Spatial Pattern and Influencing Factors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Karst Areas: A Case Study of Guizhou Province

Clarifying the spatial pattern of the distribution of intangible cultural heritage in karst areas is conducive to make an inventory of the current situation of resources and objectively understand the production process of regional culture, so as to improve the management, protection and development level of intangible cultural heritage. Based on the geographical spatial perspective, using GIS spatial analysis method, this paper discusses the type structure, spatial pattern and influencing factors of 1 023 intangible cultural heritages in nine prefectures and cities of Guizhou Province. The research finds that: (1) The types of intangible cultural heritage in Guizhou Province are well-organized, with the largest number of folklore, while Quyi, traditional medicine and traditional art are relatively scarce; (2) The spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Guizhou Province is unbalanced, Guiyang city and Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture are the dual core, the central and eastern regions are clustered obviously, while the western regions are less distributed; (3) Nearly 90 percent of the intangible cultural heritage in Guizhou Province is concentrated in the low and low-middle karst mountain areas with the altitude below 1 400 m, the proportion of Quyi is the highest. While the distribution of traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics and traditional skills fits well with the main river basins, folk literature has a high correlation with the spatial distribution of main traffic arteries in the Ming and Qing Dynasties; (4) Natural and humanistic factors, such as topography, water system, culture, transportation and economy, have an important impact on the spatial pattern of intangible cultural heritage in karst areas.