황하 유역의 생태-관광-문화 결합 발전 연구

Study on the Coupled Development of Ecology, Tourism and Culture in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin is a crucial ecological security barrier and cultural tourism resource-rich area in China, where the coordinated development of ecology-tourism-culture; concerns national major strategies. Based on panel data from 2014 to 2023 across nine provinces along the Yellow River including Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu, this study constructs an evaluation index system for the coupling coordination of ecology-tourism-culture, employing the entropy weighting method and coupling coordination model to measure and analyze their interactive relationships and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics. The findings reveal: First, the overall coupling coordination degree of the Yellow River Basin increased from 0.785 to 0.858, upgrading from moderate coordination to good coordination, forming a dynamic cycle mechanism of cultural empowerment-industrial value-added-ecological optimization. Second, significant provincial disparities exist, with Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu maintaining long-term leadership, Shaanxi and Shandong showing slight declines while remaining stable, Shanxi and Henan experiencing fluctuating declines, Qinghai achieving the largest growth yet still ranking mid-tier, and Ningxia lagging behind consistently. Third, coupling levels exhibit a gradient distribution from excellent-good-disordered, with Ningxia and Qinghai occasionally showing mild or near-disorder, while most other provinces remain at good or higher levels. Fourth, cultural resources serve as the core attraction for tourism, with tourism revenue supporting ecological and cultural preservation. However, excessive commercialization, tourist overload, and community marginalization may lead to cultural distortion and ecological degradation. Based on these findings, the study proposes zoned and categorized measures: leading provinces should demonstrate and promote best practices, mid-tier provinces should address weaknesses, and underdeveloped provinces should strengthen ecological protection and cultural exploration. It also establishes cultural carrying capacity thresholds and development intensity redlines, improves community co-governance and ecological compensation mechanisms, providing theoretical foundations and practical models for ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.