China updates national platform for common geospatial information services

China has updated its geospatial information services platform with a high-definition map, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) on Monday.

The 2021 version of the National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Services offers an online search of high definition map for the first time, allowing users to observe a 360-degree rotation of the map

The new version of the platform updated and data fusion of 263 city nodes, 31 provincial nodes and state-level nodes. It has also realized data integration of the basic geographic information and the names of sea island, sea bottom topography, offshore below sea level contour and ocean geographical information.

The new version has updated such basic geographical information as road, waterways and residential areas. For instance, the new version shows that the total length of roads in the country has reached 17.59 million kilometers, increasing by about 9.8 percent and the number of residential factors has reached 170 million, increasing by about 8 percent.

"In the big data era, location information is a very crucial correlation factor. The new version of the platform has enhanced the correlation functions between various specialized or attributive information and geographical information. For example, our educational departments or medical departments have information about schools or hospitals. These information may be integrated with the spatial location through the interface and functions of related services provided by the platform," said Huang Wei, director of the public platform department of the National Basic Geographic Information Center under the MNR.

The new version of the platform has raised the accuracy in searching for the names and administrative divisions, helping user to identify the position on the map quickly.

The platform can also provide all users with authoritative, standard and unified online geographical information services.