Spatial poverty level can be an indicator to identify the special poverty in the contiguous mountainous areas of China. The in-depth identification can greatly contribute to constructing the early warning for the returning of poverty in the revitalization of rural areas, even to the integration of urban and rural areas after 2020. Among them, a large number of the population are living in absolute poverty in the Qinling-Bashan and Wuling Mountainous Areas, Chongqing, South China. Since the poverty alleviation strategy has been launched for the high level of poverty, it is very necessary to better consolidate the attack in the later stage during this time. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the spatial characteristics of multidimensional poverty in this region in the early and middle stages of poverty alleviation. An explanation was also given to delineate the causes and distribution of poverty in the township in the concentrated contiguous special poverty areas. The indicators were selected to characterize the physical and geographical features, social security, economic development, and location transportation in 2015. An evaluation index system of multidimensional poverty was constructed to implement the poverty geographical identification using the entropy rights method and hotspot analysis. The results showed that: 1) The poverty level of the township was mainly relatively high and above. There was a significantly different spatial distribution of poverty in various dimensions. The multidimensional poverty space presented a distribution of “north deep, south, middle and shallow”, the outstanding concentration of high-value areas, and the highest poverty level in the northern study areas. It infers that the fragile natural environment was attributed to the fewer economic resources in the study areas. The undeveloped traffic system was coupled with the location far away from the metropolis, Chongqing City. The less circulation of local elements and external resources obstructed the local economic and social development. The degree of poverty was also deepened, as most local residents (labor and talents) migrated to Chongqing City. 2) The poverty degrees were measured under each dimension to identify the poverty factors of the evaluation unit. Five large types and 16 small types of weak comprehensive constraint type, one-factor constraint type, two-factor constraint type, three-factor constraint type, and strong comprehensive constraint type were divided, accounting for 27.29%, 33.42%, 21.43%, 16.33%, 1.53% of the Qinling-Bashan Mountains, indicating the three-factor and strong comprehensive constraints. By contrast, the Wuling Mountains were more manifested as the two-factor and one-dimensional constraints. The weak comprehensive constraints were dominated in the Wanzhou District that connected the Qinling-Bashan Mountains and the Wuling Mountains, indicating the regional poverty from the comprehensive factors. Therefore, the different types of poverty-causing factors can greatly contribute to the decision-making on infrastructure investment and the introduction of leading enterprises in each region. The finding can provide a prerequisite scientific basis to evaluate poverty alleviation and rural revitalization at the township scale. © 2022 Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. All rights reserved.
