located is one of the cradles of the Chinese nation;these cultural areas are rich and well-established,with a long history,distinguished from ancient times by their characteristic human cultures.A formation of time and transmission, these features are propitious to creation and spread of ICHs.The Wu Yue culture area not only belongs to an economically developed region but also to an agricultural culture subdistrict of minority nationalities in the southwest.A large number of ethnic cultures has laid a solid foundation for ICHs'development.China has become the region with the most widely distributed ICHs,based on particularly favourable conditions and collisions of cultures.

3.7 Other factors

This article has discussed t he relationship between the distribution of ICHs in China and factors such as rivers, topography, and climate. In fact, the ICHs developed,they rooted in the natural and humanistic environment;the influencing factors and mechanisms are complicated and inexhaustible.The culture of Chinese ICH was born in a particular complex environment.However,it is difficult to collect those specific intricate data for analysis.By studying the existing literature and combining their findings,we know that in addition to the most important geographical factors,different historical backgrounds and national characteristics also produce unique cultural types in every ICH region,which presents unique regional,historical,and national characteristics.Most of the ICHs come from the people,influenced by ethnic factors based on the special background of Chinese multiethnicity(Kimet al.,2019),and also,War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,population migration,the geographical environment,and historical factors that produced the cultural exchange collision over thousands of years of tradition.At the same time,some unknown cultures disappeared over the long history and several new cultures emerged over the course of the development of China;the political,economic,and cultural centres have gradually changed.According to data provided by the China National Academy of Art,there were 367 kinds of theatres in the late 1950s but no more than 200 kinds still performing today;that is to say,over the past half-century,100 kinds of Chinese theatres have disappeared.Liu Kuili,president of the Chinese Folklore Society,once pointed out that during the dance census in 1980s,there were 221 dances in the Dance Integration of 19 provinces such as Shanxi and Yunnan;but only 1,389 dances had been retained in 2010,and 853 projects had disappeared or lacked inheritance activities,accounting for nearly 37%of the total at that time.The results of the survey of the arts and crafts industry completed by the China Arts and Crafts Association in 2006 showed that of the 764 traditional arts and crafts varieties in China,52.49%were endangered due to a lack of successors;and some had even discontinued.The language situation is even more serious:more than 120 languages have been found in China,but ten of them are in an"endangered state".For example,there are more than 10 million Manchu people in China;but fewer than 100 can speak or write Manchu,mostly the elderly.Only 3%-5%of the Tujia people can speak Tujia at present.In the whole of Hezhe,fewer than 100 people are proficient in their own native language(Wang and Hu,2012).

Cultural heritage is the accumulation of culture,which can be defined as information or behaviour created within a community;it is the witness of history,as the carrier the history of human civilization,and plays an irreplaceable role in reflecting the footprint of human social development.Historical factors have affected the whole process of the emergence,development,and even extinction of ICHs,in the form of population migration and cultural diffusion.In the most typical case,many young people went out of their home area to work,resulting in the fracture of inheritance patterns.For example,during the 1293-1757 period, the Kirgiz people experienced three major migrations,which resulted in a miserable condition of a great loss of writing,with only a small number of people remaining who can communicate with each other.After the Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12,2008,population movement in the Qiang area disrupted the cultural and ecological protection and inheritance patterns,which presented another severe test for protection and inheritance of ICH.

In addition,the differences in economic development levels,excavation and protection methods,and financial support lead to the uneven distribution of ICHs.Some scholars(Yang,2018)have found the government's policy has a great positive effect on the development,protection,and inheritance of ICH.In the past ten years,activities such as the establishment of heritage bases and the publication of heritage works have increased the vitality and number of ICHs; and active local protection and declaration work has promoted vigorous excavation in the region;for example, Ningbo alone has 12 ICH projects.Against the background of globalization,all countries are working to mine and preserve ICHs;all countries in the world have sufficient knowledge within on their own cultural industry development of the culture in China as a great power,one that is once again a rising power;development of cultural industries is essential;increasing emphasis is placed on ICHs'protection and exploration.However,the investment in ICHs based on the imbalance of regional development in the provinces and cities is different,and some ICHs that are unable to produce economic benefits are lacking in attention from the government and relevant departments,resulting in their decline and even disappearance.

