Tianditu

Tianditu (Chinese: 天地图; also Map World[1] in logos) is China’s official free web mapping service. It was launched by China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) on 22 October 2010.

Tianditu (天地图)
Available inSimplified Chinese
OwnerState Bureau of Surveying and Mapping
URLwww.tianditu.gov.cn
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional, required for commercial use
Launched18 January 2011 (2011-01-18)
Tianditu
Traditional Chinese天地圖
Simplified Chinese天地图
Literal meaningworld map (figurative)

Tianditu seeks to offer functions similar to those provided by Google mapping service. The creation of Tianditu is seen as part of the Chinese government’s strategy to squeeze Google out of the China market, eventually making Tianditu the main source of geographic information for Chinese users.[2] This objective is also expressed in various government publications that describe Tianditu as the ‘authoritative’ source for online geographic information. For example, SBSM Director General Xu Deming expressed that the ultimate aim is to create ‘one web, one map, and one platform’, offering the most authoritative and comprehensive web mapping services to Chinese citizens. Xu Deming also emphasized that Tianditu would be a ‘reliable and excellent national brand’ in the field of online mapping services.[3]

History

The beta version of Tianditu was launched by SBSM on 22 October 2010. State media suggests that about 30 million users from over 210 countries and regions visited Tianditu after the beta version came online. After beta testing, Tianditu was officially launched on 18 January 2011. In June 2011, a trial version for mobile phones was launched. And in October 2011, the mobile phone version was officially launched.[4]

In 2020, 10 million km² of 2m resolution imagery and 5.37 million km² of better than 1m resolution imagery was added.[5]

Licensing

Five months before Tianditu as launched in October 2010, the SBSM required all companies providing online map services in China hold a license, and requires them to maintain their mapping servers in China.

Relations with Google

The requirement to locate servers in China has created a problem for Google in China, which insists on controlling its data and servers. In 2009, Google’s mainland servers experienced major cyberattacks (presumably from the Chinese government), and in March 2010, Google re-directed its search engine from Google.cn in mainland China to Google.com.hk in Hong Kong.

Criticisms

In 2010 it was found that Tianditu used the same DigitalGlobe sourced imagery as used by Google Maps and Google Earth. Users in China and elsewhere have posted images extracted from Tianditu and Google to make a comparison and found images from both sources to be identical, except that those from Tianditu were in Chinese. There have also been complaints about the quality of the service because the data is only updated about twice a year, while Google can update its information more frequently, as often as every few minutes if it wishes.[2] As of 2012, 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) of Ziyuan 3-01 captured imagery was also used.[6]

Disputed areas

Tianditu follows Chinese international territorial claims, without any indication that areas are disputed. Other Chinese mapping services, such as Amap and Baidu Maps, follow similar practices. For example, Taiwan is labeled as a province of China. The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are also included as the Chinese territory, although Vietnam and the Philippines also claim these islands. The nine-dash line is drawn around them. Arunachal Pradesh is also labeled as a part of Tibet, belonging to China, while India claims it is part of India.[7]

In addition, Tianditu also shows the partially recognized states of Kosovo as part of Serbia (see China-Serbia relations) and Russian-occupied territories of Georgia as part of Russia.

See also

References
  1. "China unveils its own version of Google Earth". The Daily Telegraph. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2019. "Map World" was unveiled by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping on Thursday
  2. "网络地图国家队"天地图"开通 卫星图片疑与谷歌同源". Southern Metropolis Daily. 2010-10-25. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  3. Ma, H.-Y (2011) ‘Observing Digital China from Tianditu: An Interview with SBSM Director General Xi Deming’, China’s National People’s Congress Publication 46-47.
  4. Chen, Yu-Wen; Yap, Ko-Hua; Lee, Joey Ying (2013). "Tianditu: China's first official online mapping service". Media, Culture & Society. 35 (2): 234–249. doi:10.1177/0163443712468776. ISSN 0163-4437. S2CID 144029142.
  5. "自然资源部启用天地图2020版". m.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  6. "资源三号卫星为天地图提供首幅国外影像数据(图)_军事频道_凤凰网". Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  7. Chen, Yu-wen (Dec 19, 2010). "Drawing borders alters our world". Editorials. Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
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