Zhaoxu Sui
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I am a cartographer and a cartography researcher at Penn State.
CV | Email | Lindekin | Google Scholar | Map Gallery
My name is Zhaoxu Sui, and I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography at Penn State. At the same time, I am a cartographer associated in the GeoGraphics Lab in the department.
My primary research focus as a cartography researcher is on integrating cartographic designs into various cultural contexts, closely examining how mapping practices and workflows have evolved over time. Additionally, I have strong interests in toponymy, data visualization, and political geography.
As a cartographer, I specialize in creating general reference maps using various tools, including ArcGIS, Mapbox, Adobe Suites, and hand-drawing.
I earned my B.S. degree in Geography from the University of Minnesota, with minors in population studies, interdisciplinary designs, and GIS. Subsequently, I received my M.S. degree in Geography from the University of Oregon in Eugene, where I conducted thesis research on the cartographic languages of politically contested territories in Sakhalin Island.
SEE MY MAP COLLECTIONS
WHERE TO BUY MAPS
List of Map Shops Around the World
Map Shops refer to individual map retailers that are specialized in selling maps. Regular bookstores with map collection do not count into this dataset. Please contribute to our dataset if you know more map shops!
Made and Maintained by Zhaoxu Sui, Penn State. See Zhaoxu Sui's 2024 AsiaCarto Presentation here.
Dynastic Mansory - Visualizing the Great Wall of China 2025
This map presents Great Walls of China across different areas and ages. I intentially adopted a oblique perspective from Mongolia to visualize how this defense network is seen from the perspectives from north to south - challenging the traditional top-down perspectives. The forts and mountain passes are labeled in both English and Chinese, with the Chinese labels placed in a traditional top-down topography. This work is presented in 2025 NACIS annual conference at Louisville, KY.
Penn State OGE 25th Anniversary Alumni Map 2025
Authors: Zhaoxu Sui / Julia Byrnes
This map features locations of Penn State Online Geospatial Education alumni, classified through degrees and certificates offered. To emphasize the fact that majority of our students are from the United States, we attached an inset map to feature the point data. This map offers exquisite bivariate designs based on the sizes and colors of data points, and a beautiful Watermann Butterfly Projection. This map is a perfect example of integrating elements through various map production platforms, including ArcGIS Pro, Adobe Illustrator, and Procreate. Since this map was made, many students in the GeoGraphics Lab have started experimenting with mapmaking in Procreate and bringing such elements into traditional mapmaking workflow.
On the Road Last updated 2026
These two maps show my travels in North America. The one on the left features every trips I did, emphasizing all the road trips. The map on the right highlights my top 10 longest drives that I did.
Sui, Z., & Robinson, A. C. (2026). Digitally-mediated territorial imaginations: A deep learning approach to characterize online images of contested territories and place names. Digital Geography and Society, 100160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diggeo.2026.100160
Sui, Z., & Lessani, M. N. (2025). Design Principles of Kashida Justification: A Unique Technique in Arabic and Persian Mapping. Cartographic Perspectives, (107). https://doi.org/10.14714/CP107.2055
Fish, C., Roth, R., Guidero, E., Raposo, P., Sui, Z. (2025). Why Conduct Cartographic Research: A Comparison of Cartographic Research Contributions in Four International Cartographic Association (ICA) Affiliated Journals. International Journal of Cartography: 10th Anniversary Issue. https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2025.2475411
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