An exploratory spatial analysis of western medical services in Republican Beijing

In this paper, we reconstructed the spatial organization of Western medical services in Beijing city during the Republican period using a recently completed Republican Beijing GIS dataset. The primary objective is to explore the utility of spatial analytical methods, such as hotspot analysis and geographically weighted regression (GWR), in studying the spatial patterns of Western medical services. Our study is successful in depicting the spatial structure of Western medical services in the city. In addition, our analysis offers a preliminary but holistic view of the spatial relationships between Western medical services in the city and traditional Chinese medicine, population distribution, temple locations and industry-commerce patterns.

► We studied the Western medical services in Republican Beijing. ► Spatial analyses include hotspot analysis and geographically weighted regression. ► We depict the spatial structure of Western medical services in the city. ► The study provides a holistic view of the spatial relationships of several factors. ► These factors are Western medical services, Chinese medicine, population, and others.