The Study On The Spatial Distribution Of Settlements Along Dali-Diqing Section Of The Yunnan-Tibet Ancient Tea-horse Road

The Tea-Horse road was a rise from Tang Dynasty. It passed through the highest altitude and multiple ethnic. However, as time pass by, the modern transportation instead of mule transportation. Only a small portion of trail was saved. As the former culture exchange channel, The Tea-Horse road historical and cultural value shouldn’t be underestimated. It is protection issues must be resolved.Settlements along the Tea-Horse road are part of the road. Therefore, this article used the Tea-horse road between Diqing and Dali in Yunnan province and the settlements along the road for study. The results showed that gravity range of the Tea-horse road between Diqing and Dali is along the trail within20-25km. Gravitational maximum value of360, the minimum is close to0. Gravity greater than the average value of3distribution along the trail in the range8km, and with this range, the closer the trail of settlements, the greater the gravitational influence of the trail. At the same time, this article by studying Lijiang Dayan Ancient Town, analyze the relationship between the trail and the settlement of internal space. Research showed that the trail have greater influence on the settlement of commercial space and the water distribution system.Based on the above conclusions, this article suggests to protect the Tea-Horse road cultural heritage through the establishment of protected areas. The protected areas are within20-25kilometers along the road, within8km of trail cultural core protected areas, and8-25km of trail culture generally protected areas, and forming the commercial space-based cultural preservation district inside of settlement.