science

Tianditu

Tianditu is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tianditu rather than just read about it. In short: Tianditu (Chinese: 天地图; also Map World 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.

Key takeaways

Tianditu belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tianditu to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tianditu from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tianditu (Chinese: 天地图; also Map World 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 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. 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.

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

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. As of 2012, 10,000 km2 (3,900 mi2) of Ziyuan 3-01 captured imagery was also used.

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. 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 Georgia.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tianditu

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tianditu claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tianditu before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tianditu ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tianditu

In research: Tianditu appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tianditu in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tianditu is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet in China, Web Map Services, Web mapping, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tianditu outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tianditu in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tianditu means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tianditu out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tianditu in simple terms?

Tianditu (Chinese: 天地图; also Map World 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.

Why does Tianditu matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tianditu?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tianditu.