Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou Rocky Desertification Area

Abstract

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is characterized by a fragile ecological environment, along with the inhabitation of many ethnic minorities, making it the region with the most poverty-alleviation targets among the 14 concentrated poverty-stricken areas in China. However, this area has obvious cultural resources, but it lacks systematic study. Therefore, integral investigation and research which can promote the sustainable development with abundant culture resource should pay more attention to it. This study, with 1113 national and provincial intangible cultural heritage projects in this area as research objects, used ArcGIS to visualize their geographic data for research. Geodetector was used to quantify the influence of relevant factors and analyze the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of intangible cultural heritage in this region. By providing a correlative strategy, the aim is to promote the coordinated development of the regional cultural economy. The results are as follows: (1) Guizhou exhibits the highest distribution of intangible cultural heritage projects, followed by Guangxi and Yunnan, indicating an uneven number of intangible cultural heritage projects. (2) A spatial analysis shows the clustered spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage projects in this area, forming a high-density core area and multiple sub high-density areas with high spatial autocorrelation. (3) The spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage in the rocky desertification areas of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou is generally correlated with survival orientation and natural environmental factors and positively correlated with development orientation and social, economic, ethnic, and cultural factors. Among many factors, cultural environment quantity exhibits the strongest correlation with the spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage. (4) Based on the degree of correlation with different influencing factors, four development strategies are proposed: digitization of intangible cultural heritage inheritance and development, multi-media intangible cultural heritage creation and dissemination, innovative construction of intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, and tourism-driven dynamic inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

1. Introduction

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is the essence of human wisdom and serves as a vessel for national memory, bearing human civilization and reflecting cultural diversity [1]. ICH was introduced in the Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore by UNESCO in 1989. In 2003, UNESCO formally adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. As an important part of local culture, ICH has received increasing global attention. China became a signatory to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2004. In October 2022, China unveiled its cultural development plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period and stated a clear commitment to strengthen the protection and inheritance of ICH. The plan prioritizes the overall and systematic protection to improve the practical capacity of ICH and facilitate its integration into production and life. This area integrates old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, and border areas [2]. Central to current research and solutions is the examination of the spatial distribution characteristics of ICH and its influencing factors. Additionally, there is an effort to promote the development of local ICH, rural revitalization, and poverty alleviation.

Based on a review of the related literature, international scholars have studied ICH through theoretical constructs and discussions [3]. They explored concepts and protection mechanisms [4,5], as well as shared practical experience in the management and development of ICH [6,7]. Presently, Chinese scholars have mainly studied the concept [8,9], classification [10], and utilization, as well as protection, of ICH [11,12]. From a geographical perspective, their focus has shifted towards the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of ICH. Yuan (2012) researched Guangdong [13], Jiang (2019) researched Chongqing [14], and Hu (2017) researched Hubei [15], and their research primarily targeted national and provincial levels, as well as certain contiguous areas. Rock desertification is the exposure of rocks caused by special landform structures and unreasonable development and exploitation by humans [16]. The rocky desertification area in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, located on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, is a significant example of karst landform development areas in the world. It serves as an important ecological safety zone for China and has been home to many ethnic groups for generations. It is rich in natural landscape. However, areas affected by rocky desertification feature a highly vulnerable ecological environment and limited agricultural resources. The excessive exploitation of land resources exacerbates ecological degradation, which worsens cycles of poverty in the region. As a result, it has become one of the most challenging areas for poverty alleviation among the 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas in China [2]. Research in this region has centered on poverty alleviation [17], industrial development, and ecological preservation [18,19], with few works in the literature on ICH [20].

Academic research and poverty-alleviation practices have contributed to local economic conditions and the mitigation of local rocky desertification. However, in response to the national strategy of building China into a strong country in regard to culture, this region must design a reasonable cultural industry plan based on regional ethnic cultural resources without negative environmental influence. Therefore, based on the rich cultural resources in this area, it is particularly critical to explore the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of ICH in this context. Understanding the mechanisms driving the development of ICH serves as a crucial foundation for the centralized and contiguous economic development in this area. Based on the perspective of cultural geography, this study used ArcGIS10.8 software to visually map the spatial distribution of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. This study analyzed the distribution characteristics and its formation mechanism from three aspects: natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture. The findings will provide insights for the overall development of ICH in the region and promote the sustainable development of the cultural economy, as well as the ecology of rural culture.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, located in Southwest China, spans across Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou provinces, including 15 prefecture-level administrative divisions and 91 county-level administrative regions (Figure 1). Covering about 228,000 square kilometers, it stretches from 103°40′ E to 110°90′ E in longitude and from 21.58° N to 27.53° N in latitude. This region is characterized as a relatively undeveloped ethnic area in China’s border areas, located in the transition zone from Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the Guangxi Basin. It exhibits a typical plateau mountain structural terrain, with rich natural landscape resources. However, the widespread distribution of carbonate rocks has led to extensive rocky desertification is wide, along with a diverse landscape but fragile ecology [21]. The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is home to many ethnic groups, including Han, Miao, Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, and other 14 ethnic groups. This has given rise to unique national cultures, including aspects such as food, clothing, architecture, etiquette, festivals, literature, and art. With the largest expanse, most concentrated distribution, and highest degree of rocky desertification in China, this area has become one of China’s concentrated contiguous poverty-stricken areas [22].

2.2. Data Resource

This paper analyzes national and provincial ICH projects in the rocky desertification areas of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou. These projects, including formal and expanded ones, outline cultural heritage of different origins. They reflect regional cultural sources of various types of ICH, as well as their diversity. The data for national ICH items were obtained from the website of China Intangible Cultural Heritage (http://www.ihchina.cn/ accessed on 10 September 2023), comprising 143 items listed in five batches from 2006 to 2021. On the other hand, the data for provincial ICH items were collected from the official websites of the culture and tourism departments in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, respectively. After excluding those overlapping with national ICH projects, a total of 970 provincial ICH projects, amounting to 1113 listings in total, were identified. Elevation data were obtained from the geospatial data cloud (https://www.gscloud.cn, accessed on 10 September 2023), while air temperature, hydrology, and road data were acquired from the National Earth System Science Data Center (http://www.geodata.cn/, accessed on 10 September 2023). The hydrology and road data were calculated and processed into river density and road network density using ArcGIS. Sensitivity data regarding rocky desertification in each county were sourced from the research paper of Hu Yunfeng, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences [23]. Urbanization rate, tertiary industry share, population density, ethnic population share, and GDP data were derived from the regional yearbook and the seventh Census Bulletin of China. The Digital Villages Index is from the China Digital Villages Development Report. In terms of the number of cultural environments, data on traditional villages were obtained from the sixth edition of the Directory of Traditional Chinese Villages, while data on cultural centers and museums were sourced from Baidu map search (

Table 1. Data source.

