Red Cultural Heritage refers to cultural heritage associated with major revolutionary movements, historical events, prominent revolutionary leaders, or heroes during special revolutionary periods when the Communist Party of China (CPC) united and led the Chinese people. It holds significant historical, educational, and scientific research value ^[1]. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the protection of cultural heritage has received increasing attention from the government and a wide range of groups. In recent years, the direction of cultural heritage protection has also shifted from focusing on “ancient cultural relics”and“modern historical sites” toward “20th century heritage”and“contemporary heritage”^[2]. As a distinctive form of contemporary heritage, Red Cultural Heritage is non-renewable^[3]. Now the Red Cultural Heritage research protection and utilization perspective gradually have“single (point)-cultural line (line)-revolutionary area (surface)”transformation trend. The study of Red Cultural Heritage should not only grasp the cultural attributes behind it, but also pay attention to the temporal and spatial and regional evolution characteristics of Red Cultural Heritage. This approach facilitates the transition of research and conservation of Red Cultural Heritage from isolated sites and small clusters to a nationwide regional structure organized around temporal and historical axes.

Red Cultural Heritage is a distinctive type of cultural heritage in China. Exploring its cultural value and spatial attributes through the dynamic evolution of events and spaces offers an innovative lens for understanding the context of contemporary heritage. Although there is no unified academic definition, scholars generally agree that it refers to cultural heritage formed during the period from the founding of the CPC of China to the end of the Liberation War, associated with revolutionary struggles led by the Party and the people^[4].In recent years, Red Cultural Heritage has received increasing attention, with research focusing mainly on three areas: 1) conceptual clarification and value exploration, especially the educational value of revolutionary spirit, and how to creatively transform it into practical value ^[5–7]; 2) advancement in technical methods, such as heritage database construction and data visualization ^[8–9], with growing attention to issues of scattered distribution due to limited documentation and the unique nature of such heritage; 3) tourism development, including innovative models for integrating heritage protection and public engagement ^[10–11].Academics in the value of red cultural heritage cognition, has transitioned from tourism material products to cultural education and other spiritual level, and try to discover its broader educational value^[12]. In addition, from the perspective of disciplinary crossover, Liu Jianping ^[13] and others break the thought barrier of single-discipline research on the protection and utilization of red cultural heritage from the perspective of landscape science and economics; Yang Tan^[14], Guo Jiaxin^[15] and others explore the digital protection and application of red cultural heritage based on the integration of multidisciplinary technology; and Xu Congbao^[16] and others explore the holistic approach to the protection of the heritage community based on the systematicity and correlation of its constituent elements.

Overall, the research results of the academic community on Red Cultural Heritage have been relatively abundant,with a growingly complex research system. The research content mainly focuses on conceptual analysis, ideological and value excavation, theoretical construction, transformation of contemporary value, tourism development and digital protection. The research paradigm mainly includes theoretical and case studies, with increased emphasis on empirical analysis and interdisciplinary integration.Red Cultural Heritage has a strong temporal and spatial correlation of events. Previous studies often showed an imbalance between macro and micro perspectives, and the value and spatial characteristics of heritage were mostly determined at the perceptual level. Existing research lacks scientific and quantitative theoretical interpretation of the spatio-temporal relationship, evolutionary law and overall spatial characteristics of Red Cultural Heritage. This study examines over 21,000 immovable revolutionary heritage sites, selected from the first and second batches of provincial protection lists and historical records in China.Using spatial analysis module of GIS platform, we analyze the spatial and temporal evolution pattern and distribution characteristics of Red Cultural Heritage since the founding of the CPC to the end of the liberation war by combining the influences of recent Chinese historical events, historical sites, external factors and other variables. Finally, a spatial display platform of China's Red Cultural Heritage is constructed to provide quantitative evidence and supplementation for red culture research.

1 Data sources and database creation

1.1 Objects of study and data sources

Revolutionary cultural relics are the main source of Red Cultural Heritage. This study focuses on immovable revolutionary relics, including former sites, historical remains, and in-situ memorial structures left behind during the period from the founding of the CPC to the end of the Liberation War. The data samples are based on the first and second lists of immovable revolutionary cultural relics officially announced by provincial governments. After filtering and screening, over 21,000 immovable revolutionary relics from 1921 to 1950 were selected. Then their addresses, time, type, period they belonged to, latitude and longitude were retrieved and entered into GIS to construct a vector database of China's Red Cultural Heritage based on the National Basic Geographic Information System (NBGIS) 1:4 million-scale data.

