As an important aspect of the notion that "spatial is special", spatial heterogeneity has been a central topic of geospatial analytics. It is also closely related to the methodological tradition of geography and replicability of geographic research. The emergence of fine-grained big geospatial data and the development of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) have brought new opportunities and challenges to spatial heterogeneity modeling. Spatial heterogeneity may refer to (1) values of geographic variables; and (2) associations, or the generation process of geographic variables, which correspond to data and process heterogeneity, respectively. Moreover, the specification of spatial heterogeneity may be categorized as continuous and discrete. Based on the dichotomies above, we summarize the main scenarios of spatial heterogeneity modeling and review corresponding methods: (1) homogeneity-based regionalization; (2) local spatial regression; and (3) spatial regime regression. In particular, we discuss approaches to delineate spatial regimes in an endogenous manner. We also review related methodological advances in GeoAI, where the principle of spatial heterogeneity is reflected in the design of neural network models. Finally, we point out several potential directions for future research. As emerging directions in spatial heterogeneity modeling, spatial regime regression and GeoAI methods need more attention from researchers.

Alluvial fans are common fan-shaped depositional landforms that develop at the outlets of mountain rivers or gullies. Mature and stable alluvial fans are important areas for both human habitation and production in mountainous regions, but they also pose potential hazards associated with flash floods and debris flows. Research on alluvial fans enhances our understanding of regional environmental dynamics and geomorphic evolution, as well as contributes to the mitigation of flood and debris-flow hazards. Therefore, it holds significant scientific value and practical importance. Although considerable research has been conducted on alluvial fans, both domestically and internationally, in recent decades, much of it has focused on geomorphology (morphometry), sedimentary history and characteristics, and historical environmental reconstruction (or inversion). Investigations into the mechanisms of fan development and their geomorphic effects remain relatively underexplored. This review systematically summarizes the key advancements in the research on the dynamic processes, mechanisms, and morphodynamics of alluvial fan development. We first provide an overview of current technical approaches applied in the study of alluvial fans, including field investigations and model experiments. Then, we summarize four critical aspects of fan dynamics processes and development mechanisms: primary and secondary processes; mechanisms of flow channel avulsion; interactions between tributary and main rivers; and the impact of alluvial fan development on sediment production, transport, and geomorphic processes. Finally, we discuss several areas that require further attention in future research. Currently, field observations and monitoring of the dynamic processes of alluvial fan development are inadequate. As an essential complement to post-event field surveys and experimental model research, there is an urgent need to enhance field observations in order to expand and deepen our understanding of alluvial fan development mechanisms. This will promote scientific insights into sediment dynamics and geomorphic processes within regional river systems.

The low-carbon transformation of the energy system has emerged as a key strategy for addressing climate change risks, promoting high-quality development, and ensuring energy security. However, the clean transformation of the energy system faces significant uncertainties and challenges due to the complex constraints of multiple goals. This paper provides a comprehensive review and integrated analysis of the basic concepts, research methods, and challenges associated with energy transformation, drawing the following conclusions: (1) Shifting focus of energy transition: The energy transition in the context of carbon neutrality has evolved from being primarily technology-driven to problem-driven. The pace and success of energy transitions vary greatly across regions and nations, with policy regulation, technological innovation, market mechanisms, and behavioral factors playing pivotal roles in driving change. (2) Quantitative research on energy transition primarily centers on assessing the extent of the transition and forecasting its future trajectory. However, due to the intricate interconnections and mutual influences among multiple systems, including energy, economy, environment, and society, the predictive simulations often exhibit a pronounced "black box" effect, making interpretation and transparency more challenging. (3) Controversies and future research directions: There is ongoing debate within the international community regarding the comprehensive effects of energy transformation. The development model and pathways that balance low-carbon goals, economic growth, and energy supply security still require further theoretical and empirical exploration. While significant attention has been paid to the environmental, economic, and safety benefits of energy transformation, the social impacts have received less focus, which may undermine the long-term sustainability of the transition. Future research should integrate the dual objectives of climate change mitigation and economic development, adopt diversified transformation strategies, emphasize supply-demand coordination, and promote regionally coordinated transitions. Furthermore, strengthening multi-scale, cross-sectoral analyses will enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of energy transformations. This research aims to deepen understanding of the epistemology and methodology surrounding energy transformation, offering geographical scholars new perspectives and avenues for further investigation into this critical area of study.

