Spatial Patterns and Sustainability Constraints of Rural Tourism Development Along the Qi Great Wall: A Cultural Heritage Corridor Perspective

The Qi Great Wall is one of China’s earliest surviving linear cultural heritage corridors, and its surrounding rural areas play a dual role in heritage conservation and tourism development. However, the corridor has received limited attention in tourism and rural research, facing challenges of fragmented development. This study focuses on rural areas along the Qi Great Wall and develops a comprehensive analytical framework integrating multidimensional evaluation, obstacle degree analysis, and development typology to assess rural tourism development levels across the 15 corridor sections, identify their major constraints, and formulate differentiated development strategies. The results reveal substantial spatial disparities in rural tourism development, with a general west-to-east decline. Tourism resources constitute the primary constraint, followed by tourism reception facilities, transportation facilities, and infrastructure and public services. The 15 sections are classified into four types, namely strong node led, service quality optimization, destination identity cultivation, and support capacity enhancement, providing a basis for targeted and differentiated interventions. The findings have practical implications for rural tourism planning and coordinated heritage conservation along the Qi Great Wall, and the analytical framework offers methodological insights transferable to other linear cultural heritage corridors.