1.2 Classification of Red Cultural Heritage

This study mainly focuses on the tangible site heritage of Red Cultural Heritage, namely immovable revolutionary cultural relics. Drawing on the idea of world cultural heritage management, immovable revolutionary cultural relics are categorized according to the closure of the endowment space and the events they carry, with reference to the classification basis of Lin Xiaomin ^[17] and Wang Zhitao ^[18] (Table 1).

1.3 Periodization of the Red Cultural Heritage

Red Cultural Heritage is a type of indigenous Chinese heritage with period characteristics, which has not yet been incorporated into the Chinese heritage system. For the concept and period of Red Cultural Heritage, various scholars and organizations have proposed similar concepts, but there are some differences among them ^[19]. In this paper, we follow the periodization proposed by scholars such as Bai Rushan ^[9] and Xiong Jie ^[20] in dividing the time period of Red Cultural Heritage, and based on the background of the historical changes of the Chinese revolution, we define 1921 to 1927 as the period between the establishment of the CPC and the Northern Expeditionary War, 1927 to 1937 as the period of the Land Revolution, 1937 to 1945 as the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, 1945 to 1950 as the Liberation War period. Red Cultural Heritage is categorized by the period of time in which the revolutionary events it reprensents(Table 2).

2 Research Methods

This study primarily used Arc GIS10.6 to build a database of the address, latitude and longitude, type, period and other attributes of the national Red Cultural Heritage. Spatial distribution characteristics were preliminarily analyzed using kernel density ^[21], nearest neighbor index ^[22–23], mean center and standard deviation ellipse ^[24–25], geographic concentration index ^[26–27], and Lorenz curve^[28]. Then the spatial relationship and evolution patterns of Red Cultural Heritage are visualized and demonstrated. Finally, the national Red Cultural Heritage spatial display platform is constructed by synthesizing the data visualization results(Table 3).

3 Visual Analysis of Red Cultural Heritage Classification

3.1Characterization of the relationship between heritage types and geospatia

China's Red Cultural Heritage is vast in quantity and diverse in type, and its spatial distribution is mainly located in the eastern part of China. According to the analysis of the proximity index module of the GIS platform, the proximity index of Chinese Red Cultural Heritage sites is 0.29 indicates a clustered distribution pattern. Combined with the kernel density analysis, the heritage sites as a whole show the spatial distribution characteristics of“one main core and multiple sub-cores”. The main core is in Jiangxi Province and the neighboring provinces. The secondary cores are in Hubei Province and the border of Anhui Province, Shaanxi Province, Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong Province. Overall, the Red Cultural Heritage is mostly located in the southeast of the“Hu Huanyong Line”, with strong regional clustering of heritage groups (Fig. 1 a).

3.1.1 Heritage of Former Sites – Mono-core and Polycentric Pattern

Among all types of Red Cultural Heritage in China, former sites are the most numerous, accounting for 65% of the total sample data, and the closest neighbor index is 0.28, showing an obvious cohesive pattern (Table 4). This type includes former revolutionary base sites, rear bases of the War of Resistance, and sites along key revolutionary routes. Combined with the kernel density mapping, it is found that the heritage sites as a whole also show the spatial distribution characteristics of “one main core and multiple sub-cores”. The main core is located in Jiangxi Province and the west of Fujian Province, followed by the frontline areas of Anhui and Hubei Province, where major battles took place repeatedly, and the rear areas of Shaanxi Province, Shanxi Province, Hebei Province and Chongqing Municipality. The areas where the CPC was founded, such as Shanghai and Guangdong Province, have become secondary centers. The distribution of old sites within the Chinese region shows a clear difference of more in the east and less in the west, with the density gradually decreasing from the eastern coastal areas to the western inland (Fig. 1 b).

3.1.2 Memorial Heritage - Polycentric Pattern

The nearest neighbor index for memorial-type red heritage is 0.37, indicating a clustered pattern (Table 4). Combined with the kernel density analysis, this type of heritage shows the spatial distribution characteristics of “polycentric arrangement” in eastern China. From south to north, they are located in the border areas of Guangdong Province and Fujian Province; in the border areas of Jiangxi, Hubei and Anhui Provinces; and in the border areas of Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, with a linear distribution in the north-south direction (Fig. 1 c).

