[Distribution characteristics and protection strategies of provincial-level and above acupuncture-moxibustion intangible cultural heritage projects in China].

This study systematically collected and analyzed 165 provincial-level and above acupuncture-moxibustion intangible cultural heritage projects from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in China from 2006 to 2025, and conducted an in-depth study from four dimensions: spatial distribution, temporal evolution, level structure, and technical type. The results showed that acupuncture-moxibustion intangible cultural heritage projects presented obvious "overall dispersion, local aggregation" distribution characteristics in space, with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province, etc. being high-density areas, reflecting the profound influence of regional culture, medical schools, and ethnic medicine traditions. The total number of projects showed an upward trend, especially with explosive growth during 2021-2025, which was closely related to national policies on the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine. The level structure was dominated by provincial-level projects, accounting for 91.5%; although national-level projects were fewer in number, they played a leading role. The technical types covered seven major categories, including acupuncture methods, moxibustion methods, cupping methods, bloodletting, ethnic characteristic therapies, etc. demonstrating a rich and diverse technical ecology and the "diversity in unity" pattern of Chinese medicine. This study revealed problems in the current protection of acupuncture-moxibustion intangible cultural heritage, and "emphasizing application submission while neglecting protection". It also notes the prominent value of ethnic medicine, and proposed that protection should shift from "quantity growth" to "quality improvement", and that a systematic and ecological protection and inheritance system should be constructed, providing theoretical basis and policy reference for the sustainable development of acupuncture and moxibustion intangible cultural heritage.