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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Geoscience and Society
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1556652
Spatial distribution patterns and influencing factors of sports intangible cultural heritage in China
Provisionally accepted
Wenhai Kou 1
Jiahao Zhai 2*- 1 Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 2 Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
As an integral component of China's intangible cultural heritage (ICH), sports intangible cultural heritage (SICH) holds immense significance and importance in cultural inheritance, social cohesion, health promotion, values education, cultural innovation. However, the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of SICH have not been extensively explored. Therefore, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the spatial patterns and influencing factors of SICH utilizing gGeographic iInformation sSystem (GIS) spatial analysis methods such as geographic concentration index and kernel density estimation. The results reveal that SICH exhibits a spatially clustered distribution, with the highest concentrations in Hebei, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces. Notably, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region are identified as areas with particularly high densities of SICH. The analysis of natural and human factors indicates that altitude, climate, rivers, GDP, and population density significantly influence the distribution of SICH, while the presence of core cities does not have a notable impact.the overall distribution of SICH in China is characterized by spatial clustering, with Hebei, Guangdong, and Zhejiang hosting the largest number of SICH. Moreover, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region exhibit concentrated and high densities of SICH. Through analyzing two different aspects-natural geography and human society-it is evident that altitude, climate, rivers, GDP, and population density significantly influence the distribution of SICH, whereas the core city does not exert a significant effect. This research provides valuable insights into the spatial distribution patterns of SICH and offers a foundation for future preservation and promotion strategies.
Keywords: Sports, Intangible Cultural Heritage, spatial distribution, GIS, China
Received: 07 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kou and Zhai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jiahao Zhai, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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