Type	Data	Description	Source
Subject	ICH	Convert the geographical coordinates of ICH items into Point element	Intangible Cultural Heritage Net of China https://www.ihchina.cn/ (accessed on 10 September 2023)
Natural environment factor	Elevation	SRTM DEM with 90 m resolution	Geospatial Data Cloud: https://www.gscloud.cn/ (accessed on 10 September 2023)
	Rocky desertification	Rocky desertification sensitivity of each county	DOI:10.3390/app8112075
	Temperature	Raster data with 1 km resolution	The National Earth System Science Data Center: http://www.geodata.cn/ (accessed on 10 September 2023)
	River	River density of each county
Social economy factor	Road density	Road density of each county
	Rural digitization degree	Digital villages index of each county	Digital China Development Report
	GDP	Annual GDP of each county	The Resource and Environmental Science Data Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: http://www.resdc.cn/ (accessed on 11 September 2023)
	Proportion of tertiary industry	Annual tertiary industry divided by GDP of each county	The Ministry of Natural Resources of the P.R.C.: http://www.stats.gov.cn/ (accessed on 11 September 2023)
	Urbanization rate	Urban population divided by rural population of each county
	Population density	County population divided by county area
Ethnic culture factor	Proportion of minority population	County minority population divide by total
	Quantity of cultural environment	Traditional villages, cultural centers, and museum	Traditional Chinese village Digital Museum: http://www.dmctv.cn/ (accessed on 25 July 2023)

).

2.3. Research Methods

To indicate with greater accuracy the variable relationships and specific impact levels of different factors of ICH projects in the rocky desertification areas of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, this paper, with the geographic locations of ICH as point features, conducts a quantitative analysis and visualizes the data to provide a more intuitive representation of ICH distribution characteristics. After summarizing the mechanism of it, protection and development can be instructed (

Table 2. Statistical analysis.

No.	Indicator	Formula	Definition	Interpretation
1	Kernel Density Analysis	$f\left(x\right)=\frac{1}{nh}{\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^n}k\left(\frac{\chi -{\chi }_i}{h}\right)$	n represents the number of points in the domain; h represents the bandwidth; $k\left(\frac{\chi -{\chi }_i}{h}\right)$ represents the kernel function. $(\chi -{\chi }_i)$ indicates the distance from the estimated point $\chi$ to the ICH point ${\chi }_i$.	Measures the density of point elements in their surrounding neighborhood; the larger the $f\left(x\right)$ value, the denser the distribution of point [24].
2	Average Nearest Neighbor Index	$R=\frac{\overline{D}}{\overline{D}i}$	$\overline{D}$ is the actual nearest neighbor distance; $\overline{Di}$ is the theoretical nearest neighbor distance.	Measures the spatial distribution type of point elements. When R > 1, the points tend to be uniform distribution; when R = 1, the points tend randomly distribution; when R < 1, the points tend clustered distribution [25].
3	Global Moran’s I	$\mathrm{M}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{’}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{I}=\frac{\sum _{i=1}^n\sum _{j=1}^n{w}_{ij}\left(x_i-\overline{x}\right)\left(x_j-\overline{x}\right)}{\sum _{i=1}^n\sum _{j=1}^n{w}_{ij}\sum _{i=1}^n{\left(x_i-\overline{x}\right)}^2}$	$x_i$ and $x_j$ are the number of ICH in No. i county and No. $j$ county, $\overline{x}$ is the average number of ICH; $w_{ij}$ is a spatial weight matrix. n is the total number of ICH.	The values is [−1, 1], and the closer to 1, the more positive the autocorrelation of the factor, the closer to −1, the more negative the autocorrelation of the factor, 0 meaning random [26].
4	Imbalance Index	$S=\frac{\sum _{i=1}^n{Y}_i-50(n+1)}{100\times n-50(n+1)}$	n is the number of study areas; $Y_i$ is the cumulative proportion of the ith rank after the proportion of point elements in each region is ranked from large to small.	S is the imbalance index, which is between 0 and 1. The closer the value is to 1, the more unbalanced the distribution of cultural resources; the closer to 0, the more balanced the distribution of cultural resources [27].
5	Geodetector	$q=1-\frac{\sum _{h=1}^L{N}_h{\sigma }_h^2}{N{\sigma }^2}$	L is the stratification of the independent or dependent variable, $N_h$ and ${\sigma }_h^2$ are the number of elements and the variance of layer h, respectively, and N and ${\sigma }^2$ are the number of units and the variance of the whole, respectively.	q is the interpretation of influence factor on the space of cultural resource density; Analyze the strength of each factor on spatial differentiation. The q value is a measure of the detection force of the independent variable. the q value is [0, 1], and the closer to 1, the greater the influence of the factor [28,29].

). In the analysis of quantity structure, this paper first examines the quantities of various types of ICH in each county and then illustrates the degree of imbalance between different categories of ICH based on the imbalance index and Lorenz curve. In the spatial distribution analysis, ArcGIS 10.8’s kernel density estimation is employed to analyze the ICH point features in this area in order to explore their concentration level and primary concentration areas. To distinguish between clustered and random distribution patterns, the average nearest neighbor index measures the deviation of ICH point features from a random distribution. The global Moran’s index is utilized to detect the degree of spatial autocorrelation of ICH projects in each county, followed by the local Moran’s index to analyze the spatial autocorrelation distribution of ICH in different counties. In the influencing factors analysis, ArcGIS is used to extract the numerical values of various influencing factors, followed by the discretization into five categories. With kernel density as the dependent variable and the discretized data of influencing factors as the independent variable, data are detected by the Geodetector to calculate the explanatory power of each influencing factor on the spatial distribution of ICH and quantify the influence of each factor. Based on these methods, the result of quantity structure can probe the strategy of each ICH item by classification, the result of spatial distribution analysis can define different Centralized contiguous partition, and the result of influencing factors analysis can clear the key points of the strategies which might be used in protection and development.

