Network Research Of Land Transport In The Three Gorges In The Qing Dynasty

The Yangtze River's Three Gorges, which is a special place full of wonders, has a long history. And it runs through the East and the West of China, serving as the main artery which connects the East and the West part of China. With the completion of the Three Gorges Project, the water line of the Three Gorges Conservation Area is about to reach 175 meters. As a result, the geographic interest which once embodied the trace of brilliant civilization of the Three Gorges Conservation Area will be partly submerged by water. Facing the current situation, the present research which forms part of the project-"Reproduce Research of Historical Atlas of the Yangtze River's Three Gorges" is being conducted. The present thesis mainly focuses on geographic research of basic routes of land transport in the Three Gorges in the Qing Dynasty, in order that recover the basic profiles of land transport routes as far as possible. It hopes to provide detailed and accurate geographic information for the project-"Reproduce Research of Historical Atlas of the Yangtze River's Three Gorges".The first part of the thesis explained the reason of carrying out the research and highlights the academic value and practical significance of doing it. The second part focused on the detailed textual research of basic land routes in the Three Gorges in the Qing Dynasty. It respective researched the roads and paths which lead to Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan and Guizhou in this region. Meanwhile, it has been researched the inner-county and county roads and paths of the sixteen counties in this region, as well as outlined in detail the alignment of these roads and paths. The third part of the thesis summary analyzed the characteristics and influencing factors of the land transport network in the Three Gorges in the Qing Dynasty. It considered that the land transport network in the Three Gorges in the Qing Dynasty showed such characteristics:in the aspect of tend towards of roads, it showed significantly that building roads along the rivers; in the aspect of roads' frame, the status of east-west main roads have improved and have replaced the status of north-south roads which leaded to Shanxi in this region in the Qing Dynasty; in the aspect of transport hub, the pattern of multi-level and network has been emerged. In addition, the thesis analyzed the natural and socio-economic factors which have affected the land transport network in the Three Gorges in the Qing Dynasty.