The distribution of Chinese minority populations and its change based on the study of the Hu Huanyong line

Xiangdong Gao,Beiqian Zhu,Xinxian Wang

doi:10.1186/s41257-017-0004-9

Abstract

The “Hu Line” and its demographic implications have attracted world-wide attention since the line was developed 80 years. Using GIS, this paper conducts a statistical analysis and systematic investigation on the stability and spatial of China’s minority population growth on both sides of “Hu Line” by constructing the spatial database of China’s census data from 1953 to 2010 and initiating a new method for identifying the spatial patterns of population growth. Major findings are as follows: (1) Spatial distribution of the minority population in China is not balanced, showing a significant spatial clustering; (2) The minority population is widely distributed across China, spreading to East China and all over the country; (3) The distribution pattern of China’s minority population is characterized by extraordinary stability, with the ratio of south-east half to north-west half standing roughly at 75:25 from 1953 to 2010. We can thus say that the “Hu Line” is also a mutant line of China’s minority population.

Highlights

The “Distribution of China’s Population,” authored by well-known geographer Hu Huanyong and published in the “Journal of Geographical Sciences” in 1935, set the precedent for China’s contemporary research on population geography
This paper introduces the population concentration index to measure the tendency of minority population agglomeration or distribution at the level of districts and counties in the whole country
The spatial distribution pattern of minority populations in China Hu line-based distribution of Chinese minority populations According to the sixth census, China’s population reached 1.33972 billion in 2010, of which the minority population numbered 113.79 million, accounting for 8.49% of the total population of China

Summary

Introduction

The “Distribution of China’s Population,” authored by well-known geographer Hu Huanyong and published in the “Journal of Geographical Sciences” in 1935, set the precedent for China’s contemporary research on population geography. The simulation of China’s population density (Lo 2001; Liu 2001; Liu et al 2003; Tian et al 2004; Zhuo et al 2005; Zhuo et al 2009), based on remote sensing data on land use and nighttime lamplight, came to the same conclusion as research relying on the Hu Line. There are wide and extensive studies on the rationale of China’s population distribution, China’s population and environmental resilience (Yuan 1993; Wang 1998), are evident in the Hu Line (Wang 2014; Zhang et al 2015), as is the close relationship of China’s urban, transportation and economic patterns

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Discussion

Conclusion