3.1.3 Battle Heritage - Predominantly Southern Distribution

The closest neighbor index of the battle heritage distribution is 0.41,indicating a weakly clustered pattern (Table 4). Combined with the kernel density analysis, the overall distribution of heritage sites shows a spatial distribution characteristic of “more in the south and less in the north”.In northern China, secondary core areas are found in Liaoning, Shaanxi, and Heilongjiang. In contrast, the south contains two major core clusters: one at the intersection of Jiangxi, Hubei, and Anhui, and another in Yunnan. The distribution of battle-type heritage is presented in the form of points, lines and blocks, with strong correlation and spatial continuity characterized by events as clues (Fig. 1 d).

3.2 Heritage Clusters: Event–Time–Space Coupling

Heritage communities exhibit dynamic and layered accumulation. Red Cultural Heritage clusters, shaped over time and influenced by historical background, local culture, revolutionary developments, and humanistic factors, express their diversity through their physical and spatial presence^[3]. Within regions, these clusters take individual heritage sites as fundamental units and form spatial linkages through historical, cultural, transportation, and military connections^[29]. Under varying historical contexts and revolutionary events, heritage clusters demonstrate a spatial continuum of event–time–space interaction and interdependence.

3.2.1 From the Founding of the Communist Party to the Northern Expedition–Dual-Core Agglomeration

Using the spatial analysis module of GIS10.6 platform to calculate the nearest neighbor point index of the heritage produced during the period from the founding of the CPC to the Northern Expeditionary War, it can be seen that (Actual Average Nearest Neighbor Distance Values) = 18.63km, (Theoretical Average Nearest Neighbor Distance Values) = 65.54km;, which indicates that the ratio of the actual average closest neighbor distance value to the theoretical average closest neighbor distance value is less than 1, presenting cohesive distribution characteristics. In the next step, the geographic concentration index formula was analyzed and the geographic concentration index for the heritage during this period was calculated as . Assuming that the heritage is evenly distributed in seven regions of China (Northeast, North, Central, East, South, Southwest, and Northwest), the geographic concentration index in the ideal state is (Table 5). This suggests that the distribution of Red Cultural Heritage is more concentrated on a regional scale. The Lorenz curve further demonstrates the imbalance in site distribution across regions, with a majority located in South and East China (Fig. 2).

To further analyze the spatial distribution and clustering characteristics of Red Cultural Heritage during this period, kernel density mapping was carried out using the GIS platform (Fig. 3 a). It can be seen that Guangdong Province, Shanghai Municipality form a strong core density area of heritage, while Hubei Province forms a high-density agglomeration area of heritage. These core areas are linked by border regions including Hunan–Jiangxi, Jiangxi–Hubei, and Henan–Anhui, forming a high-density belt. Overall, the distribution center is located in southeastern China.

After the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in 1924, the Guangdong Revolutionary Government launched the Northern Expedition, which began in Hunan. The revolutionary army passed through Hunan and Hubei, fighting in battlefields across Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, and later advancing into Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shanghai. The route—Guangzhou–Changsha–Wuhan–Nanjing–Shanghai—largely overlapped with the high-density belt observed in the spatial distribution map. After June 1927, when the Northern Expeditionary Army from Wuhan met the northern Nationalist forces in the Central Plains, the heritage distribution gradually expanded from the south toward the north, with its center of gravity remaining in the south, exhibiting a pattern of point-like diffusion.

3.2.2 Land Revolution Period - Single-Core Clustered Pattern

As for the Red Cultural Heritage during the period of the Land Revolution, the (Actual Average Nearest Neighbor Distance Values) = 6.97km, (Theoretical Average Nearest Neighbor Distance Values) = 20.05km;,, indicating a cohesive distribution pattern. Meanwhile, the geographic concentration index of heritage in this period: (Table 5), indicators , that is, the distribution of Red Cultural Heritage produced in the period of the Agrarian Revolution is regionally concentrated and highly clustered. Lorenz curve analysis shows a primary concentration in East China, followed by Southwest and Central China (Fig. 2).

The Land Revolution period (1927–1937) witnessed major revolutionary events, including class uprisings led by the CPC, the establishment and development of revolutionary bases in Jiangxi and surrounding areas, multiple anti-siege campaigns, and the Red Army’s Long March. The kernel density mapping shows that Jiangxi Province and the surrounding areas are a strong core area of red cultural resources. Sub-core areas include the Hubei–Anhui border, the Sichuan–Guizhou–Chongqing region, and the Shanghai–Jiangsu–Zhejiang junction. In particular, a heritage distribution belt from Jiangxi Province connecting Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, Chongqing Municipality, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, and Gansu Province appears in central China, spatially corroborating the Long March Route belt (Fig. 3 b), which reflects a high degree of correlation between the spatial characteristics of the heritage clusters and historical revolutionary events.

