Author: An anonymous GIS professional specializing in astronomy, geography, remote sensing, and geomancy.

Tianditu (National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Services), hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, provides public online geospatial services and promotes geospatial data sharing. For GIS professionals, a common requirement is loading various online basemaps. Tianditu offers convenient services for desktop software like ArcMap and QGIS. While QGIS has mature plugins, this guide focuses on ArcMap users.

Applying for Tianditu API Key

  1. Access Tianditu: https://www.tianditu.gov.cn/
  2. Register/Log in via the top-right buttons
  3. Navigate to Development Resources → Console

  4. Create a new application:

    • Name: Custom name
    • Industry Category: Select relevant field
    • Application Type: Must choose Server-side
  5. Upon creation, note your API Key (token)

Configuring ArcMap

  1. Open ArcMap Catalog window → GIS Servers → Add WMTS Server
  2. Obtain WMTS URLs from:
    http://lbs.tianditu.gov.cn/server/MapService.html
  3. For vector basemaps (EPSG:4326), use:
    http://t0.tianditu.gov.cn/vec_c/esri/wmts
    (Note: Exclude ?tk=your_key)

  4. In WMTS server settings:

    • URL: http://t0.tianditu.gov.cn/vec_c/esri/wmts

    • Custom Parameters:

      • Parameter: tk
      • Value: [Your API Key]

Usage Instructions

  1. Newly added services show red "×" indicating disconnected status
  2. Double-click the service to connect
  3. Drag desired layers into the map view

Key Notes

  1. Quota Limits: Free accounts have 10,000 daily requests (resets at midnight)
  2. Performance Tip: Toggle layer visibility during panning to reduce loading lag
  3. Domain Rotation: Use t0-t7 domains (e.g., http://t2.tianditu.gov.cn/vec_c/esri/wmts) if connection slows

  4. Version Compatibility:

    • ArcMap 10.2 cannot process tk parameters
    • Versions ≤10.5.1 may require saving layer files from newer ArcMap versions
  5. URL Requirement: Always include /esri/ in paths to avoid offset errors (e.g., .../vec_c/esri/wmts)

Tips 4-5 contributed by community members @以力服人 and @诸侯尽西来