As the material product of the Third-Front Construction programme (1964-1984), the Third-Front Construction Industrial Heritage (TFCIH) represents China’s national defense industry achievements and has unique cultural value. However, inadequate conservation awareness have produced an unprecedented crisis. The aim of this study was to draw more attention to the value of TFCIH to promote future conservation and development. Taking 167 TFCIH sites in the Yangtze River Delta Region as a representative example, the spatial distribution pattern of TFCIH were explored using GIS analysis tools with average nearest neighbors, spatial variability, kernel density analysis. Moreover, a geographic detector was also applied to reveal the driving factors that affected the distribution. The results indicate that (1) The distribution of TFCIH in the Yangtze River Delta Region exhibited a spatial pattern of cohesive clusters, forming a high-density area and development center in the border area between southern Anhui and western Zhejiang, and two secondary-density areas in the Western Anhui and South Zhejiang parts. (2) 74% of the TFCIH are located in the rural and 26% in the city. (3) The TFCIH follows the site selection principle of "relying on mountains, dispersing and concealment", which is mainly distributed in the areas with high terrain, relatively flat terrain, close to water bodies and close to main roads. (4) Natural geography, transportation and GDP constituted the major driving factors for the TFCIH distribution and interacted with other factors, with average altitude and NDVI were having the strongest interpretation. These findings reveal the spatial distribution characteristics of TFCIH in the Yangtze River Delta Region and provide concrete guidance and positive foundations for future conservation.

Third-Front Construction Industrial Heritage (TFCIH), Spatial Pattern, Influencing Factors, Yangtze River Delta Region, Geodetector Model