Theories, methods, and practice on the National Atlases of China

Summary

National atlases are authoritative cartographic works that reflect a country's overall status in science and technology, economy, society, resources, and environment, and are regarded as symbols of a nation's scientific and cultural level. This paper first reviews the history of national atlas compilation worldwide, then highlights China's achievements in compiling the first and second editions of the National Atlases of China (NAC). The first edition, initiated in 1956, comprised four volumes (general, physical, economic, and historical), with the physical atlas completed in 1965. The second edition, launched in 1982, consisted of five volumes (general, physical, economic, agricultural, and historical). The National Economic Atlas of China and the National Physical Atlas of China, in both Chinese and English versions, were published successively in the 1990s, followed by their electronic versions, and received first-class awards for scientific and technological progress from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The second edition was directed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, involving more than 500 institutions and over 3,000 experts, representing an internationally advanced level at the time. Based on systematic summarization of the previous two editions, this paper distills two major theories—comprehensive mapping and statistical mapping—as well as design principles for electronic atlases and new technological methods. The paper then introduces the design scheme for the New Century Edition of the National Atlases of China (NCNAC), covering its orientation, technological system, volume arrangement, and key scientific and technological problems to be solved. The NCNAC plans 14 volumes, including satellite imagery, three-dimensional landforms, geomorphology, geology, marine, population, urban and town, regional sustainable development, land resources, energy resources, hydrology, ecological environment, administration and transportation, and tourism and recreation. Key challenges to be addressed include intelligent cartographic editing, extraction of thematic information through data mining, consistency among printed, electronic, and internet versions, information security and copyright issues, timely data updating, balancing the informational and functional needs of scientists and the public, and harmonizing scientific features with commercial management. The paper concludes that China's two editions of national atlases have contributed significantly to cartography worldwide, and the New Century Edition will further promote the development of cartography and geographic information science in China.