With the advancement of urbanization and the profound transformation of socio-economic development in China, land use transition has become a complex research field involving multiple disciplines and dimensions. This paper comprehensively uses bibliometric analysis and systematic review methods to systematically sort out the research progress of land use transition in China from following dimensions: development context, theoretical framework, model and methodology, effect and mechanism, and regulation path. The study finds that: (1) Since the introduction of land use transition research to China in 2001, the field has flourished in the aspects of project funding, publication of monographs, and talent cultivation. Through hotspot analysis, it is found that research has shifted from being technology-driven to policy and economic-driven, and finally focused on multi-functional synergy and sustainable development. (2) Theoretical research can be divided into three levels: description-explanation, process characterization and diagnosis, and mutual feedback mechanism and regulation, forming a research paradigm of "dominant morphology-recessive morphology" coupling. The transition measurement method presents a three-dimensional characteristic of integration of 3S technology, mathematical model simulation, and field investigation. (3) Driven by the dual strategies of rural vitalization and food security, the socio-economic effects of land use transitions are manifested as a cascading response of farmers' livelihoods, factor flow, and industrial upgrading; related ecological and environmental effects show the bidirectional characteristics of negative effects and positive synergistic effects. (4) The driving mechanism of land use transitions is analyzed from the "element-structure-system" perspective, and its regulation system is discussed from multiple dimensions such as engineering technology innovation, institutional innovation, policy intervention, and multi-dimensional collaborative governance. (5) Future research needs to focus on breakthroughs in multi-scale transition threshold identification, complex system feedback simulation, regional model extraction, and optimization and regulation of transition through theoretical and methodological innovations. This study provides not only knowledge support for the construction of a land use transition research theoretical system with Chinese characteristics, but also decision-making support for the modernization of national territorial space governance and urban-rural integrated development.

Tropical cyclone activity has undergone significant changes under the impact of the global warming since the 20th century. However, the characteristic and trend changes of landing tropical cyclones over China still need to be further clarified. We conducted an analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics and trends of landing tropical cyclones over China from 1949 to 2022 using the dataset of the best tracks of tropical cyclones from the China Meteorological Administration. Additionally, we explored the influences of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on landing tropical cyclone activities. The results indicate that: (1) The annual average number of landing tropical cyclones over China is approximately 8.85, showing a significant decreasing trend, and the decreasing range becomes larger with lower latitude overall. However, both the proportion of landing tropical cyclones to the total number and the percentage of higher intensity tropical cyclones increase. The landing tropical cyclones from July to September account for 76.3% of the total, in which August experiences the most. (2) The landing positions of tropical cyclones in China are mainly concentrated between 18°N and 26°N, accounting for approximately 88.2% of the total, and the landing frequency shows a sharp decline in the regions north of 30°N. The central landing position of tropical cyclones has shifted significantly northwestward, moving closer to China. Compared to 1949-1969, the central generating position from 2010 to 2022 shifted 4.5 degrees westward and 2.0 degrees northward. (3) There is a correlation between ENSO and the frequency variation of generating tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific and landing over China. El Niño promotes the formation of strong tropical cyclones and leads to a more southeastern bias in the generating positions of landing tropical cyclones, while La Niña has an opposite effect. The PDO also affects the tropical cyclones to a certain extent. During the warm phase of PDO, the generating position of tropical cyclones is westward and the number is less than that in the cold phase. This study further clarifies the changing trends and characteristics of the landing tropical cyclones over China since 1949. It also highlights the impacts of ENSO and PDO on tropical cyclone activities. The findings can serve as a scientific basis for conducting simulations and assessments of tropical cyclones and for disaster prevention and mitigation efforts.

