The Spatial and Temporal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fujian Province

Background: The UNESCO has defined the concept of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Additionally, China joined the related convention in 2004, incorporating the protection of intangible heritage into its national strategy. By conducting a detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of national and provincial ICHs in Fujian Province, this study aims to explore the characteristics of their spatio-temporal evolution and the related influencing mechanisms, thereby offering theoretical references for the protection of intangible heritage. Utilizing five batches of national-level and seven batches of provincial-level ICH projects in Fujian as samples, this study employs ArcGIS for data organization and applies geographical concentration indices, average nearest neighbor indices, kernel density, and GeoDetector to explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing mechanisms of intangible heritage. There are at least three key findings in our research: First, ICH resources in Fujian exhibit a coastal concentration and inland dispersion pattern, with notable regional and hierarchical disparities. Second, univariate analysis reveals that socio-economic variables (e.g., GDP, population density) exert stronger explanatory power on overall ICH distribution, whereas cultural factors demonstrate more localized effects in less-developed or peripheral areas. Third, bivariate interaction results indicate that the combined influence between some specific socio economic/cultural variables and the other 20 variables generates enhanced synergistic effects, especially in shaping the distribution of selected ICH in national and provincial levels with distinct performances, highlighting the importance of multi-factor coordination in heritage recognition and protection.