The CPC’s earliest revolutionary base was established in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi. The base network gradually expanded to the border regions of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, and Anhui, while the Shaanxi–Gansu base areas also developed in northern China. In 1934, the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission led the main force of the Central Red Army to move from Ruijin and Gucheng in Jiangxi Province to Shaanxi. The main route covered 15 provincial administrative regions including Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu and Shaanxi. As a result of the shift in the strategic route of the revolution, the center of gravity of heritage distribution in this period also showed a trend of shifting to the central part of the country, and the distribution characteristics gradually changed from point-like diffusion to band-like.

3.2.3 Anti-Japanese War Period - Single-Core, Multi-Center Pattern

During the Anti-Japanese War period, (average observed closest neighbor distance) = 12.08km,(expected average closest neighbor distance) = 33.21km;,, presenting cohesive distribution characteristics. Meanwhile, the geographic concentration index (Table 5),, the distribution of the Red Cultural Heritage of the Anti-Japanese War period is more concentrated in the regional scale, and the Lorenz curve indicates that it is mainly concentrated in East China, followed by North and Northeast China (Fig. 2).

This period is marked by the July 7 Incident (Lugou Bridge Incident) on July 7, 1937, which signaled the full-scale outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in China. Kernel density mapping of the Red Cultural Heritage during this period shows nationwide coverage with a multi-core spatial pattern. Strong core areas are concentrated in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei–Shanxi–Shandong region; the eastern core area is distributed in the coastal provinces; the central core area is distributed in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the areas of Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei; and the southwestern core area is dominated by Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

After the July 7th Incident, the Japanese army attacked Beiping (now Beijing) and Tianjin, with the invasion advancing southward through Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi provinces. In August 1937, their advance shifted from eastern China to western China, moving from Shanghai to Nanjing, Kaifeng and Wuhan. In October 1939, facing manpower shortages, Japanese forces redirected attacks toward the Shanxi–Shandong–Hebei border area to stabilize rear positions. After 1944, in order to save the critical situation in the Pacific Theater, Japan tried to open up the transportation line between north and south of China, and launched the Battle of Yu Xiang Gui in China, which spread to the South China Sea through Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guizhou Province and Guangdong Province. In the late Anti-Japanese War, Yunnan Province and other areas served as the meeting place for the Garrison and Expeditionary Forces to fight against Japan, with a high stock of red cultural relics, thus forming a strong core area on the map (Fig. 3 c). As the war intensified, the distribution of red heritage sites expanded significantly compared to the previous two periods, forming a more extensive multi-core structure (Fig. 3 c).

3.2.4 Liberation War Period - Multi-Core and Dispersed Pattern

During the Liberation War period, (average observed closest neighbor distance) = 17.14 km, (expected average closest neighbor distance) = 45.93 km;, , showing cohesive distribution characteristics. And the geographic concentration index of heritage in this period:,, the distribution of Red Cultural Heritage in the Liberation War period is more concentrated under the regional scale (Table 5). The Lorenz curve presents its main concentration in East China, followed by Southwest and South China (Fig. 2).

Kernel density mapping reveals that the Red Cultural Heritage during this period exhibited nationwide coverage. Among them, there are three main strong core areas: Yunnan–Guizhou region, Shanxi–Shaanxi region, and the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou area. Three sub-core areas are identified in Guangdong, Sichuan–Chongqing, and Hubei–Anhui regions; weaker core zones are located in the North China Plain, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan provinces.During the Chongqing Negotiations, the Northeast and North China regions became the main battlegrounds in the early stages of the war.In June 1946, large-scale armed clashes between Kuomintang and Communist forces broke out at the border of Henan and Hubei Provinces, marking the beginning of the full-scale civil war. After that, the Kuomintang shifted its focus to attacking the communist revolutionary bases in northern Shaanxi Province and Shandong Province, and the war was centered between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.In the winter of 1948, the War of Liberation entered the late stage of the decisive battle, and after the Liao-Shen Battle, Ping-Tsin Battle, and Huai-Hai Battle, the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River, and the war routes were extended from northern and central China to southern, eastern, northwestern, and southwestern China to liberate the provinces respectively. By 1950, with the liberation of Hainan and Tibet, the war came to an end, and red heritage sites had spread across nearly all of China, forming a widespread, multi-core spatial pattern (Fig. 3 d). During the Liberation War,local people's armed border columns were established in many regions. For example, the Guangdong–Jiangxi–Hunan Border Column built a revolutionary base with a population of over four million within three years, accelerating the liberation of southwestern Fujian and eastern Guangdong, and leaving behind a large number of revolutionary sites. Compared to previous periods, the heritage distribution had expanded to encompass most of the country, displaying a nationwide coverage pattern.