3. Results

3.1. Distribution Characteristics of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou Rocky Desertification Area

3.1.1. Distribution Structure of ICH

According to the official classification of the ICH of China, the ICH in Yunnan, Guangxi ICH quantity is present, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is divided into 10 categories. A statistical analysis of the data is in

Table 3. Statistics on the number of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area.

	Folk Customs	Traditional Skills	Traditional Music	Traditional Dance	Folk Literature	Traditional Drama	Traditional Fine Arts	Traditional Sports	Traditional Medicine	Quyi	Total	Percentage
Anshun	14	11	9	3	4	4	2	5	1	0	53	0.0476
Baise	40	34	22	15	10	13	3	3	2	6	148	0.1330
Chongzuo	8	10	3	4	1	1	1	1	0	0	29	0.0261
Guilin	7	4	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	18	0.0162
Hechi	17	19	9	9	9	1	5	3	0	1	73	0.0656
Honghe	5	1	0	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	11	0.0099
Laibin	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.0036
Liuzhou	20	27	10	2	4	3	3	5	2	1	77	0.0692
Liupanshui	8	6	6	2	1	3	1	1	2	0	30	0.0270
Nanning	11	4	5	8	4	4	1	1	0	0	38	0.0341
Southeast Guizhou	126	51	38	24	19	14	22	11	10	6	321	0.2884
Southern Guizhou	29	29	8	15	4	6	2	5	3	3	104	0.0934
Southwest Guizhou	32	28	20	15	9	7	4	11	0	3	129	0.1159
Qujing	5	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	14	0.0126
Zhuang-miao	21	11	2	13	6	3	3	2	2	1	64	0.0575
Total	344	242	136	114	74	59	50	48	24	22	1113
Percentage	0.3091	0.2174	0.1222	0.1025	0.0665	0.0530	0.0449	0.0431	0.0216	0.01987

.

Guizhou Province has the largest number of ICH, accounting for 57.23% of the total ICH. Following Guizhou, Guangxi Province ranks second, with 34.77% of the total ICH, while Yunnan Province exhibits the lowest number of ICH, accounting for 8.00% of the total. The number of ICH varies greatly in different provinces. From the distribution across cities (or states), the highest number of various ICH projects appears in Southeast Guizhou, accounting for 28.84% of the total. Conversely, the number of ICH items in cities such as Honghe, Qujing, Guilin and Laibin is relatively small, with each having less than 20, accounting for less than 2.00% collectively.

There are significant differences in the distribution of different types of the ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. The largest number of ICH items consists of folk customs and traditional skills, with 344 and 242 items, respectively, which account for 52.69% of the total ICH; The number of traditional music and traditional dance is the second, with 136 and 114 items respectively, accounting for 12.22% and 10.24% of the total ICH. There are few intangible items in folk literature, traditional drama, traditional fine arts and traditional sports, accounting for 74, 59, 50, and 48, respectively; The number of traditional medicine and Quyi is the least, accounting for 2.16% and 1.98%, respectively. The results show that there are great differences among different kinds of intangible heritage items in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. According to Table 2, the imbalance index is S = 0.51, which is less than 1, which proves that the number of different kinds of ICH in this area is uneven. According to Table 2, the Lorentz curve graph (Figure 2) is drawn, and it is found that the curvature of Lorentz curve is greater than the average distribution curve, which further verifies its imbalance.

3.1.2. Distribution Type of ICH

Using the average nearest neighbor tool in ArcGIS10.8 software, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on the spatial distribution of the ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. The average neighborhood index of the ICH in this region was determined to be R = 0.354, which is less than 1. This indicates that the spatial distribution of the ICH in this area follows an aggregate distribution pattern.

According to the nearest neighbor index statistics of 10 kinds of ICH (

Table 4. All kinds of ICH nearest neighbor indexes in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area.

	All of ICH	Folk Customs	Traditional Skills	Traditional Music	Traditional Dance	Folk Literature	Traditional Drama	Traditional Fine Arts	Traditional Sports	Traditional Medicine	Quyi
Nearest Neighbor Ratio	0.354	0.4593	0.4998	0.5529	0.7696	0.7081	0.8665	0.8686	0.8043	0.9883	1.0627

), there are differences in the distribution of various ICH. The nearest neighbor index of traditional dance, traditional music, folk literature, folk custom, traditional fine arts, and traditional skills falls between 0.4 and 0.8, which shows an aggregated spatial distribution, among which the aggregation of folk custom is the most obvious. Traditional drama, traditional medicine and traditional sports have a nearest neighbor index between 0.8 and 1, which suggests a tendency towards random distribution, and the randomness of traditional medicine is the most obvious. Quyi’s nearest neighbor index is greater than 1, showing uniform distribution characteristics. The statistical results show 960 ICH projects with aggregate distribution characteristics, 131 projects with random distribution characteristics and 22 projects with uniform distribution characteristics in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area.

3.1.3. Distribution Density of ICH

Using the ArcGIS10.8 tool for kernel density analysis, the kernel density distribution maps for the total ICH and different kinds of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area are obtained (Figure 3 and Figure 4). According to Figure 3, the overall distribution of ICH in this region is clustered, and with the high-density core area mainly located in the northeast. Southwest Guizhou and Anshun, Liuzhou, and Guilin form several sub high-density core areas. In addition, a sub high-density core area has formed in the Baise, Guangxi Province.

The Kernel density of different kinds of ICH is shown in Figure 4, which reveals obvious high-density aggregation areas for all kinds of ICH. Folk customs, traditional dance, traditional fine arts, and traditional medicine ICH items are most concentrated in Southeast Guizhou in the northeast, forming a main core gathering area. Folk custom and traditional fine arts exhibit even distribution across other areas except the northeast. Traditional dance shows a sub high-density core area in the northwest, west, and south, while traditional medicine demonstrates a sub high-density core area in Liuzhou–Guilin and Anshun–Liupanshui. Traditional music has two high-density aggregation areas, namely in Southeast Guizhou and Anshun. Both traditional skills and Quyi ICH items present three main density core areas, and all of which form a high-density area in Southeast Guizhou in the northeast. Traditional skills form two sub high-density areas in Liuzhou–Guilin and Southwest Guizhou, while Quyi forms sub high-density areas in the south of Baise in the middle. The high-density areas of folk customs and traditional drama are mainly distributed in two bands: one high-density zone of folk literature is distributed in Southeast Guizhou, Southern Guizhou, and Liuzhou in the northeast, while the other is distributed in Liupanshui, Anshun, Southwest Guizhou, Hechi, Baise, and Nanning, which run through the north and south of the central part. Similarly, one of the high-density zones of traditional drama is distributed in Southeast Guizhou and Liuzhou in the northeast, while the other is distributed in Liupanshui, Anshun, Southwest Guizhou, and Baise in the middle. Traditional sports density concentration areas are mainly distributed in the north, with the high-density area present in Southwest Guizhou and part of the north of Baise.