4 Discussion

ICH is a vivid embodiment of world cultural diversity,the representation of human creativity,an important basis for the sustainable development of human society,and an important channel for close relationships between people and mutual understanding.The representative successors are a vast number of inheritors and practitioners,and most projects are shared by group members through collective inheritance and sustainable recreation(Meskell,2015).In this study,spatial analysis methods were integrated to identify ICH distribution patterns and the factors influencing spatial distribution.Spatial analysis methods are often used to analyse the spatial distribution of physical geographical phenomena.We have applied the method to cultural geographical phenomena.Prior work has expounded the feasibility of various approaches in protecting,exploiting,and inheriting and so on from essentials and features of ICH.Wang and Bramwell(2012)once explained the contradiction between protection and development in ICH,from the point of view of the economic and political.Cominelli and Greffe(2012)put forward various protective measures from a case study.Sedita's results(2012)suggest a possible way to create economic value by using ICH.For Ottet al.(2015),the problems in presentday research and future research directions ofsmritiwere discussed.However,these studies have either been case studies or have not focused on geographical factors.This paper is a good example of implementing the importance of ICH with protection.We have revealed the present situation of development and distribution of ICH in China and achieved the desired aims via analytical results of the whole country.Obviously,the distribution of Chinese ICHs has a special distinctiveness in space that ICH follows the Hu Huanyong population line. ICHs mainly showed aggregated distributions at relatively bigger scales.Moreover,ICHs are more biased towards the field of culture;but we can't ignore the features of nature,such as warm and humid climate and fertile soil.As we said,considerable research on ICH examines protection, development, and reconstruction; but few efforts complete spatialization from the macro level to show the status quo and reveal the essence.For this reason;different procedures are applied to different requirements of ICH with measures suitable to local conditions.Finally,this paper realizes the current situation of all projects'research and analysis,with the aid of GIS,to provide compelling evidence for the present state and leading factors throughout the country.

Due to insubstantial materials,ICHs are vulnerable to influences from their initiation through their development.This paper considered potential projects in view of distribution:(1)ICHs are too widely distributed to easily assess which regions they"should"belong to;and there are some limitations in application and evaluation.Some projects that bring little economic benefit cannot attract the attention of relevant departments;neglect has contributed to ICHs'remaining undiscovered,declining,and vanishing.(2)Because the social economy and technology have risen steadily,people have paid little attention to traditional culture;and some items are inheriting difficulty with technology,which leads to the plight of extinction.(3)With the growing attention to the various effects of ICH,the work of protection by the government has become a strong force;but many works have sunk into a state of form without value or meaning,a state of form without value or meaning,even abandoning the unique emotional characteristics of ICH for economic benefits;there's a great chance the commercial activities may damage historic resources.

Considering their above mentions,the state should pay more attention to the exploration and utilization,especially to the underdeveloped areas with potential ICHs;it is appropriate to tilt opinion in favour of ICHs in the sparse western region to realize the effective development of cultural heritage space.The sure route to success regarding ICSs is to strengthen attention,provide multiple protections,emphasize inheritance,consider education,raise awareness of protection,and prevent the loss of ICH.Based on the analysis above,this paper argues that the following points should not be neglected:

(1)An ICH is rooted in its geographical environment,and different regional environments creating different types of culture.Simultaneously,the principle of classification guidance and diversity protection should always be embodied in the protection of ICH.For endangered ethnic languages and projects that are entries on the United Nations list,for example,the mode of regional coverage protection should be adopted to implement measures and means over the whole region.In the case of ICHs weak in resisting external interference,poor in compatibility and inclusiveness,they require independent preservation effort from people,as well as implementation of growth-protection measures.

(2)The construction of different types or levels of protection bases should be gradually explored,such as cultural heritage bases, folk-custom townships,folk-art ecological protection areas,folk-culture tourism scenic areas,folk-art industry bases,and so on.

(3)The distribution of ICHs has a direct connection with the level of regional economic development;it should be properly combined with market operation and promote the development of the regional economy so as to advance the development and utilization of ICHs.

(4)The distribution of both ethnic minorities and ICHs in China is homologous,characterized by their coupling,with the number of ICHs of ethnic minorities accounting for more than 56% of the total.Therefore,we should think highly of minority cultures,especially in regards to strengthening the exploration and protection of endangered cultures in poor areas,and not emphasize preservation of the original ecology of projects.

(5)Region is of vital importance to determine the cultural characteristics of ICHs;that is,the local culture leaves its mark on project during every project's process of production and evolution,making it not possible for us to break away from the cultural area to confront merely protection or other aspects.Instead,we need to pay more attention to the culture of the various regions and integrate resources of each cultural area at a higher level,realize cultural innovation,and enrich the cultural connotation.

