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As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Grand Canal of China has a rich intangible cultural heritage along its route. The intangible cultural heritage of folk songs is an important representative. The study of its distribution characteristics and influencing factors is of practical and social significance for promoting the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage in relevant areas and the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt. This paper uses the theories of musicology, geography, sociology, data statistical analysis and spatial analysis to analyze the distribution pattern of intangible cultural heritage items in the Grand Canal basin from the dimensions of geographical space and folk song genre, and from the perspective of natural and social conditions. The results show that the spatial distribution of folk songs in the Grand Canal basin shows a trend of "distribution along the river, two cores and two belts". Water system, landform and regional culture are the main influencing factors for the formation and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage of folk songs. At the same time, compared with the mountainous areas in western China, the economic and social development and frequent population flow in the Grand Canal basin lead to the diversified and unified musical culture characteristics of folk songs. Finally, this paper proposes the suggestions that the folk songs should be integrated into the local social and economic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous participatory methods and assessments have been tested in the western context, the community participation practice is still limited in China, a developing country. In addition, due to the diversity of cultural, historical, economic, and social backgrounds, Chinese community participation differs from similar international approaches. Hence it is critical to explore how engaging Chinese people with their own heritage properties can foster stewardship, multi-stakeholder connection, and support policy and strategy making.It is very challenging to preserve the character of historic urban landscapes because they change over time in a rapidly developing urban context. Research on revealing people's stories and preferences concerning the Chinese historic urban landscape in their visiting and living experience is needed to address this concern directly. The study applies a novel approach to explore public attitudes based on the fusion of social media data, land use data and other information. It examines the spatial patterns of public responses towards the government-led urban heritage conservation projects in the historic city centre of Harbin, China, in sixteen months (2021–2022). The article concludes that social media plays an important role in accessing broader communities, monitoring people's preferences, and observing heritage attributes and values for inclusive urban heritage management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the cultural characteristics and evolution of traditional dwellings in the context of ethnic integration is of great significance for protecting the diversity of residential cultural heritage of ethnic minorities. This article compares the ethnic differences in the internal spatial configuration of vernacular dwellings in Xiangxi region, China, a typical multi-ethnic area where "line-shaped" dwellings are prevalent among the Miao, Dong, Yao, Tujia, and Han groups. This study found that the spatial sequence, ritual axis, importance of fireplace, spatial hierarchy, and privacy of bedrooms of each ethnic group's dwellings present a trend towards Han's dwelling culture in the order of "Western Miao, Southern Dong, Northern Dong, Yao, Eastern Miao, Tujia". Based on the analysis of the lifestyles, ethnic customs, and historical development processes of ethnic minorities, this study identifies that the main reasons for the formation of the aforementioned sequence lie in the differences in the historical diffusion patterns and paths of Han culture in Xiangxi. This article analyses the ethnicity of minority residential culture in Xiangxi and its spatial configuration formation process, revealing the relationship between the spatial effect of Han cultural diffusion pattern and the spatial difference pattern of each ethnic group's vernacular dwelling space configuration, and expanding the connotation of "cultural genotypes" in multi-ethnic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]