Examining the flow of cultural ecosystem services in Asia: insights from China’s meta-coupled relationships

Against the backdrop of accelerating globalization and urbanization, cultural ecosystem service (CES) flows, despite being important in regional development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have yet to be systematically studied across spatial scales. Based on the meta-coupling framework, this study integrates the MaxEnt model and breakpoint model to quantitatively analyze the patterns and driving mechanisms of CES flows at three spatial scales: within China, between China and neighboring countries, and between China and distant countries. Drawing on 292,290 Asian points of interest (POI) and eight key environmental factors (with population density and potential evapotranspiration contributing the most), the research reveals the spatial differentiation and interaction characteristics of CES flows across multiple scales. The results indicate that CES flows exhibit significant differences among the three scales. At the domestic scale (internal coupling), high-value areas (≥0.61) for aesthetic and recreational CES are mainly concentrated in eastern and southern China, while high-value areas for spiritual and educational CES (≥0.61) are concentrated east of the Heihe-Tengchong Line. Moreover, interprovincial flows of aesthetic and recreational CES are more than 30% higher than those of other types, and the proportion of total CES flows falling in the medium-value range (0.25–0.75) increases significantly, suggesting strengthened interprovincial connections under multi-category weighting. At the neighboring scale (proximal coupling), CES exchanges are centered on historical-cultural ties and economic cooperation, with notably higher flows to Russia and Vietnam compared to Myanmar, and the proportion of total CES flows in the 0.50–0.75 range is the highest (17.6%). At the distant scale (distal coupling), flows of aesthetic and research-educational CES exceed those of spiritual and recreational CES, with high-value areas concentrated in West Asia and Eastern Europe, whereas the majority of total CES flows fall within the low-value range (0.00–0.25). These spatial patterns not only reflect the dynamics of cultural exchanges, but also hold important implications for regional environmental sustainability and management. The complex mechanisms underlying multi-scale CES exchanges underscore the need to fully consider the interactions and feedbacks among CES types, ensuring that environmental factors are consistently integrated into policy-making and cultural management, thereby providing robust quantitative support for decision-making.