In the context of digital transportation, the relationship between ride-hailing services, public transport usage, and the built environment is a crucial area of research in urban geography and transportation geography. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of research in quantifying the impact of ride-hailing on public transport travel from the spatio-temporal dimensions, and the role played by the built environment in this context has not been clarified. To address these limitations, a spatio-temporal measure method of the substitution effect of ride-hailing travel was proposed by introducing demand elasticity theory and big data technology. Additionally, an efficient, dynamic, and refined measure method of the built environment was developed. On this basis, by integrating random forests with interpretable machine learning models, this paper focused on analyzing the multi-factorial nonlinear interactions and spatio-temporal coupling effect that influence the substitution effect. The empirical study of Chengdu shows that: (1) Travel efficiency is key to the competitiveness of public transport. For the same trip, the travel time of public transport is typically 2.0-3.5 times that of ride-hailing. Specifically, taking public transport often requires a 10-min walk to complete the first/last 1 km and involves 0-2 transfers. (2) There is a significant substitution effect of ride-hailing travel on public transport in the central city, with 28.69% and 27.08% of ride-hailing trips substituting public transport on weekdays and weekends, respectively, and the substitution effect is significantly enhanced during peak periods. (3) Destination accessibility has the highest positive impact on the substitution rate, followed by demographic socioeconomic factors, with urban spatial form and public transport accessibility having a relatively small degree of influence on the substitution rate. (4) The influence of built environment on the substitution effect exhibits a nonlinear interactive characteristic, with threshold ranges and interaction strengths showing significant variation over time. This study not only breaks through the limitations of traditional static "space-behavior" research, but also provides application references for the optimization of urban traffic and refined regulation of the built environment.

Based on the diverse nexus between humans and nature, exploring innovative pathways and regional models for rural revitalization stands as a strategic cornerstone and a cutting-edge focus within rural studies. Following a systematical review on the shift of rural development paradigms, we in this paper propose an innovative pathway of rural neo-endogenous development driven by knowledge through the integration of concepts such as social innovation and rural transformation. Essentially, "knowledge-driven" can be understood as a process-based innovation, wherein various stakeholders participate in the generation, dissemination, feedback, and regeneration of scientific knowledge and local wisdom. This process ultimately precipitates shifts in behaviors and attitudes of both local and extra-local actors, thereby giving rise to collective insights and solutions for rural development. Regarding the functioning mechanisms, "knowledge-driven" typically facilitates the iteration of technological paths for rural development via four interconnected means: constructing novel discourses for rural transformation, empowering local communities, forging connections between local and extra-localities, and innovating rural governance. In practice implementation, "knowledge-driven" engages multiple stakeholders and unfolds across three sequential stages, they are, knowledge/experimentation searching, diffusion and expression of interest, collective learning and co-ordination. In conclusion, we contend that transcending the urban-centric "core-periphery" mindset, broadening the initial impetus and the cohort of pioneer actors, and streamlining the channel from "niche innovation" to "collective learning" hold significant promise for expediting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.

A key approach to improving the predictive capability of territorial space planning is to effectively analyze the common challenges and governance experiences of pioneering countries. China serves as a notable example, with its increasing emphasis on integrating rational evolution of territories into spatial planning. In this study, we examined the spatiotemporal structure of Japan's territorial space, spatial transformation, and the spatial and temporal evolution of spatial conflicts from 1976 to 2021 on a national scale. We also simulated the future spatial evolution of Japan's territorial space based on the identification of the key driving factors. The results reveal the following: (1) Over the past 45 years, approximately one-quarter of Japan's territorial space has undergone structural transformation. Considerable urban space expansion and continuous ecological environment optimization have been accompanied by a marked decline in agricultural space and food production. This has created substantial food security challenges due to the degradation of agricultural production capacity. Concentration of the population in economically developed plains and topographically flat bay areas has exacerbated conflicts.(2) Japan's territorial space evolution exhibits distinct stages. Although national economic fluctuations and demographic changes do not substantially affect the overall trajectory of territorial space evolution, they can influence the rate and process of evolution. At the late stage of urbanization, the driving forces of spatial evolution are expected to be more concentrated on demographic, economic, and natural background factors. (3) Simulation results across various scenarios suggest no major structural changes in Japan's future territorial space pattern. Agricultural areas will continue to be encroached upon, exacerbating the national food security crisis as the challenges of rural depopulation and aging population deepen. In the next 10 to 15 years, Japan may form a world-class mega-aging urban agglomeration by linking the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kansai.

