Objective The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed to “build cultural confidence and strength and secure new successes in developing socialist culture”. At present, China’s urban construction and development model has gradually changed from the traditional rough model emphasizing resource competition and material to the new model emphasizing urban cultural soft power and urban spirit. In the core area of Beijing, a city with a long history of urban and capital construction, the distribution of cultural resources is highly representative in terms of historical, cultural, and social values. In order to promote the cultural function construction and cultural service system improvement of urban green spaces, and enhance the well-being of residents, this research evaluates and studies the cultural ecosystem services (CES) in the core area.

Methods This research utilizes the participatory geographic information system (PGIS) for data collection, which mainly consists of three steps: Questionnaire preparation, data collection, and data organization. The questionnaire includes three parts: basic information of the respondents (identity, gender, and age), CES scores of the core area, and plotting of CES perception points. This research distributes questionnaires synchronously online and offline to cover different age and identity groups for evaluation data collection. A total of 332 valid questionnaires are collected, with a total of 4,154 CES perception points plotted. These perception points are recorded in ArcGIS to complete the spatial placement of CES perception points. Additionally, the research uses the kernel density and the local indicators of spatial association (LISA) methods provided by the ArcGIS platform to analyze the density distribution of various CES perception points in the core area of Beijing, clustering patterns of different sub-districts, and clustering levels of different urban green spaces. Pearson correlation coefficient is used to evaluate the correlation between different types of CES perception and explore possible trade-offs and synergistic relationships.

Results This research finds that: 1) There exist differences in the ratings of cultural services in the core area among respondents of different ages, genders, and identities. Specifically, the three types of CES perception of “inspiration”, “aesthetic value”, and “cultural heritage value” are rated higher overall, while the two types of CES perception of “knowledge system” and “social relationship” are rated lower overall. 2) There exist differences in the spatial distribution of CES perception points in terms of density, clustering pattern, and clustering level. The high-density areas of CES perception points are arranged in a dispersed manner; the clustering patterns of CES perception points vary in different sub-districts. The CES perception points located on both sides of the central axis in the sub-districts mostly exhibit H-H and L-H clustering patterns, while Tiantan sub-districts mostly exhibits H-L clustering pattern. In different types of urban green spaces, the concentration level of CES perception points varies. The concentration level of CES perception points in park green spaces and affiliated green spaces is relatively balanced, while that in protective green spaces and square land varies greatly. 3) There exists a correlation between CES perception points, indicating a synergistic effect among various CES perceptions. Specifically, the positive correlation between “cultural heritage value” and other types of CES perception is most significant, while the correlation between “cultural diversity”, “social relations”, “recreation and ecotourism” and other types of CES perception is relatively low.

Conclusion The differences in spatial distribution of different types of CES perception points reflect the historical and cultural accumulation as well as urban development status of different parts of the core area of Beijing. Currently, the spatial distribution of various types of CES contradicts with the old city pattern of the core area of Beijing that is composed of the chessboard road network and historical water systems, indicating that the cultural resources in existing urban green spaces have not been fully explored. This may provide the following insights for the future protection and landscape optimization of the core area of Beijing. 1) In high-density built-up areas, the construction of point-shaped green spaces at the sub-district and community levels should consider incorporating the CES needs of residents and tourists into the decision-making of green space layout and landscape form, in order to better enhance the perception of less perceptible CES types such as “locality”, “social relationships” and “aesthetics”, avoid homogenization, and improve the efficiency of CES supply. 2) The solution to the lack of linear and circular distribution of CES in the core area is to transform the chessboard-shaped road network into a landscape shade, and restore and create the Second Ring Road and other historical water system patterns. With the development of technology and the increasing attention of the academic community to public participation, the PGIS method for CES evaluation can depict more detailed and accurate public cognitive portraits, while meeting the data needs of spatial analysis and research. In the future, it is urgent to build a CES perception and evaluation platform through new technologies, collect and archive CES perception data with multiple time dimensions, spatial levels, and population types, and conduct dynamic tracking research on CES in specific areas, in order to provide guidance for improving the quality and sustainable development of urban green space in the core area of Beijing.