Spatial distribution and cause of cultural resources in Xinjiang:Taking intangible cultural heritage as an example

Intangible cultural heritage is rooted in a specific environment and has witnessed the development of human history and human migration. Cultural heritage is linked closely with the spread and diffusion of human civilization. To the northwest of the heartland of Chinese civilization, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang), China is an area of lonely, rugged mountains and vast desert basins; the area is 1646900 km2. The indigenous population consists of agriculturalists and pastoralists, who inhabit the oases strung out along the mountain foothills or wander the arid plains searching for pasturage. The area was thinly populated by herders and oasis farmers organized into small kingdoms and tribal alliances. A trade route, the“silk route”, passed through a series of oasis settlements south of the Tianshan Mountains. This route carried Chinese silk to Europe in exchange for precious metals, glassware, and woolen cloth. Xinjiang has many sources of intangible cultural heritage. Although some studies on the spatial distribution and relative influence factors of intangible cultural heritage revealed natural factors as basic influencing factors, there are unknown factors, especially humanity factors. This research aimed to provide a foundational understanding of the factors from the perspective of cultural diffusion. The spatial distribution characteristics of Xinjiang were examined. An analysis of the spatial characteristics of 484 items of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) (including national and regional projects) in Xinjiang was performed with the help of ArcGIS 10.3 space analysis tools. The distribution characteristics of various types of ICH are unique to each type of ICH according to the method of K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and density of kernel (KDE), in which the search radius was 1.5 decimals. Therefore, further factor analysis will be needed based on nature and humanity. The results revealed the following. (1) The overall intangible cultural heritage in Xinjiang is cohesive. Traditional dramas and folk art from the central plains, as the main body, are scattered in individual areas. Traditional skills, traditional dances, and traditional music, which are closely related to life, are distributed evenly, forming multiple high- density areas. Folk literature, traditional music, and traditional dance are close to each other in space, interdependent, and coexist. The traditional skills, traditional music, and traditional dance, which are distributed in high-density in the edge of the Taklimakan Desert south of the Tianshan Mountains, are the main ancient land Silk Road posts. (2) ICH space in Xinjiang is related to the geomorphology and river distribution and has a major impact on the proliferation and development of ICH by the ancient Silk Road and human migration. Furthermore, the level of economic development has a multi-faceted impact. This study shows that historical factors play an important role in the ICH spatial distribution.