The integration of large-scale Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations (hereinafter referred to as "LEO constellations") and artificial intelligence (AI) technology presents a historic opportunity for a paradigm shift in geography research, heralding a new era for geography to evolve from qualitative geography, quantitative geography, and digital geography into the "LEO constellation-AI-driven Geography". Under this framework, future geographic research can rely on the high spatio-temporal resolution monitoring data provided by LEO constellations to accurately capture the high-frequency dynamic changes of geographic elements at multiple scales, particularly at the global scale. By coupling physical models with AI, it becomes feasible to conduct simulation experiments on the complex interactions between natural and human elements, system states, and interface changes. This will facilitate a deeper understanding of core geographic issues such as variable coupling, multi-process cascading effects, and teleconnection mechanisms. To propel "LEO constellation-AI-driven Geography", there is an urgent need to establish a new-generation data acquisition and sharing platform relying on LEO constellation, seamlessly creating a "dynamic map" of global geographic resources and elements. Additionally, a geographic process simulator that couples physical models and AI needs to be developed to intelligently simulate and predict changes and impacts of geographic elements and landscapes.

Chinese materia medica (CMM) is derived from nature, inherited from history, used in society, prospered in industry and benefited in the region. The ancient Chinese people began studying the relationship between CMM and their origin very early, which reflects that CMM is closely related to geography, and it is also the natural way of the formation of CMM, but the interdisciplinary fusion of CMM and geography has not yet formed. Based on the geographical characteristics of herbs, resources, products, industry and business of CMM, this paper analyzes the research framework of the medicine-geography relationship in CMM geography, and preliminarily analyzes its research objects, scientific problems, research contents and research methods. Results show that: (1) CMM geography is a science that studies the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of CMM and medicine-geography relationship. It is a discipline that examines the regional differences, spatial patterns, medicine-geography relationship, and sustainable utilization of CMM at the geographic spatial level, based on the division of production areas, featuring Daodi herbs, and aiming to ensure healthy use of drugs. (2) On the basis of the concept of "following the rules of time" in traditional Chinese medicine, CMM geography studies the medicine-geography relationship from three aspects: medicinal use, time, and space, based on the characteristic of "different origins of medicinal materials have differences" in CMM. It adheres to the concept of "selecting, using, and developing traditional Chinese medicine based on geographical differences and characteristics". (3) The study of CMM geography has the characteristics of intersectionality, comprehensiveness, regionalism, and dynamism. It integrates the research results and theoretical methods of CMM and geography, and conducts research on the regional differentiation, spatial structure, and evolutionary laws of five elements: the ecological attributes of CMM resources, the temporal attributes of CMM (herbal medicine), the social attributes of CMM products, the economic attributes of the CMM industry, and the regional attributes of CMM industry. (4) CMM geography integrates CMM with geography, utilizing techniques such as origin identification, changes in production areas, and spatial relationship models, following the principles of combining micro and macro perspectives, qualitative and quantitative approaches. It conducts research on the medicine-geography relationship, in order to promote the integration of pharmacology, medical science, physiology, and geography, and enrich the research content of traditional Chinese medicine and geography.

Main function zoning (MFZ) is the fundamental system of China's territorial development and protection. Through differentiated functional orientation, the core objectives of MFZ are to guide the orderly flow of resources across regions and optimize the spatial pattern of national development. This study evaluates the impacts, their heterogeneities among four types of zones, and underlying mechanisms of MFZ planning on China's population redistribution using county-level data from the three latest national population censuses and causal inference tests through difference-in-differences models. The results show that: The MFZ effects generally align with policy orientation. Post-implementation, optimized development zones, prioritized development zones, main agricultural zones and key ecological zones experienced declining population growth rates, accelerated population agglomeration, accelerated population decline, and growth-to-decline transition, respectively. Using main agricultural zones as reference, the planning reinforced the population concentration advantages of prioritized development zones. The policy effect exhibits dual heterogeneity across regions and hierarchical levels. Population changes in agricultural and ecological zones mostly complied with planning guidance, whereas only 40% of county-level units within prioritized development zones achieved the policy goal of accelerated agglomeration. National-level prioritized development zones demonstrated approximately twice the impact of provincial-level counterparts. Population migration from restricted development zones to urbanized areas predominantly occurred through cross-regional migration rather than intra-prefecture movements, making the policy goal of "concentrated equilibrium" within prefecture-level cities difficult to achieve. The planning promoted shifts in influencing factors of population redistribution within each type of MFZ. The diminished role of secondary industries and enhanced influence of tertiary sectors in optimized zones, along with weakened economic drivers in ecological zones, aligned with planning objectives. However, industrialization in prioritized development zones failed to significantly boost population agglomeration, while agricultural zones remained profoundly influenced by industrialization and economic development, both deviating from intended planning orientations. The findings suggest that the new-round planning could moderately concentrate urbanized area layouts, clarify development sequences for prioritized development zones, and implement more targeted differentiated governance requirements for restricted development zones.

