Analysis on the geographical spatial distribution pattern and influencing factors of the intangible cultural heritage in China based on geodetectors

A spatial distribution dataset comprising 3610 national intangible cultural heritage items （abbreviated as “intangible heritage”） in China， encompassing five batches were utilized. From a geographical perspective， geographical detectors and geographical spatial analysis methods were employed to investigate and examine the spatial distribution pattern and influencing factors of national intangible heritage. The findings revealed that： （1） There was an uneven structural distribution of these types. The overall distribution of intangible heritage numbers followed a staircase pattern， primarily consisting of traditional crafts， folk customs， traditional opera， traditional art， and traditional music. It was followed by traditional dance， folk literature and quyi； whereas other projects exhibited sparse structures. （2） Regional disparities in the spatial distribution of national intangible heritage were relatively evident. The nearest neighbor index for intangible heritage numbers was 0.4799， indicating a clear aggregation feature in space. Overall， the distribution displayed an east⁃dense and west⁃sparse geographic pattern with significantly higher numbers of national intangible heritage items in the eastern region compared to the middle and western regions. A high⁃density core area along with three sub⁃density core areas had been formed nationwide in the spatial distribution of national intangible heritage alongside several relatively independent small core areas. （3） Results from geographic detectors indicated that human factors exerted the most significant influence on this phenomenon followed by social and economic factors while natural factors demonstrated comparatively weaker influence. However， when natural environmental factors interacted with human factors as well as social and economic factors， collectively explained their impact on geographic distributions.