Following our previous article on Processing China Marathon Data for Spatial Analysis, this guide demonstrates heatmap visualization of marathon venues using QGIS.

Data Preparation

Source: Processed marathon dataset from previous tutorial
Import workflow:

  1. Layer → Add Layer → Add Delimited Text Layer
  2. Auto-detect latitude/longitude columns
  3. Confirm import parameters

    Resulting point distribution:

Heatmap Generation

  1. Right-click layer → Properties
  2. Navigate to Symbology tab → Select Heatmap renderer
  3. Adjust parameters (default values used; transparency modified)
  4. Apply changes
    Final heatmap:

Basemap Integration

Enhance visual context using:

  1. QuickMapService Plugin Guide
  2. Adding Chinese Basemaps (Tianditu/Gaode)

Implementation Notes

  • Software: QGIS 3.38.2 (macOS)
  • Efficiency: QGIS provides rapid, lightweight visualization for spatial distribution analysis

Heatmaps effectively reveal marathon concentration patterns in eastern China, with notable activity in major metropolitan areas and seasonal variations.