"Form-flow integration" is an important theoretical concept proposed for understanding the complex human-land relationships in metropolitan regions with highly concentrated human activities. Existing research on regional spatial patterns has gradually shifted from a single perspective based either on physical spatial forms or on elemental flows to a comprehensive analysis. The new paradigm of region spatial analysis has focused on the balance between physical spatial forms and elemental flows. However, an in-depth analysis of the interaction mechanism between physical spatial forms and elemental flows is still needed. Especially, it is crucial to explore the territorial spatial optimization of a metropolitan region based on the perspective of "form-flow integration". Drawing on the theoretical joint of "central flow" and "central place", and the theory of human-land interaction, this paper aims to figure out the theoretical foundation for the concept of "form-flow integration". Combining the dynamic changes of human activities and the system of geographical environment against the background of globalization, industrialization, and urbanization, this paper analyzes the connotation and mechanism of the interaction between physical spatial forms and elemental flows. Furthermore, it explores the theoretical framework and specific path of metropolitan spatial optimization from the perspective of "form-flow integration". This paper concludes that while the human-land relationship is an important theoretical basis for "form-flow integration", the "form-flow integration" is a prominent manifestation of human-land relationships, which provides an important perspective for understanding the complex human-land relationships in regions with highly concentrated human activities. Addressing the practical needs of ecological civilization construction and territorial spatial planning, this paper explores the establishment of comprehensive metropolitan evaluation, spatial layout guidance, simulation, and optimization control system for the integration analysis of physical spaces and flow elements. Besides, through optimizing the territorial space of metropolitan regions from the perspective of "form-flow integration", it helps to form a metropolitan region coordinated development path integrating elemental flows and local resources.

Projecting changes in flow regime under climate change and reservoir operations is crucial for safeguarding water security, preserving biodiversity and restoring aquatic ecosystems of a basin. Leveraging bias-corrected climate model data, this study utilized the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with an improved reservoir module and Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration to project the impacts of climate change and reservoir operations on the flow regime of the Yangtze River basin in the 21st century. The results showed that: (1) The improved SWAT model outperformed the original version, enhancing the simulation accuracy of daily streamflow and hydrological indicators at representative stations. The NSE (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient) and KGE (Kling-Gupta efficiency coefficient) of simulation and observation of daily streamflow increased by 0.01-0.26 and 0.01-0.08, respectively. (2) Climate change is projected to increase streamflow, in which the streamflow increases significantly from January to April (the maximum increase is 17%). Meanwhile, climate change increases the variability of pre-flood streamflow (the maximum increase is 18%), the frequency of extremely high pulse, the duration of extremely high pulse and the rise rate of flow. (3) Reservoir operations effectively replenish dry-season flows (the maximum increase is 67%), reduce the frequency of extremely high pulse (the maximum decrease is 16%), and shorten the duration of both extremely high pulse (by -10% to -4%) and extremely low pulse (by -51% to -38%). Reservoir operations improve the stability of flow. While upstream reservoir operations can partially counteract climate-induced streamflow changes, their regulatory capacity is constrained by operational rules and total storage capacity. Therefore, adjusting reservoir operation strategies in response to the impacts of climate change on streamflow becomes imperative.

