Tourism Development of Cultural Heritage Resources Through Conservation Concepts: A Case Study of Ningxia, China

Shengrui Zhang, Tianyi Hu, Tongyan Zhang (), Hongrun Ju () and Yingjie Wang
Additional contact information
Shengrui Zhang: Management College, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Tianyi Hu: Management College, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Tongyan Zhang: Management College, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Hongrun Ju: School of Environment and Geography, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Yingjie Wang: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-29

Abstract: Cultural heritage resources represent a vital aspect of tourism in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, an area characterized by its ethnic minority heritage. This study innovatively proposes a classification framework for cultural heritage based on the principles of protection and the demands of tourism development. For the first time, it combines kernel density analysis and spatial autocorrelation methods to conduct a quantitative study on the geographical distribution of cultural heritage in Ningxia, covering aspects such as scale, structure, distribution characteristics, and influencing factors. The findings reveal: (1) Religious and Ceremonial Sites: Ningxia boasts the highest number of religious and ceremonial sites, totaling 1741. (2) Geographical Distribution: Resources are distributed in a multicore pattern, concentrated in Longde and Zhongning Counties, while the central and western areas are less rich. (3) Regional Concentration: The eastern region shows a high concentration of resources, contrasting with the low concentration in the north. (4) Influencing Factors: Social factors like GDP per capita, urbanization, and population density significantly affect this spatial pattern, although natural factors like altitude are also important. Consequently, the paper recommends increased government investment in cultural heritage tourism; enhanced integration of heritage tourism between urban core areas and countryside zones; increased investment in the protection and development of cultural heritage in high-altitude and remote areas. These findings aim to promote the sustainable growth of Ningxia’s cultural heritage and offer insights for similar regions.

Keywords: cultural heritage resources; heritage tourism; spatial autocorrelation; influencing factors; sustainable development; Ningxia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/201/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/201/ (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:1:p:201-:d:1570851

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 ().