Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Yellow River Basin: Its Spatial–Temporal Distribution Characteristics and Differentiation Causes

Studying the spatial distribution characteristics of and factors that influence intangible cultural heritage is an important way to improve the management and protection of the heritage. On the basis of the standard deviation ellipse, point pattern analysis, kernel density analysis, spatial autocorrelation, Geodetector, and other methods, 891 national intangible cultural heritage artifacts (divided into five batches and ten categories) in the Yellow River Basin were taken as the research objects, and their spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and causes were quantitatively analyzed. As per the results, (1) the intangible cultural heritage in the Yellow River Basin shows a spatial distribution pattern that is dense in the east and sparse in the west, and there is a strong spatial dependence; (2) the intangible cultural heritage in the Yellow River Basin shows a “west first and then east” trend in time, and the quantity and type have significant differences in different time sections; (3) according to the batch analysis, the aggregation of the second batch of the intangible cultural heritage is the strongest, and the NNI value continues to increase from the second to the fifth batch of the intangible cultural heritage, indicating that the development of intangible cultural heritage is increasingly related to areas with backward economies and ethnic minorities; and (4) policy orientation, economic development, and topography are the dominant factors affecting the spatial distribution pattern of the intangible cultural heritage in the Yellow River Basin.