The urban-rural integration in the new era requires the coupled and coordinated development of new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization. This paper constructs an evaluation index system for new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization, and uses the modified coupling coordination degree model, spatial Markov chain, random forest model and other methods to quantitatively analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of coupling coordination types of new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization in Central China from 2007 to 2022. The results show that: (1) From 2007 to 2022, the coupling coordination type in the study area experienced a transition from moderate imbalance to minimal coordination, with regions of severe imbalance gradually disappearing and high-quality coordinated areas emerging, and the coupling coordination relationship has continuously improved. In terms of spatial distribution, high-value zones of coupling coordination level have remained concentrated in provincial capitals, while low-value zones have shifted toward western edge and the junction of Henan-Anhui-Hubei provinces, with boundary effects gradually emerging. (2) Regardless of the neighborhood conditions, the transition of the coupling coordination state exhibits "path dependence" and "self-locking" effects, while displaying "club convergence" phenomena, there is the possibility of transition to higher level but it is difficult to achieve leapfrog development. The geographical background plays an important role in the evolution of the coupling coordination state, which has an obvious spatial spillover effect, and the Markov prediction results also prove that spatial spillover effect will exist for a long time, the long-term evolution trend of the coupling coordination state is relatively good. (3) In the process of coupling and coordinated development, the level of industrial development plays a core leading role, the level of regional investment, the level of scientific and technological innovation, the level of human capital, and the employment structure of the population offer guarantees in terms of essential factors, and the geographical distance plays a restrictive role. Finally, this paper puts forward specific countermeasures and suggestions to provide scientific basis for the coordinated development of new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization in Central China.

To realize the "dual carbon" goals, it is necessary to actively explore the "dual carbon" response strategy in the national spaces and innovate the research on carbon emission reduction and carbon sink enhancement pathways within the existing Chinese national conditions and institutional framework. Currently, discussions centered around supporting carbon neutrality predominantly emphasize the carbon reduction dimensions of a single space or department, lacking comprehensive coordination and specific pathways demonstration research across multiple spaces and departments. This has led to unclear goal positioning and accountability relationships for carbon emission reduction and carbon sequestration in different national spaces, making it challenging to decompose the overall tasks and implement them concretely. On the basis of considering the spatial functional attributes and interactions of ecological space, agricultural space, and urban space, this study first establishes a cognitive framework for carbon balance effects of three types of space (ecological, agricultural, and urban spaces) and proposes design principles for carbon emission reduction and carbon sink enhancement pathways. Then, based on the share of carbon reduction undertaken by the three types of space, as well as the current application status, historical contributions, scope of application, and future potential of each pathway, this study further summarizes and proposes a multi-spatial coordinated pathway for enhancing carbon sinks within ecological spaces, reducing carbon emissions and increasing sinks in agricultural spaces, and decreasing emissions in urban spaces. This initiative not only contributes to achieving sustainable ecological restoration, efficient cropland management, and effective urban control, but also fosters the formation of climate mitigation optimization strategies and green transformation response methods under the integration of future national space.

Focusing on the investment security of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this study analyzes the geopolitical environment of countries (regions) along the Belt and Road from two dimensions: the political-business environment and political inclination. Since the proposal of the BRI in 2013, the political-business environments of the participating countries (regions) have shown slight improvements, though there are significant regional disparities. Generally, these environments are better at the eastern and western ends of the BRI countries (regions), while the central regions lag behind. There is no significant spatial dependence in the political-business environments of these countries (regions), but a weak trend toward homogenization exists, with lower-scoring countries (regions) mainly located in the former Commonwealth of the Independent States, the Middle East, and the Indochina Peninsula. These regions show weak interconnections and exhibit characteristics of "being alike but not cohesive", suggesting that BRI efforts should focus on contiguous breakthroughs rather than scattering in isolated points. The evaluation of political inclination shows that the political division among the BRI countries (regions) is significant, with varying attitudes towards China. As the attitudes towards China warm up, the political-business environment tends to deteriorate. This negative correlation between the two factors indicates that countries (regions) actively participating in the BRI are relatively politically unstable and economically underdeveloped, seeking to leverage the initiative for their development. Therefore, in the construction of the Belt and Road, while ensuring investment security, we should actively promote Chinese values, striving for the support and participation of more countries (regions) with favorable political-business environments. Given the realities of underdeveloped political-business environments and political divisions along the Belt and Road, China urgently needs to explore a geopolitical theory that fits the geopolitical pattern of the BRI to ensure the progress and reclaim the political narrative power through reshaping the geopolitical strategic narrative. This paper's quantitative evaluation of political inclination provides a preliminary exploration into the political fragmentation among these countries (regions) and serves as a reference for advancing research on the geopolitical environment.