3.1.4. Spatial Autocorrelation of ICH

Using the Global Moran’s I method, a spatial autocorrelation analysis of ICH items in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area was conducted, and the results are presented in

Table 5. Global Moran’s I index of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area.

	All of ICH	Folk Customs	Traditional Skills	Traditional Music	Traditional Dance	Folk Literature	Traditional Drama	Traditional Fine Arts	Traditional Sports	Traditional Medicine	Quyi
Moran’s I	0.4673	0.4936	0.1585	0.2148	0.1812	0.0574	0.022	0.5952	0.1402	0.1842	0.1256

. The Moran’s I values for both the overall ICH items and various ICH items were all greater than 0, indicating a positive correlation between the quantity distribution of ICH in adjacent counties. Among them, the spatial correlation of ICH items of folk customs and traditional fine arts exhibits the most obvious patterns, while the distribution of ICH related to folk literature and traditional drama tends to be more random.

The above is the autocorrelation degree of the distribution of ICH items in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. Additionally, Anselin Local Moran’s I was used to further supplement the analysis of autocorrelation of ICH items in this area. There are four results, namely “high–high cluster”, “low–low cluster”, “high–low outlier”, and “low–high outlier”. The former value represents the number of clustered autocorrelations in the region, while the latter value denotes the number of clustered autocorrelations around the region. Overall, the ICH items in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area show a prominent “high–high cluster” in the northeast (Figure 5), mainly concentrated in the Southeast Guizhou and its surrounding areas. In the west of this region, counties such as Qiubei and Xichou demonstrate a “low–low cluster”, while counties including Lingyun, Fengshan, Donglan, and Du’an in the middle of Guangxi, along with Xixiu District and Huishui in the southwest, exhibit a “low–low cluster” as well. Wenshan county in the west of this region shows a “high–low outlier”, while Rong’an County in the east of Guangxi and Anlong County in the west of Guizhou show “low–high outliers”. Furthermore, all types of ICH items in this area show autocorrelation also (Figure 6), with items such as folk custom, traditional music, traditional dance, traditional fine arts, traditional medicine, and Quyi all showing autocorrelation in Southeast Guizhou and its surrounding areas, mostly in the form of “high–high clusters”. Among these, folk customs also show more “low-low clusters” in the middle, while traditional music also shows “low–low clusters” in the west. Traditional drama mostly shows autocorrelation in the southern part of this area, characterized by a mix of “high–low outlier” and “low–high outlier”. The autocorrelation areas of traditional skills, folk literature and traditional sports appear more scattered, and the traditional skills show more “high–high clusters”, while the folk literature and traditional sports demonstrate more “high–low outliers” and “low–high outliers”.

3.2. Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution Characteristics of ICH in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou Rocky Desertification Area

The spatial distribution of ICH is influenced by multiple factors. Based on the study of the spatial distribution characteristics of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, this study used ArcGIS to collect the geographical data of influencing factors from three aspects: natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture. Subsequently, values were extracted for the ICH point elements to explore the variable relationship between the spatial distribution of ICH and the influencing factors in this area. Geodetector was employed to analyze the influence factors, and the q-value results of the influence of each factor on the spatial distribution of all ICH and different types of ICHs in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area were calculated (

Table 6. Single factor of ICH influencing factors in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area.

	Elevation	Annual Average Temperature	River Density	Rocky Desertification Sensitivity	Population Density	Annual per Capita GDP	Proportion of Tertiary Industry	Road Network Density	Urbanization Rate	Digital Villages Index	Proportion of Minority Population	Quantity of Cultural Environment
All of ICH	0.073	0.0948	0.259	0.0776	0.0951	0.0952	0.1739	0.0932	0.18	0.1004	0.0817	0.28499
Traditional skills	0.1634	0.1315	0.2195	0.1242	0.0563	0.1464	0.186	0.1085	0.1827	0.1881	0.1519	0.3193
Traditional fine arts	0.3477	0.4554	0.2303	0.1168	0.2949	0.3033	0.2026	0.2332	0.377	0.2226	0.1236	0.3915
Traditional sports	0.0666	0.0774	0.24	0.1293	0.0797	0.1796	0.1121	0.1564	0.0641	0.1883	0.1253	0.1647
Traditional dance	0.0987	0.1968	0.1304	0.0571	0.109	0.1356	0.1936	0.1863	0.2279	0.1427	0.0308	0.2751
Traditional drama	0.0783	0.0869	0.1545	0.0425	0.1796	0.3617	0.1365	0.1233	0.317	0.2739	0.117	0.0004
Traditional medicine	0.288	0.2969	0.1991	0.0733	0.2369	0.3448	0.5017	0.1982	0.2232	0.2757	0.1059	0.2086
Traditional music	0.0561	0.2639	0.0372	0.0755	0.1129	0.0599	0.171	0.2115	0.2052	0.1368	0.0525	0.2314
Folk literature	0.1734	0.1257	0.2248	0.1301	0.0969	0.1865	0.0684	0.1393	0.1284	0.1066	0.1302	0.1784
Folk customs	0.1559	0.2241	0.2282	0.0777	0.1602	0.1492	0.236	0.184	0.1308	0.0622	0.1549	0.3766
Quyi	0.1967	0.3469	0.0846	0.2075	0.1411	0.182	0.138	0.3365	0.2374	0.0297	0.2395	0.5036

).

3.2.1. Analysis of Influence Factors

Based on various indicators, the explanatory power of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area regarding the spatial distribution of ICH is as follows: the quantity of cultural environment (0.2849) > river density (0.2591) > urbanization rate (0.18) > the proportion of tertiary industry (0.1739) > digital villages index (0.1004) > annual per capita GDP (0.0952) > population density (0.0951) > annual average temperature (0.0948) > road network density (0.0932) > proportion of minority population (0.0817) > rocky desertification sensitivity (0.0776) > elevation (0.073). The explanatory power of natural environment factors is generally low, but there are many high values in river density. The explanatory power of social economy factors is generally high, especially the urbanization rate. Ethnic culture factors also have higher values; in fact, most of the explanatory power of cultural environment factors is above the average value. A comparative study of the natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture can deeply explore the influencing mechanism of ICH items and further promote the exploration of strategies.

