Recently, many have asked why the China National Standard Map Service doesn’t offer SHP format downloads and whether EPS files can be converted to SHP format.
Regarding the first question, I don’t know the exact reason. Personally, I suspect it may relate to the unique coordinate system used by the standard map service (refer to "What Projection Coordinate System Does the National Standard Map Use?"). So, can we convert the currently provided EPS format maps to SHP?
The answer is: Yes, but it’s largely unnecessary.
I recently experimented with this process and documented the steps below for those interested.
Step 1: Convert EPS to DWG/DXF
First, download an EPS format map from the National Standard Map Service website. I selected this one:
http://bzdt.ch.mnr.gov.cn/browse.html?picId=%224o28b0625501ad13015501ad2bfc0483%22
Why this one? Because it’s simple.
Open the downloaded EPS file using Adobe Illustrator (AI). If you don’t require advanced features, a lower version suffices. I used Adobe Illustrator 2019. After opening the EPS file:
Select Ungroup, then go to Select > Same > Fill & Stroke.
This selects the target features. Go to File > Export.
Check Export Selected Only and export as a DWG file.
Step 2: Import DWG/DXF into ArcGIS Pro
The exported graphic from Step 1 often contains extraneous elements. Further editing in ArcGIS Pro is needed. Before importing, configure ArcGIS Pro: I assumed the standard map uses the Albers projection (no particular reason, just resemblance). If newly installed, the China-specific Albers projection may be missing. Create it:
Open Map Properties and locate Coordinate Systems.
Search for "Albers", find Asia North Albers Equal Area Conic, right-click, and select Copy and Modify.
Set the three key parameters to 105, 25, 47, then confirm. (Add the new coordinate system to Favorites to retain it.) Set the map’s coordinate system to this newly created one.
Now open the exported DXF/DWG file:
Elements remain cluttered. Manually edit the data:
Only one layer contains the desired data. Export this layer to SHP: Right-click the layer, select Data > Export Features.
After exporting, reopen the file. Some points are unnecessary. Before editing in ArcGIS Pro, define the projection to enable editing. Locate the Define Projection tool in the Geoprocessing pane.
Select the exported SHP file and set the coordinate system to Albers_CN.
Delete unwanted data. The processed result:
Step 3: Manual Data Adjustment
Starting to resemble the target? Not yet—the coordinates are incorrect. Import a correctly georeferenced map for reference. For demonstration, I used a vector file from Tianditu: "[GIS Data] 2024 National Standard Vector Map (County-Level Precision) Review No.: GS(2024) 0650" (Link).
Use ArcGIS Pro’s Scale and Move tools to align the layers. This requires meticulous manual adjustment.
Below is my result after 30 minutes of alignment—still slightly off, and my eyes are strained. Save once satisfied.
Conclusion
This tutorial proves converting EPS files to SHP format is feasible.
Practically, for maps like this China example, it’s unnecessary—directly use Tianditu’s county-level files with review numbers for better accuracy. However, this method may be useful for specialized maps.
Ultimately, QGIS AI Automated Vectorization might be faster, though equally taxing on the eyes.