The valley roads at the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains deeply cut the main chain of the Qinling Mountains, and are the "natural window" to gain insight into the geology, geomorphology, ecology and hydrological evolution of the Mountains. In this paper, the spatial distribution pattern and development characteristics of the valley roads at the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains (Shaanxi section) were obtained by using Google Earth remote sensing image data, DEM elevation data and water system vector data, combined with ArcGIS, GlobalMapper multimodal spatial data identification and interpretation. The inheritance relationship between the valley roads at the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains and the Guanzhong river system was explored. The following understandings were obtained: (1) According to the geomorphological characteristics of the valley roads, the length, pedestrian and water channel, the statistical standard of the valley roads was put forward. Combined with contour terrain and digital elevation model, the zoning interpretation is carried out, and the actual number of valley roads is 206. (2) Based on the visibility of remote sensing interpretation and the endowment water system in the valley roads, 76 representative valley roads were selected for statistical analysis. According to the length (≥15 km, 5-15 km, <5 km), the large, medium and small valley roads were divided. The Xi'an section is the most densely developed mainly for medium valley road (44.74%). (3) The direction of the valley roads is mostly N0°-NE30°, approximately perpendicular to the strike of the Fenwei Fault. The elevation of Yukou is normally distributed, concentrated between 500-800 m. The spacing between the valley roads is the rhythmic distribution of "small valley roads in big valley roads". (4) The elevation of the middle line of the valley roads is mainly distributed at 600-1500 m, the slope is mainly concentrated at 0°-20°, the width of the valley entrances are mainly at 30-90 m, and the shape of the valley entrances are mainly U-shaped, V-shaped and inverted trapezoidal. (5) The valley roads at the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains and Weihe water system have a close inheritance relationship. Six of the "Eight River Systems in Chang'an" originated from the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, characterized by multi-source confluence. The purpose of this study is to provide detailed background data for the study of the most iconic geological and geographical labels in the Qinling Mountains with valley roads.

Promoting social green transformation is an inherent requirement and a key task in the national strategy for a comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society. However, research on the quantitative characterization and spatiotemporal patterns of social green transformation remains relatively lacking. To address this gap, this paper introduces social psychology theory to construct a quantitative characterization framework for social green transformation. Using 19 urban agglomerations in China as the study area and following the "pattern-process-effect" research logic, the study integrates methods such as entropy-weighted TOPSIS, spatial Markov chains, and Random Forest model to sequentially reveal the spatiotemporal evolution patterns, spatiotemporal transformation, and dynamic impacts of the social green transformation on the economic green transformation. Finally, a comprehensive quantitative framework for regional green transformation is proposed. The results show that: (1) During the study period, the level of social green transformation in China's urban agglomerations showed a fluctuating upward trend, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations leading in social green transformation, while those along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains, Lanzhou-Xi'an region, and Ningxia along the Yellow River were relatively lagging. (2) There is a phenomenon of club convergence and spatial spillover effects in the social green transformation of urban agglomerations, and the transformation exhibits path dependence and spatial dependence, with low probabilities of cross-level and cross-regional transitions. (3) Social green transformation serves as a significant driving force for the green transformation of urban economies, and this driving effect has been strengthening over time. The role of social green transformation in advancing the strategy of ecological prioritization and green development is increasingly profound. Furthermore, this study helps to improve existing research on regional green transformation evaluation, providing new methods and ideas that better align with and respond to the current comprehensive green transformation strategy.