3.2.2. Natural Environment

Four influencing factors from the natural environment were selected for evaluation. As shown in Table 6, the order of influence is river density (0.2591) > annual average temperature (0.0948) > rocky desertification (0.0776) > elevation (0.073). Among them, water network density demonstrates the highest explanatory power regarding ICH distribution, while elevation exhibits the lowest explanatory power in relation to ICH distribution.

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is located in the hinterland of Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, characterized mainly by karst landform and significant surface undulations. The terrain comprises plateaus, mountains, hills, and basins, with an average elevation of about 1499.47 m. The highest elevations are found in the northwest region, especially in Liupanshui, Qujing, and Honghe, with an elevation of more than 2500 m. The lowest elevations are in the southeast, with altitudes of less than 100 m. As shown in Figure 7a, ICH items in this area are most concentrated in the middle altitude range of 500–1000 m, with a total of 449 ICH items, or about 40% of the total. These ICH items in the middle altitude exhibit a high degree of autocorrelation. The second-highest concentration is in low-altitude areas, ranging from 0 to 500 m, accounting for 31% of the total ICH items. There are only three ICH projects located above 2000 m. Although elevation (0.073) has a low explanatory power regarding the spatial distribution of ICH, in general, ICHs in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is mostly located in the higher altitude area. This is likely due to the rugged terrain of the highlands, which offer fewer suitable lands for cultivation. Consequently, people tend to inhabit higher areas, while keeping flatter lands for cultivation in the low-altitude areas [30].

Climate not only affects the comfort of people’s living environment but also affects crop production. The annual average temperature in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area showed an upward trend from northwest to southeast. The ICH items with an annual average temperature ranging from 15 °C to 20 °C account for 72% of the total. According to the image, the main annual average temperature in the gathering area of ICH items is 12–18 °C, which is also suitable for survival, and the autocorrelation of ICH items is high in this temperature range. Overall, the average annual temperature (0.0948) has a relatively low explanatory power to the distribution of ICH (Figure 7b).

The cultural ecology theory holds that water bodies are an indispensable factor influencing local cultures. In the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, the river network plays a vital role. Major river systems such as the Pearl River, the Yangtze River, and the Red River, along with their tributaries, contribute to abundant water resources. High river density is concentrated in the middle and northeast regions, while it is lower in the southwest. Areas with high river density coincide with high-density gathering areas of ICH. The data extracted from Figure 7c reveal the dense distribution of ICH projects in areas with a higher river density, while those in areas with a lower river density are more scattered. Regions with the highest river density exhibit fewer ICH projects. River density (0.2591) is also the highest explanatory power among natural environmental factors, indicating the close relationship between cultural heritage preservation and watershed development. Overall, the river density and ICH distribution are correlated at the moderate value. While a dense river network is conducive to meeting survival needs, areas with higher river density may entail a greater risks of flash floods, rendering them less suitable for human habitation [31].

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is among the most severely affected regions in China, with high rocky desertification coverage. The sensitivity of rocky desertification in this area (Figure 7d) reveals significant severity in Northern and Southern Guizhou, which contrasts with relatively lower sensitivity in Central and Eastern Guizhou. The ICH projects mostly cluster in areas with low sensitivity to rocky desertification, while they are scattered in areas with high sensitivity. Despite the low explanatory power of rock desertification (0.0776) regarding ICH distribution among natural environmental factors, this owes to the prevalence of rocky desertification in this area. Overall, the negative correlation between rocky desertification sensitivity and ICH distribution suggests that favorable soil conditions for farming promote local sustainable development [32], thus contributing to the preservation and dissemination of ICH.

3.2.3. Social Economy

In the category of social economy, six influencing factors are selected for evaluation. The order of their explanatory power, as per Table 6, is as follows: urbanization rate (0.18) > proportion of tertiary industry (0.1739) > digital villages index (0.1004) > Annual per capita GDP (0.0952) > population density (0.0951) > road network density (0.0932). Among them, the urbanization rate has the highest explanatory power concerning ICH distribution, and the road network density exhibits the lowest explanatory power in this regard.

From the perspective of population density, most counties in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area exhibit moderate density levels, with an average of 146.49 people per square kilometer. According to Figure 8a, the population density distribution across this region reveals that most ICH items are distributed in areas with a low population density (10–100 people/km²) and moderate population density (100–300 people/km²), with 425 and 622 projects, respectively, accounting for about 94% of the total. There are 52 projects in high population-density areas (300–500 people/km²) and 14 projects in very high density areas (more than 500 people/km²). Despite its low explanatory power (0.0951) among socio-economic factors, population density displays a negative correlation with ICH distribution in general, which is due to the accelerated urbanization and the gradual migration to cities, even as ICH continues to be preserved in their original areas [33].

In most areas of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, the annual per capita GDP falls below RMB 40,000, which is lower than the national average. According to the data extracted from Figure 8b, about 92% of the total ICH items in the region are found in areas with an annual per capita GDP of RMB 20,000–50,000, totaling 1033 projects. There are 37 ICH projects in areas with an annual per capita GDP of RMB 10,000–20,000, and 42 ICH projects in areas with an annual per capita GDP of more than RMB 50,000. With a q-value of 0.0952, the annual per capita GDP represents one of the more significant socio-economic factors. In general, there are fewer ICH projects in counties with relatively low or high annual per capita GDP in this area. The relationship between annual per capita GDP and ICH distribution is correlated at the moderate value.

In most regions of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, the proportion of tertiary industry is higher, exceeding 40% in most areas of Guizhou, and in Central and Eastern Guangxi. Except for Luxi county, the proportion of tertiary industry in Yunnan exceeds 50%, while, in other counties, it ranges between 40% and 50%. According to the data extracted from Figure 8, in regions where the proportion of the tertiary industry exceeds 40%, the number of ICH heritage projects is 952, accounting for approximately 86% of the total. The proportion of tertiary industry (0.1739) is a social economic factor with significant explanatory power, which is highly correlated with the spatial distribution of ICH. Moreover, regions with a higher proportion of tertiary industry also demonstrate a denser distribution of ICH, indicating a strong positive correlation between the tertiary industry and the development of ICH items. This is because the development of the tertiary industry promotes the integration of cultural resources, which is conducive to the development of contiguous areas of ICH [34].