(6)The most effective way to extend the vitality of this historical product—individual ICH projects—is not isolationism and conservatism but full inclusivity and equitability to keep pace with the times,especially in ethnic minority areas.

(7)We must emphasize"activation"and raise the level of ICH to the systemic:the primary way is to protect and inspire the inheritors and folk artists,through government guidance and market operation.Secondly,the focal groups are young people,especially local young people who act as cultural connections.Thirdly,cultural inheritance has to be socialized;public concern and social identification can be achieved only by constructing a pluralistic,mass-participation platform and media-communications mode.

With the steady improvement of material life over the past half-century, the historical developments have changed social life at a certain level.But the two effects are opposite and uniform in some measure(Ai and Lu,2010).Technology boosts development;similarly,the convenience and diversity brought by a fastfood social style leads to abandonment of traditional culture. The handicrafts, technologies, stories, and customs related to ICHs have been forsaken,greatly impacting traditional culture and making their inheritance difficult.However,fixed and monotonous replicas fixed and monotonous replicas and vulgar cultural products brought about by modern electronic equipment with diverse functions and omnipresent omnipresent machine-assembly lines,as well as the lack of humanistic feelings,have impelled people's attempts to retrieve traditional culture,with designers longing to reproduce traditional culture and beginning to pursue a slow but novel and nearly perfect way of working.It is possible to reproduce the traditional culture by the innovating and expanding of cultural concepts,so it behoves us to inherit neither all the rules nor sheer negation.Most of the ICHs have regional characteristics,which makes urban neighbourhoods keen to make up a variety of facias to promote their unique culture.Developing surrounding products,enriching local economic growth points,reintegrating ancient and new,and giving practitioners of the cultural industry new options has been the inevitable way to reappear and innovate.Furthermore,the preeminent conduct of a powerful combination with other traditional cultures,as typified by"sharing the ICHs",has been a major topic of discussion in recent years.A special protection organization should be established as a constructive systematic opportunity, such as the"Belt and Road Initiative",by identifying overseas Chinese and other accredited persons as the shared ICH representative successors;innovating the inheritance and propaganda form of the shared ICH;constructing the supervision mechanism,dispute-settlement mechanism,and harmonized standards mechanism;and forming a systematic protection system of shared ICH,which is beneficial to inheritance and protection.

Any cultural phenomenon is a product of its times,as well as something that evolves over time.However,as ICH is one of the productions of human activities under complex environmental conditions,some confines are worth noting as we do the spatial analysis for present-day projects,which leads to some limitations.In the future,the following should be further explored.How to make time-series on the emergence and development of categories?How to find out the core dynamic mechanism that affects the spatial distribution of ICH from many regional factors,to understand laws of the occurrence and development of Chinese cultural resources,and what factors are the most fatal and real?Future work also should focus on some contradictions:protection and development,tradition and reality;these eternal topics also beset ICH,how troubling contradictions should be balanced effectively?And how to combine the spatial factors to find ways to meet the impact of advanced science for ancient technology?How to quantitatively evaluate the impact of various complex factors on ICH?

5 Conclusions

The large number of Chinese ICHs falls into different categories that vary greatly in size.Chinese ICHs have demonstrated spatial aggregation and form two high-density core areas,three sub-density core areas,and some small core areas.

The ICH types found in different areas vary greatly.Performance Arts are highly concentrated in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region,the Hunan-Hubei-Guizhou region,the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,and the Yangzi River Delta region.Under the category Social Practice,Ritual,and Festive Event,folk customs and festivals are highly concentrated in the border region of Shaanxi and Shanxi,the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,and the Yangzi River Delta region.Folk Literature projects are highly concentrated in the Yangzi River Delta region and downstream of the Yellow River.Traditional Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe are highly concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Traditional Craftsmanship projects are highly concentrated in the southeastern coastal areas.

ICH has close relations not only with flat,water-rich,broad-leaved-forest-dominated plains and low mountain areas of fertile soil,pleasant weather,and a long history of culture but also with the national environment,the economic situation,history,politics,and military affairs.

Due to the influence of industrial revolutions and immateriality,inheritance of ICH has faltered.We contend that the limitations of assessment and locations actually contributed to the phenomenon of imbalance in regional distribution, the mismatch between resource richness and development level.So,exploring a route of sustainable and balanced development for ICH is one of the major contradictions in cultural work.

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41661025)and the Research Capacity Promotion Program for Young Teachers of Northwest Normal University(Grant No.NWNU-LKQN-16-7).