Spatial Structure of Settlements in Mainland China in the Early 20th Century

Raorao Su and Zhen Zhao ()
Additional contact information
Raorao Su: School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Zhen Zhao: School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: Settlements and settlement systems are key arenas of human–environment interaction, and reconstructing their spatial patterns is essential for understanding historical socio-environmental dynamics. Using the Complete Map of the Great Qing Empire (1905), this study employs digital extraction and spatial-statistical analysis to examine the nationwide settlement system of late Qing China. The results reveal that: (1) The system features dispersed high-level settlements and highly clustered low-level ones; provincial and prefectural cities follow administrative divisions, while counties, towns, and villages display strong spatial self-organization. (2) Mid-to high-level systems exhibit hierarchical fractures, whereas low-level settlements conform to Zipf’s law, highlighting the regularity and universality of grassroots networks. (3) Road accessibility, slope, and elevation significantly influence settlement hierarchy, whereas river proximity plays a limited role—indicating greater dependence on transportation and terrain adaptability. Overall, the study elucidates the spatial structure and formative mechanisms of the Qing settlement system and provides empirical insights into the evolution of surface patterns and regional resilience since the modern era.

Keywords: Qing dynasty China; spatial structure; historical GIS (HGIS); Zipf’s law; hierarchical distribution; environmental factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/11/2245/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/11/2245/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:11:p:2245-:d:1793599

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().