Traffic is one of the important factors influencing the development of ICH. An analysis of road network density and spatial distribution of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area (Figure 8d) revealed that the road network density is relatively dense in the east and west of Guizhou, the central and south-central areas of Guangxi, and particularly in the Yanshan and Pingbian counties in Western Yunnan. There are 620 ICH items in areas with relatively low road density, compared to 231 ICH items in areas with relatively high road density. Road network density (0.0932) exhibits the lowest explanatory power among socio-economic factors and demonstrates a negative correlation with the distribution of ICH. This trend is because ICH, as a traditional and ancient culture [35], often has projects located in remote areas, where transportation planning is more generalized, resulting in a weaker correlation with ICH distribution [36]. However, regions with a higher overall road density tend to cluster ICH more effectively, indicating that public transport facilitates the dissemination of ICH, which is conducive to its regional development [37,38].

The urbanization rate across much of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area remains below the national average. Central Guizhou exhibits relatively high urbanization, while urbanization rate in the central Guangxi is higher compared to the western regions. In contrast, such rate is high in the western and northern parts of Yunnan. According to the data extracted from Figure 8e, there are 798 ICH items in the region with an urbanization rate of 30–50%, accounting for about 72% of the total. Meanwhile, regions with an urbanization rate of more than 50% accommodate 154 ICH items, making up around 14% of the total. The urbanization rate (0.18) has the highest social economic explanatory power among socio-economic factors in this region. The economic changes driven by urbanization provide enhanced protection and support for ICH projects, which creates a conducive environment. Figure 8e shows that the areas with the highest urbanization rate do not correspond to high-density clusters of ICH items. Overall, urbanization rate exhibits a negative correlation with the number of ICH items in general, which is because the population flows to urban centers, while traditional cultures remain in rural areas [39].

According to Figure 8f, the digital villages index of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area shows that the overall digital villages index of Guizhou is relatively higher than that of the other two provinces. Moreover, Eastern and Southern Guangxi exhibit relatively higher indices, while Wenshan stands out as the sole area in Yunnan with a notable index. According to the data, there are 923 ICH items with a digital villages index of 40–60, accounting for about 83% of the total. There are 46 ICH items with the digital villages index below 40. The digital rural index (0.1004) has significant explanatory power among socio-economic factors. Generally speaking, regions characterized by high-density clusters of ICH projects correlate positively with areas that have relatively high digital villages index. This correlation is because urbanization leads to population migration [40], but culture remains in rural areas [39]. The improvement of digital villages index narrows the information gap between urban and rural areas, promoting integrated development and the sustainable growth of many ICH cultures in rural areas.

3.2.4. Ethnic Culture

In the category of ethnic culture, two factors were selected for evaluation. It can be seen from Table 6 that the order of significance is as follows: the quantity of cultural environment (0.2849) > the proportion of ethnic minority population (0.0817). Among them, the quantity of cultural environment has a greater explanatory power for ICH distribution, and it also has the highest explanatory power among all factors.

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area has the largest number of ethnic minorities among the 14 concentrated contiguous impoverished areas in China. The main ethnic groups include Miao, Dong, Yao, Zhuang, and Buyi. According to Figure 9a, the proportion of the ethnic minority population in this area decreases from southeast to northwest. Upon the data analysis, most ICH items were found to be distributed in areas with a high proportion of the minority population. Specifically, there are 883 ICH projects in areas where the proportion of the minority population exceeds 50%, accounting for about 79% of the total number of ICH items. Conversely, only 31 ICH items are found in areas with a minority population proportion below 20%. Although the proportion of ethnic minority population (with a q-value of 0.0817) indicates relatively low explanatory power among ethnic humanistic factors, a large number of ICH projects in areas with a high proportion of ethnic minorities indicates that ethnic cultural diversity significantly enhances the harmonious cultural atmosphere [41] and preservation of ICH.

The quantity of cultural environment is the number of traditional villages, museums, and cultural centers in each county. Figure 9b presents statistical data regarding the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. According to the figure above, the northeast and northwest regions exhibit relatively high quantities of cultural environments, while other regions show an obviously lower number. Areas with dense concentrations of ICH items happen to be areas with relatively larger quantities of cultural environments. The data analysis indicates 661 ICH items in areas with less than 10 cultural environments, 323 ICH items in areas with 10–50 cultural environments, and 129 ICH items in regions with more than 50 cultural environments. Generally speaking, there is a positive correlation between the number of cultural environment and ICH projects. With a q-value of 0.2849, the quantity of cultural environments has the highest explanatory power for ICH distribution. This is due to the enhanced protection of national culture in traditional villages and the relatively complete preservation of ICH [42], while cultural centers and museums are conducive to the protection and dissemination of ICH items [43].

3.3. Interaction Factor Detection and Analysis

Based on single-factor testing, interactive influencing factors were examined to investigate their distribution patterns, and the changes in ICH distribution under the simultaneous influence of multiple factors were explored (X1, elevation; X2, annual average temperature; X3, river density; X4, rocky desertification sensitivity; X5, population density; X6, annual per capita GDP; X7, proportion of tertiary industry; X8, road network density; X9, urbanization rate; X10, digital villages index; X11, proportion of minority population; and X12, quantity of cultural environment). According to the relationship between the obtained q-value and the independent explanatory power of the two influencing factors, five types of interactions are determined: (1) nonlinear weakening, (2) two-factor weakening, (3) two-factor enhancement, (4) be independent of each other, and (5) nonlinear enhancement.

The results of this study only reveal two effects: nonlinear enhancement or two-factor enhancement. The results of the two-factor interactive influencing factor analysis in Figure 10 indicate three indicators: “urbanization rate ∩ river density”, “digital villages index ∩ quantity of cultural environment”, and “river density ∩ quantity of cultural environment”, which exhibit high explanatory power. It is worth noting that the interaction between the river density and other factors generally shows the consistent enhancement. The quantity of cultural environment, annual average temperature, river density, rocky desertification sensitivity, and urbanization rate show enhanced explanatory power when combined. This further shows the significant influence of overlapping ethnic culture, natural environment, and social economy on ICH distribution. In addition, although individual factors like minority population proportion, elevation, and rocky desertification sensitivity may have relatively minor effects, most show nonlinear interactions with other factors, and their explanatory power exceeds the sum of their individual effects. To sum up, comprehensive understanding and protection of ICH sustainable development require comprehensive consideration of natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture.

