Circuit theory-based cultural heritage corridor network development in Qin River Basin
Zurui Lin, Bingjie Li
Abstract
In the Qin River Basin—a cultural heritage cluster in southeastern Shanxi—existing studies predominantly focus on individual heritage valuation, with limited examination of spatial connectivity patterns. This study examines heritage corridor construction in the Qin River basin using the MCR model’s least-cost path analysis and Circuit model from the Linkage Mapper toolbox. Applying the gravity model, we identified and classified corridors, ultimately selecting high-suitability routes. Key findings include (1) Integration of heritage “source” raster data with resistance surfaces generated 53 potential corridors (total length: 578.48 km); (2) Gravity-based classification yielded 4 primary, 5 secondary, and 12 tertiary corridors; (3) The macro-level network builds a “two vertical-one horizontal” pattern centered on Runcheng Town and Qinyang City, At the micro-level, a multi-dimensional “corridor-station-source” system is constructed to connect heritage nodes through corridors and use key areas as stations.