Tianditu
Available in | Simplified Chinese |
---|---|
Owner | State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping |
URL | www |
Commercial | No |
Registration | Optional, required for commercial use |
Launched | 18 January 2011 |
![]() | This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (May 2020) |
![]() | The neutrality of this article is disputed. (June 2020) |
Tianditu | |||
---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 天地圖 | ||
Simplified Chinese | 天地图 | ||
Literal meaning | world map (figurative) | ||
|
Tianditu (Chinese: 天地图; also Map World[1] in logos) is China’s first official free web mapping service. The beta version was launched by China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) on October 21, 2010. State media suggests that about 30 million netizens from over 210 countries and regions visited Tianditu after the beta version came online. After beta testing, Tianditu was officially launched on January 18, 2011. In June 2011, a trial version for mobile phones came online. And in October 2011, the mobile phone version was officially launched.[2] In 2020 10 million km² of 2m resolution imagery and 5.37 million km² of better than 1m resolution imagery was added.[3]
Licensing[]
Five months before Tianditu was officially launched in October 2010, the SBSM issued a regulation demanding that all companies wishing to provide online map services in China apply for a license. In order to obtain the license, companies have to agree to maintain their mapping servers in China. This created an unfavorable situation for Google, as the company aspires to greater control over its own data and servers. In March 2010, after the company’s mainland servers suffered major attacks in 2009 (presumably from the Chinese government), Google re-directed its search engine from Mainland China to Hong Kong. As Tianditu seeks to offer functions similar to those Google mapping service provides, one can see the creation of Tianditu as part of Beijing’s strategy to squeeze Google out of the China market, eventually making Tianditu the main source of geographic information for Chinese users.[4] This can be seen in various government publications that tout 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.[5]
Criticisms[]
In 2010 it was found that Tianditu used the same DigitalGlobe sourced imagery as used by Google Maps and Google Earth. Netizens based 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 are in Chinese. There are also 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.[4] As of 2012, 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) of Ziyuan 3-01 captured imagery was also used.[6]
Disputed areas[]
China is shown to assert its political claims over a number of controversial geographic locations on Tianditu. Other Chinese mapping services, such as Amap and Baidu Maps, have similar modifications made to them. For example, Taiwan is labeled as a province of China on Tianditu. The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are also included in the Chinese territory, although countries such as 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 the Indian government believes it is part of India.[7]
In addition to above, the maps also show the partially recognized states of Kosovo under Serbia (see China-Serbia relations) and Russian-occupied territories of Georgia.[citation needed]
References[]
- ^ "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
- ^ 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.
- ^ "自然资源部启用天地图2020版". m.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ Chen, Yu-wen (Dec 19, 2010). "Drawing borders alters our world". Editorials. Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
External links[]
- Internet in China
- Web Map Services
- Web mapping