4. Discussion

Previous research results on the ICH distribution in other areas, such as the Yellow River Basin [44], the Yangtze River Economic Belt [45], the Wulingshan District [46], and Hubei Province [47], show the high correlation of socio-economic factors. In the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, as indicated by Table 6 and Figure 10, socio-economic and ethnic cultural factors outweigh natural environmental factors in importance, with the ethnic cultural factors particularly prominent due to the local ethnic diversity. A comprehensive examination of various ICH projects shows that many are strongly correlated with ethnic cultural factors, such as traditional skills, traditional dances, folk customs, and folk arts, often existing in traditional villages or cultural centers that provide specific cultural environments for their practice. In contrast, others are mainly based on natural geographical factors, such as traditional fine arts, traditional sports, traditional music, and folk literature, which tend to cluster in areas conducive to their historical preservation. Different ICH economic factors exhibit substantial explanatory power from socio-economic factors, with traditional drama and traditional medicine particularly influenced. This is because the surplus of personal income promotes the demand for entertainment and medical services, thus driving the development of such ICHs. In the measurement of interactive factors, the combination of ethnic cultural factors, natural environmental, and social economic factors demonstrates two-factor enhancement, which has higher explanatory power than any single factor alone.

Through an analysis of the distribution characteristics of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area and the influencing mechanism of the ICH distribution, it is found that ICH is affected by three different factors, namely natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture. These factors contribute to the different spatial distribution patterns of ICH. By classifying and discussing the different ICHs under different spatial conditions, the following four development paths are proposed to promote the protection and development of ICH in this region:

(1)

Digital inheritance and development of ICH—in regions with high correlation of natural environment. The natural environment is the main influencing factor of traditional fine arts and folk literature, given their ancient characteristics full of historical and artistic significance, making it able to be excavated and presented. However, due to their antiquity, many ICH items face challenges in inheritance due to long learning process, small-scale audience, and insufficient promotional efforts. The era of modern digitalization contributes to the integrity and accessibility of ICH through ICH databases, and digital platforms can also make use of the artistic characteristics of such ICHs to provide opportunities for creative development. For example, Southeast Guizhou, Baise, and Southwest Guizhou, where folk literature is concentrated in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, can establish ICH databases. Counties (Taijiang, Huanjiang, and Danzhai) in the east of this region where traditional fine arts are relatively concentrated can explore avenues for digital creative development or digital animation initiatives.

(2)

Multi-media creation and dissemination— in regions with high correlation of socio-economy. The most significant factors influencing intangible traditional drama and traditional medicine fall within social and economic categories, and the digital village index has a high explanatory power to traditional sports. These forms of ICH are related to the growing medical and spiritual needs of society. However, their development mainly relies on the efforts of inheritors, who are skilled but lack the overall cultural and digital literacy. This poses hinderances to their development. As annual per capita GDP, the proportion of tertiary industry, and the digital villages index are significant factors influencing these types of ICHs, which are fundamental realities not subject to rapid change, it is important to pay attention to technological empowerment in development. To this end, it is crucial to focus on the mass innovation platform of ICH, that is, “human (creator)–computer interaction”; encourage the teaching and dissemination of ICH on social and new media platforms; and stimulate collective wisdom. For example, in Southeast Guizhou and Baise, where traditional dramas exhibit a greater concentration in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, initiatives could involve the provision of guidance and support to ICH inheritor to create and publish instructional videos on media platforms. In areas such as Guiding County in the Southern Guizhou, Leishan County in the Southeast Guizhou, Liuzhi Special Zone in the Liupanshui, and other places known for their traditional medicine practices, it is important to support a professional ICH inheritor in the creation and sharing of short educational videos on medical knowledge. Tianzhu County in the Southeast Guizhou, County (Wangmo, Zhenfeng) in the Southwest Guizhou, and other places known for their traditional sports can encourage ICH inheritors to conduct live teaching and display. Additionally, the government can enhance the visibility of such events through media coverage during ICH competitions, so as to facilitate communication.

(3)

Innovative construction of ICH exhibitions—in regions region with a high correlation of ethnic culture. Traditional skills, traditional dances, and Quyi are mainly influenced by ethnic cultural factors, and the number of cultural environments significantly impacts traditional music. These kinds of ICH rely on cultural environments and performance elements for their preservation. However, as times change, traditional skills, once characterized by manual labor-intensive practices, are gradually being replaced by machines. Traditional dance, music, and folk-art performances are gradually decreasing, with fewer venues for their performance, which hinders their development. Therefore, the development of ICHs should align with the times. Based on the strong correlation between several ICHs and the quantity of cultural environment, initiatives should build upon existing museums, cultural centers, and traditional villages. This can be complemented by the construction of intangible digital exhibition halls by offline museums, alongside the development of online ICH museums. In addition, priorities should be given to the innovative development and preservation of traditional villages and local ICH tourism. For example, in Southeast Guizhou, Southern Guizhou, and Baise, where the traditional skills and Quyi are concentrated in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, AR technology can be integrated into the intangible digital exhibition hall to enhance interactive experience. In Liping County in Southeast Guizhou, Tiandong County in Southwest Guizhou, Zhenfeng County in Baise, and other places where traditional dances and traditional music are widely distributed, 3D and mixed-reality technologies can be used to enhance the immersive quality of ICH museums.

(4)

Tourism as a driving force for the lively lineage of ICH—in regions with high interactive correlation between ethnic culture and social economy. The factors influencing folk customs include ethnic culture and the social economy. The proportion of tertiary industry exerts a greater impact, and folk customs have the characteristics of participation. Tourism development in these areas mainly depends on landscape and culture. Given the strong cultural attributes of ICH and the rich landscape resources in the Yunnan–Guangxi–Guizhou rocky desertification area, a model of cultural and tourism integration proves suitable, with tourism as a driving force for the “lively lineage” of ICH. The accelerated urbanization has resulted in the gradual withdrawal of traditional and labor-intensive folk customs from daily life. To protect and inherit the folk customs, tourism drives economic vitality to promote ICH development. Strengthening regional folk heritage entails not only the dissemination of information through museums and websites but also greater efforts for the construction of transportation infrastructure, the mining of folk customs, and the expansion of the tourist source market to activate visitor spending. In counties (Rongjiang and Congjiang) in the Southeast Guizhou, Sanjiang County in the Liuzhou, and other places where folk customs are more concentrated, efforts delve into the status of ICH in traditional villages. Initiatives include the construction of a VR panoramic tourism platform that integrates “intangible cultural heritage + tourism”, with ICH projects as the core tourism projects. Supporting facilities are improved, and development is coordinated with ecological protection at its core.

