MalaGIS

Sharing GIS Technologies, Resources and News.

In the previous article, Loading the Geovis Earth Basemap in ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, and QGIS, I introduced the free Geovis Earth basemap service. Recently, some readers asked whether I could create a tutorial on loading imagery from Siwei Earth.

So I gave it a try — and yes, it technically works (using their free API). However, the imagery turned out to have major positional offsets, making it unsuitable for practical use. Still, the API extraction method itself is quite interesting, so let’s explore it.

PS: If you’re only looking for a usable basemap URL, you can skip this post. I’ve tested it — it doesn’t work properly.

Above: The loaded data shows significant offset issues.

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Many users have reported that after switching to the Tianditu basemap in the China region of ArcGIS Pro, some imagery appears unclear and there are limited style options. Well, given the particular nature of our industry and the strict requirements for data legality and compliance, if data confidentiality is a concern, it is strongly recommended not to use map sources outside the China region. So, are there any other Chinese map sources available? Of course, I found a basemap service with decent clarity: the Jilin-1 map source. It offers a free usage quota for individuals, and I highly recommend it.

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Following recent announcements from the Ministry of State Security and the service suspension of ArcGIS Pro basemaps, many users have suggested switching to QGIS. However, does using QGIS truly ensure security and compliance? After several days of research, this article attempts to explore this issue and welcomes further discussion.

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In the previous article "ArcGIS Pro Basemap Service Access Issues in China and Solutions", we discussed the unavailability of ArcGIS Pro basemap services within China. One of the suggested solutions was to wait for an official fix. Surprisingly, the ArcGIS Pro team acted swiftly. Just yesterday (2025-09-18), upon opening ArcGIS Pro, the basemap services were already functioning normally again.

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Early yesterday morning, our team received several messages in the Malagis GIS backend asking why the ArcGIS Pro basemap services couldn’t be loaded. I went to check it out and was quite puzzled—everything was working smoothly on my end without any issues. So, I posted about it on social media and found that most friends couldn’t access it either, with only a few reporting it was working. Some also shared solutions in the comments.

After seeing everyone’s workarounds, I realized my tool had been set to the default mode all along. After switching to direct mode, a big exclamation mark indeed appeared.

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Extracting river/canal centerlines is a common task in GIS data processing. Users of ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro likely find it straightforward. Recently, many colleagues have started exploring QGIS, someone in My GIS Group asked about this, making it a good time to document the process.

PS: The author will focus on introducing methods to achieve ArcGIS-equivalent functions in QGIS. If you have specific needs in this area, feel free to leave a comment.

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In a previous article "Practical Application of Geo Hound: Extracting Wuhan's Unified Planning Map Services for GIS Analysis", I demonstrated using Geo Hound to access Wuhan's planning map data in QGIS. A key objective was comparing land-use planning attributes against reality to identify discrepancies. While I mentioned using layer swipe for this comparison, many readers inquired about implementing swipe functionality in QGIS.

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Share an official ESRI ArcGIS Pro tutorial book. The book uses ArcGIS Pro version 3.1. If you need this version, you can download it from our site. Refer to "Share ArcGIS Pro 3.1 'Learning Edition' Complete Installation Package (Includes Chinese Language Pack, Updated to 3.1.7)".

This PDF comes from the MalaGIS WeChat group. It is not a scanned copy but a high-quality original, making it an excellent resource for learning both GIS technology and English.

Book Introduction

GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.1 is a widely acclaimed introductory textbook on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Co-authored by Wilpen L. Gorr and Kristen S. Kurland, renowned educators from Carnegie Mellon University, and published by Esri Press, this fifth edition was released in June 2023. Designed specifically for ArcGIS Pro 3.1, it provides a systematic and practical learning path for beginners with no prior GIS experience.

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Following my previous article "This Certification is Highly Valuable for GIS Job Seekers, Yet Overlooked by Many", which helped numerous GIS professionals advance their careers, a middle school geography teacher recently requested vector data for China's geographic regional partitions for classroom presentations. After research, I'm sharing this valuable dataset.

Data Specifications

• Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_Krasovsky_1940
• Projected Coordinate System: Krasovsky_1940_Albers

• Regions Included:

  • Tarim and Turpan Basins
  • Qaidam Basin
  • Central Shanxi-Northern Shaanxi-Eastern Gansu Plateau
  • Eastern Qinghai-Qilian Mountains
  • Liaodong-Jiaodong Hills
  • Central Shandong Hills
  • Southern Shanxi-Guanzhong Basin
  • Ngari Mountains
  • Qiangtang Plateau Lake Basin
  • Western Sichuan-Eastern Tibet High Mountains
  • Sichuan Basin
  • Jiangnan and Nanling Mountains
  • Guizhou Plateau
  • Jiangnan Hills
  • Yunnan Plateau
  • Qiong-Lei Hills
  • Sanjiang Plain
  • Northeastern Mountain Region
  • Northeastern Piedmont Plain
  • Central Songliao Plain
  • Southern Greater Khingan Range
  • Sanhe Piedmont Hills
  • Southwestern Songliao Plain
  • Eastern Inner Mongolia High Plain
  • Western Inner Mongolia High Plain
  • Northern Kunlun Mountains
  • Junggar Basin
  • Altai Mountains and Tacheng Basin
  • Ili Basin
  • North China Plain
  • Southern Himalayas
  • Fujian-Guangxi-Guangdong Hills and Plains
  • Kunlun Alpine Plateau
  • Central-Northern Taiwan Mountains and Plains
  • Golog-Nagqu Hilly Plateau
  • Alxa and Hexi Corridor
  • Qiong-Lei Lowlands
  • South Tibet Mountains
  • Qiong-Lei Lowlands and Dongsha Islands
  • Southern Yunnan Valleys and Hills
  • Southern Qinghai Plateau Wide Valleys
  • Hanzhong Basin
  • Huainan and Middle-Lower Yangtze Plains
  • North China Hills
  • Southern Taiwan Lowlands
  • Greater Khingan Range

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Following my previous article on extracting Wuhan's planning map services using Geo Hound, the original Wuhan data source implemented access restrictions. For a recent leadership demonstration, I identified an alternative: Shanghai's Detailed Planning Map service.

Note: While workarounds exist for Wuhan's restricted data, this article focuses on ethically accessible sources.

Shanghai Detailed Planning Map

Shared by members of the MalaGIS community (special thanks!), this official platform provides comprehensive urban planning data:
https://shanghai.tianditu.gov.cn/xg/map.html

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