3.2.5 Spatio-Temporal Evolution Analysis

The spatial distribution of Red Cultural Heritage was analyzed using mean center and standard deviation ellipse methods. By sequentially connecting the mean centers of each historical period, the trajectory of red heritage center migration in China was visualized (Fig. 4).From the founding of the Communist Party to the Land Revolution period, due to the breakdown of cooperation between the CPC and the Kuomintang and the strategic shift of revolutionary forces, heritage sites gradually spread inland, with the distribution center shifting toward the northwest. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the center moved significantly northeast. In the Liberation War period, the center shifted southwest, as revolutionary activities expanded widely across central and western China after the outbreak of the second civil war.

Superimposing the standard deviation ellipses of the four periods, it is found that the direction of the main trend of the distribution of heritage sites in each period is basically the same,That is, the long axis of the ellipse is tilted at 45° to the north-east, and the coverage is concentrated in the southeastern part of China, reflecting strong east–west differentiation. With the passage of time, the coverage of the standard deviation ellipse shows the trend of expansion and inward movement, and the revolutionary relics cover a wide range and the center of gravity of the distribution gradually migrates to the northwest.

In summary, it can be seen that the distribution of Red Cultural Heritage is mainly cohesive in southeastern China, and spatially manifested as a multi-core group aggregation state. Meanwhile, the kernel density mapping shows that the distribution of Red Cultural Heritage resources in each period presents the spatial characteristics of high coincidence of heritage and events. Based on the spatial and temporal dimensions, the distribution of the Red Cultural Heritage shows a change from “point-like diffusion” to “belt-like extension” to “territory-wide coverage”, and the factors affecting the distribution change with the political situation and strategic policy at that time. The factors affecting the distribution change according to the political situation and strategic policy at that time.

4 Overall Spatial Pattern of Red Cultural Heritage

As a large-scale heritage network that transcends administrative boundaries, Red Cultural Heritage exhibits strong temporal orientation and dynamic interconnectivity. Its protection and utilization require consideration of both temporal continuity and spatial boundary integration. Building on prior classification and periodization studies, this research aligns the overall spatial configuration of Red Cultural Heritage with China’s seven major geographic divisions, overlays it with key zones for the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics, and integrates it with the Long March route. This allows for the visualization of spatial distribution characteristics and their integration into a unified spatial pattern map.

The study quantifies the number of Red Cultural Heritage sites across seven geographic subregions in China (Fig. 5), in which the largest number of Red Cultural Heritage sites is in East China, accounting for 34%; then Southwest China, accounting for 13%; Central and Northwest China, accounting for 12%; South China, accounting for 11%; and lastly, North China and Northeast China, both accounting for 9%. Evidently, East China not only has the largest number of Red Cultural Heritage sites, but also features high spatial density, wide temporal coverage, and diverse resource types—establishing it as the core region of heritage distribution.

The Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration jointly issued policies to implement national guidelines on the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics. Following the principles of national coordination, regional clustering, and focused prioritization ^[30], they successively released the first and second batches of revolutionary cultural heritage protection and utilization zones, totaling 37 designated areas across 31 provinces, 268 municipalities, and 1,433 counties^[31]. These zones form a spatial system of revolutionary cultural preservation areas, using revolutionary relics as core carriers and counties as the basic management unit (Fig. 6). Among them, one particularly important linear cultural feature is the "Long March Cultural Heritage Belt," which creates a spatially continuous linear distribution pattern based on the sites associated with the Long March.