In essence, these strategies aim to strike a balance between economic development and the protection of the ecological and cultural heritage of the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. Naturally, these approaches can be flexibly adjusted and combined based on specific circumstances and resources. Tailoring strategies to the specific conditions of each ICH project makes it possible to promote sustainable development while preserving and disseminating ICH. The spatial distribution of ICH items in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area exhibits distinct characteristics influenced by the regional economy and rocky desertification conditions. The natural environment serves as the basic factor, with ICH items in this area mainly distributed in the environment suitable for human habitation. The social economy acts as the driving force since the material environment directly impacts ICH preservation. Ethnic culture plays a decisive role in the spatial differentiation of ICH based on different ethnic attributes. An analysis of the distribution characteristics of ICH in this region can increase an understanding of various influencing factors and provide theoretical references for related studies, thereby promoting the better adaptation of cultural inheritance amidst coordinated development between society and the economy.

5. Summary and Outlook

Using ArcGIS and a geographic detector as tools, this paper analyzed the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of 1113 national and provincial ICH items in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. This analysis delved into the structural distribution, density distribution, and spatial autocorrelation of ICH in this region. Furthermore, the influencing factors were analyzed from three aspects: the natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture.

(1)

The distribution characteristics of ICH: In the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area, Guizhou exhibits the highest number of ICH items, followed by Guangxi and Yunnan. However, the distribution of different types of ICHs across the region is uneven. The density distribution of ICH shows clear aggregation characteristics, with most kinds clustered. Folk customs exhibit the most obvious clustering. Traditional drama, traditional medicine and traditional sports show random distribution characteristics, while Quyi shows uniform distribution. The high-density core area of ICH items is mainly located in the northeast, with several sub high-density areas scattered across the region. All kinds of ICHs have relatively obvious high-density core gathering areas, mainly concentrated in the northeast. Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicates a high level of non-random clustering, with “high–high cluster” counties concentrated in the northeast. Spatial autocorrelation is exhibited across all types of ICH items in this area. Folk custom and traditional fine arts show the most obvious spatial autocorrelation.

(2)

Explanatory power of influencing factors: The quantity of cultural environments has the highest explanatory power for the distribution of ICH in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area. Secondly, social economic factors, the urbanization rate, the proportion of tertiary industry, the digital villages index, and the annual per capita GDP also exhibit high explanatory power. Although natural environmental factors generally show lower explanatory power, river density has a significant influence on ICH distribution. Among the various types of ICH in the area, ethnic and cultural factors exert a substantial influence on traditional skills, traditional dances, folk customs, and Quyi, as these forms of ICH rely on specific cultural environments for their performance. Conversely, natural environmental factors exert a strong influence on traditional fine arts, traditional sports, traditional music, and folk literature, given their longer history and concentration in areas more suitable for their preservation. For traditional drama and traditional medicine, the social economy is the main influencing factor, given the driving role of economic development for the growth and preservation of ICH. All factor interactions exhibit enhanced effects. A significantly greater-than-the-average influence has been observed in the interaction between ethnic and cultural factors and natural environment factors or between ethnic and cultural factors and socio-economic factors. Specifically, ethnic population factors, which have low explanatory power, exhibit nonlinear enhancement after interaction with other factors.

(3)

The relationship between influencing factors and ICH spatial distribution is influenced by multiple factors, such as the natural environment, social economy, and ethnic culture. Among the influencing factors, the proportion of tertiary industry, digital village indexes, proportion of minority population, and quantity of cultural environment exhibit a strong positive correlation with the ICH distribution; on the other hand, the elevation, annual average temperature, river density, and annual per capita GDP show a median correlation with the ICH distribution. The rocky desertification sensitivity, population density, road network density, and urbanization rate show a negative correlation with ICH distribution. Most of the natural environmental factors are correlated to ICH distribution at the moderate value, mainly because humans serve as cultural carriers, and ICHs tend to be distributed in regions suitable for human habitation. Additionally, certain social economic factors are positively correlated with ICH distribution due to their influence on cultural survival. However, the population density, road network density, and urbanization rate are negatively correlated with ICH distribution due to population migration to cities, which leaves behind more preserved ICHs in rural areas. Ethnic cultural factors are positively correlated with ICH distribution, which reflects the diverse cultural traditions formed by local ethnic minorities.

(4)

Strategies for the protection and development of ICH: According to the analysis of the spatial distribution of ICH and its influencing factors, along with the development trends, the following strategies are put forward. Traditional fine arts and folk literature, mainly influenced by the natural environment, should undergo digital preservation and innovation in regions where they are concentrated. This involves ICH databases, digital cultural, creative product development, and entrepreneurship. ICHs influenced by ethnic cultural factors, such as traditional skills, dances, customs, Quyi, and music, should be prioritized for cultural exhibition and tourism development. ICHs closely related to social economic factors, including traditional drama, medicine, and sports, should focus on the mass innovation platforms for creation and dissemination. Efforts should be made to stimulate collective wisdom and encourage ICH inheritors to spread their knowledge on the media platform. At the same time, areas with a high interactive correlation between ethnic culture and social economy pay attention to the improvement of tourism-supporting facilities.

The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou rocky desertification area is rich in cultural heritage of various types. This study explored the distribution characteristics of ICHs from a macro-perspective and discussed the strategies under the influence of various single-factor and interactive factors. As such, it comprehensively and correlatively analyzed the distribution mechanism of ICH, thereby providing practical implications for the development of concentrated poverty-stricken areas and rural revitalization. However, research on various types of ICHs remains relatively superficial. Additionally, although natural environment, socio-economic, and ethnic cultural factors can comprehensively reveal the influencing mechanism of ICH, ICH also involves influences from education, policies, and many unquantifiable factors. However, a comprehensive consideration of these factors seems unpractical. Future research will delve deeper into the spatial distribution characteristics of various and specific types of ICH and quantify specific influencing factors, such as tourism, digitization, and policies. The aim is to yield effective guidance for the formulation of more specific ICH development strategies.