Raorao Su苏绕绕

My research uses historical maps, archival sources, spatial databases, and GIS to study long-term spatial change, cultural landscapes, water systems, settlements, and human–environment relations in China and Inner Asia.

Current projects include: the relationship between Tibetan Buddhism and environmental change, with a focus on the spatial dynamics of monasteries across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau; the historical geography of settlements in China; and the reconstruction of hydrographic networks in arid Northwest China over the past century.

I have published multiple academic articles in both English and Chinese, including papers in SSCI-, SCI-, CSSCI-, and CSCD-indexed journals, as well as book chapters published or forthcoming with Cambridge University Press and Columbia University Press. For a complete list of publications, please see my CV.

I have a longstanding interest in exploring frontier regions and remote landscapes through fieldwork. My research has taken me across Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Alaska, where I have conducted investigations related to historical geography, environmental history, archaeology, and landscape change.

Extensive field experience in the Tibetan Plateau, Xinjiang, and the Amdo region has informed my understanding of historical settlements, religious landscapes, and long-term human–environment interactions.