市场经济的信号，揭示地图生产亟须从概念设计乃至工艺程序进行根本性的技术改革，需要大力缩短地图更新周期，积极开拓应用领域，才能为区域社会经济持续发展和全球环境变化──当代两大地学研究主题，及时提供信息服务。需要充分利用和适应空间时代和信息时代的机遇，加强对地球信息机理的研究，开发依托全球定位系统、卫星遥感信息系统与地理信息系统的新一代地图产品。

During August 6-11, 1993, Beijing hold a Chinese Map Exhibit which revealed the history of Chinese map development. achievements in recent half centry and potential market need. The Exhibition was a great success. It contributed considerably to the social understanding of map making. As a matter of fact. the ultimate products of almost all kinds of traditional result of geo-scientific researches and surveying and mapping are without exception maps.And they are not limited to topographic maps only. Development and production of thematic map have become a huge trans-departmental, trans-professional and trans-regional scientific complex and systems engineering. from which Chinese cartographers draw promptly great enlightment in so many aspects: i. Market economy needs maps to be more practical. Publication volume of teaching maps,tourist maps. postal maps and traffic maps tends to be great. Social development and economic construction strongly need reducing period of map revision and production and suiting the deve lopment of high techs such as satellite communication and optical fiber cable network for data communication. Chinese cartographers are striving for new map products which are based on global positioning system (GPS) information sources from satellite remote sensing and geographical imformation syttems (GIS). Chinese developed computer editing and printing system for thematic map may reduce the cost of map production by 60% and period of production 50%.ii. Cartography should not only keep abreast of the highly developed information society of space science and technology but. at the same time. response to the programme of action for the <<21st Centry Course>>and provide timely information service for the sustainable development of regional social economy. Macroscopiaclly.cartography should provide the ultimate maps and data.which assist decision making. for geo-stratigic research, regional planning and management. while microscopically. provide trend forecasting basis for evironmental engineering and geo-technological design. In recent ten years. Chinese cartographers have compiled and published many trans-professional, trans-departmental and trans-administrative area regional maps and atlas in which much attention was given to the unity of social benifit. economic benifit and ecologic benifit. may be made a great contribution to the world in the research on sustainable development of regional social economy and global environmental change.iii. A kind of man’s cultural tools and "the second language of geo-science" as it is called. map should in deeply explore it’s new function of scientific" thinking" .esp. its multi-dimentional analysis function in the research on temporal and spatial role and its development. The author lays stress on further permeation between cartography and cartography related sciences such as geo-sciences. biosciences. space sciences and information sciences. Today. with great abundances in earth observation information sources. cartographers are required to make thorough researches. discarding the dross and selecting the essential, eliminating the false and retaining the true. proceeding from the phenomina to the role and proceeding aspect from this one to another. to extract the most effective information. to simplify it by cutting out the superfluous and to suit the need of social development and scientific research with high speed and quality. Now. in China. digrtalization. standardization and internationalization have basically been realized in map making in fields of geologic sciences. atmospheric sciences. geophysic sciences. seismology etc.analysis and forecasting models have been set up and researches on summarizing expert knowledge law and logical reasoning mechanism are being carried out. It is entirely possible that we through doing so forecast the earth’s future development according to the mechanism of evolution process of earth system and using multi-sourced information. Chinese cartographers are now actively and in time engaged themselves in researches on geo-informatics