Abstract: Three representative scenic-reliant villages  in Wulingyuan District were selected as the research samples,and the method of Participatory Rural Appraisal combined with GIS spatial analysis was used to study the spatial distribution characteristics of the guest houses and the influencing factors in the study area.The results indicate that the spatial distribution of the guest houses forms a clustering pattern,which differs significantly from the random distribution pattern and has varying degrees of clustering.The spatial distribution of guest houses forms a hierarchical agglomeration pattern,presenting a spatial form of multi center distribution.The guest houses are mainly located in scenic areas with abundant tourism resources and near the main roads in the village.There are diverse influencing factors for the spatial distribution of the guest houses.Tourism resources,transportation conditions,product orientation and policy support are important for the location and spatial distribution of rural guest houses.

Key words: rural guest houses, spatial distribution characteristics, influencing factors, scenic-reliant village, Wulingyuan district