Research on the construction of intangible cultural heritage corridors in the Yellow River Basin based on GIS and MCR model
Authors: Li Xiaobin , Zhu Rong , Shi Chengyong , Yang Xueke , Chen Jizhou , Wei Kexin 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

The Yellow River Basin spans the three major regions of China: east, middle and west. It is a gathering area for various ethnic groups and is a cross-cultural intersection in China. It has given birth to rich and colourful intangible cultural heritage throughout its history. Studying the spatial distribution characteristics of intangible cultural heritage and constructing heritage corridors have important theoretical and practical significance for the sustainable development and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage in regions.This study takes a total of 1,042 national-level intangible cultural heritage items in five batches in the Yellow River Basin as the research object, follows the research framework of "Intangible Cultural Heritage Spatial Identification—Suitability Analysis—Corridor Simulation and Extraction", and comprehensively uses GIS spatial analysis. Using methods such as the minimum cumulative resistance model, a Yellow River Basin intangible cultural heritage corridor construction system integrating "network structure-spatial scope" and "elements-axis-region" is proposed. The research results reveal the following conclusions: (1) The intangible cultural heritage sites in the Yellow River Basin are generally distributed in an agglomeration pattern characterized by "more in the south and less in the north; dense in the east and sparse in the west", forming a "1+1+3" and "Π" pattern. The spatial distribution pattern of agglomeration (one ultrahigh density area, one high density area and three subdensity agglomeration areas) provides an important spatial basis for the construction of intangible cultural heritage corridors. (2) The suitability of site selection for the construction of intangible cultural heritage corridors is generally better in the eastern region than in the western region. The suitable area (high, medium-high suitable) is 2842763.44 km2, accounting for 81.5% of the total area of the nine Yellow River provinces and regions, and the unsuitable area (medium, low, and unsuitable) is 644,245.19 km2, accounting for 18.5% of the total area of the nine Yellow River provinces. (3) Based on the suitability analysis, a ”21+N” Yellow River Basin intangible cultural heritage corridor system (21 major intangible cultural heritage corridors, several secondary intangible cultural heritage corridors, etc.) was constructed in the Yellow River Basin through data visualization; this system was distributed in the eastern, central and southern regions. The main corridor had a suitable width of 60-100 km, a length of approximately 20421 km and a total area of approximately 1736113 km2. A total of 901 (86.47%) intangible cultural heritage sites were included in the series. This study revealed the distribution characteristics of intangible cultural heritage sites in the Yellow River Basin and constructed an intangible cultural heritage corridor network in the Yellow River Basin, providing a model that can be used for reference in the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage sites in the Yellow River Basin.