To summarize, China's Red Cultural Heritage can be divided into a spatial distribution pattern of “two cores, three axes, one belt, five clusters and multiple zones” (Fig. 7). Among them, “two cores” refers to the heritage groups centered on the revolutionary areas of Jiluyu (Hebei Province, Shandong Province and Henan Province) (north) and Ganminyue (Jiangxi Province, Fujian Province and Guangdong Province) (south). The “three axes” include: 1) A major north–south coastal axis, extending from Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong, southward through Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian to Guangdong and Hainan; 2) An east–west secondary axis in northern China, formed by Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu, associated with the historical context of the Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War, and forming a heritage corridor stretching from the coast inland; 3) An east–west secondary axis in southern China, composed of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, representing a red heritage corridor themed on the Northern Expedition and the Land Revolution. The “one belt” refers to the Long March Cultural Heritage Belt, a linear heritage corridor constructed with the marching routes of the three main Red Armies and the 25th Red Army as the skeleton, with designated cultural heritage sites along the route serving as its key carriers. The “five groups” include: 1) A northern cluster based on the revolutionary areas of Jiluyu, Jinjiyu, and Eyu’an; 2) A southern cluster including the areas of Minzhegan (Fujian–Zhejiang–Jiangxi), Xiang’egan, Jinggangshan, and Hailufeng; 3) A northeastern cluster, centered on the resistance activities of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army; 4) A northwestern cluster, based on the revolutionary areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia; 5) A southwestern cluster, primarily composed of the revolutionary base areas in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Finally, the “multiple zones”refer to the 37 revolutionary cultural heritage protection and utilization zones designated by four national-level departments. These zones are based on revolutionary bases formed during the Land Revolution and the Anti-Japanese War, and together they form a spatial layout of multiple regional sections.

5 Conclusion

From a macro perspective, this study analyzes Red Cultural Heritage using a dataset of more than 21,000 immovable revolutionary cultural relics sites in China as samples, and adopts GIS visualization means and spatial measurement to study the spatial and temporal evolution trend and distribution of Red Cultural Heritage. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: ① Type Distribution: China's Red Cultural Heritage is diverse, roughly divided into three major types and nine subtypes.Each type shows a scattered yet clustered distribution, indicating a strong spatial correlation with revolutionary events. Overall, the distribution is denser in the east and sparser in the west, particularly concentrated in East and Central China. ② Spatio-temporal Patterns: The distribution center of red heritage is predominantly located in eastern China, displaying a multi-core clustered structure. Standard deviation ellipse and mean center analyses show a dominant northeast-tilting orientation (approx. 45°), with distribution surfaces mainly in the east and coastal areas. Over time, the spatial center shifts from east to northwest, then northeast, and finally southwest, with an expanding distribution area and increasing dispersion. ③ Coupling of Events and Spatio-temporal Distribution: Heritage clusters align closely with revolutionary events of each historical period. These are mainly located in key base areas (e.g., Jiangxi, Shaanxi), major battle zones (e.g., Shandong, Hebei, Henan), and along important revolutionary routes or coastal regions (e.g., Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang). As historical contexts change, the distribution patterns become increasingly individualized, evolving from point-like proliferation to belt-like extension and eventually nationwide coverage. The spatial reach expands while concentration decreases. ④ Spatial Visualization Platform: By systematically tracing the revolutionary history of the CPC across four key periods—founding, Land Revolution, War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and Liberation War—and combining this with current protection zones, a unified spatial distribution map is created. This map highlights a core structure centered on the Jiluyu (Hebei–Shandong–Henan) and Ganminyue (Jiangxi–Fujian–Guangdong) regions, with a north–south coastal axis. Based on this, the platform of “two cores, three axes, one belt, five clusters, and multiple zones” is constructed, enhancing macro-level understanding of scattered heritage clusters.

Red Cultural Heritage serves as a vital vehicle for fostering patriotism and promoting cultural confidence in China. Using geographic methods to explore the spatial distribution and spatio-temporal evolution of Red Cultural Heritage can help to provide useful references for the overall protection and utilization of Red Cultural Heritage throughout the country. However, since the sample of the study fails to completely cover all the Red Cultural Heritage resources in the country, there are some errors in the analysis results. The quantitative analysis results will be further optimized with the supplementation and improvement of the sample data and the deepening of the Red Cultural Heritage related research in the later stage. On the road of firm cultural confidence, the Red Cultural Heritage with internationalized identifiers is one of the important contents of China's cultural soft power, and the spatial grasp of the Red Cultural Heritage at a macro level not only represents an innovative research perspective but also reveals the enduring vitality and cross-generational significance of red culture from a holistic regional viewpoint.