In the context of U.S.-China trade war and COVID-19 pandemic and troubling global economy, the interaction between geopolitical risk (GPR) and global production network (GPN) has emerged as a new direction for GPN 2.0 research agenda. Exploring the reconfiguration process, strategic responses, and causal explanatory dynamics of lead firms is of practical and theoretical significance. This study uses interview data from 32 companies (Huawei and its suppliers) surveyed in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Dongguan in 2023. Focusing on the spatial logic, regional redistribution, actor strategies, and causal interaction mechanisms, this study illuminates how Huawei navigates the causal dynamics and strategies of its production network, particularly the complex landscape of industrial transfer from Shenzhen to Dongguan. The results, based on the GPN 2.0 perspective, (1) reveal three actor-specific strategies employed by Huawei: inter-firm control based on the leader and follower effects, inter-firm partnership seeking alternative strategic partners. This strategy is further strengthened through extra-firm bargaining between Huawei and local governments in Shenzhen and Dongguan, where Huawei seeks to market entitlement of local real estate, expands its market reach for 5G technologies and fosters local industrial upgrading. (2) There are three dynamic factors influencing Huawei's restructuring: the first is the cost-capability ratio, primarily considering the reduction of land costs and the optimization of its R&D headquarters, southern production base, talent training, and employee facilities; the second is market-driven, with a focus on the To-Business (ToB) model to explore new domestic 5G markets, establishing the "three BGs + five major corps" model, and expanding local markets, particularly through smart city projects in Shenzhen and Dongguan; the third factor is the risk environment posed by the U.S.-China trade war, which has driven Huawei to support a diversified domestic supply chain. Overall, Huawei's production network restructuring is driven by these three considerations: reducing production costs, expanding a more feasible and stable domestic 5G and industrial internet market, and mitigating the geopolitical risks posed by U.S.-China tensions that could disrupt its current production network. (3) This, in turn, influences the interplay between Huawei's dynamics and strategies: The risky environment drives Huawei's inter-firm control, market imperatives and risks deeply affect Huawei's inter-firm partnership. The core of Huawei's extra-firm bargaining with local governments is optimising cost-capability ratios and sustaining 5G/real estate markets. Overall, this study extends GPN risk research to the major role and subjective initiative of lead firms beyond previously considered roles of the state, techno-nationalism, international relations and geopolitical interventions. This study demonstrates how Huawei internalises and interacts with specific GPR as a causal factor, shedding light on firm adaption and evolution in response to changing geopolitical challenges. This paper has three main research contributions as follows: firstly, it introduces actor strategies in the reconfiguration studies and extends to the issue of interaction between actor strategies and causal dynamics in the GPN 2.0; secondly, the internalisation of GPR as a causal consideration of corporate restructuring is a positive and effective attempt to bridge the new research agenda of GPN 2.0; and thirdly, the paper focuses on the reconfiguration of Huawei's DPN, and in particular explores the industrial transfer and reconfiguration of Huawei from Shenzhen to Songshanhu town in Dongguan.

The phenomenon of gentrification in rural areas has garnered increasing attention both domestically and internationally in recent years. However, there is a prevailing inclination towards qualitative analysis at the level of case studies, with a lack of quantitative identification and comparative research at the regional or urban scale. To understand the distribution pattern and socio-spatial characteristics of gentrified villages in the metropolitan areas of eastern China, this paper focuses on 534 rural communities in Nanjing as the research subject. Leveraging mobile user profile data and quantitative evaluation clustering models, 36 gentrified villages were chosen and categorized into four types according to their spatial location, resource endowments, and behavioral attributes: Tourism and cultural-creative, enterprise-driven, amenity-immigrant, and suburban-commuter. As urban residents are relocated to villages with varying locations and resource endowments, they demonstrate differences in their motives for reverse migration, social attributes, and life patterns. This dynamic contributes to the emergence of various types of gentrified villages and the evolution of their distinct social environments. Additionally, this study highlights significant distinctions among these categories of gentrified villages in terms of their scale distribution, material spatial structure, social characteristics of residents, and daily commuting patterns. This comparison is conducted from a broad perspective and through typical case studies. Tourism and culturally creative villages rely on natural and cultural resources to attract urban tourists and foster self-gentrification among villagers due to their authentic and experiential allure. On the other hand, enterprise-driven villages, commonly found in developed areas in the east, promote gentrification through industrial resources, attracting populations beyond agriculture. Moreover, amenity-immigrant villages capitalize on limited comfort amenities to attract urban immigrants and short-term vacationers, fostering cohesive communities. Furthermore, suburban-commuter villages represent transitional entities in the transformation from rural outskirts to urbanized areas, where the overall substitution of physical and social spaces serves as the main mechanism for aggregating gentrification groups. Tourism and culturally creative villages, along with amenity-immigrant-gentrified villages, fall under the category of leisure and lifestyle gentrification. Conversely, enterprise-driven and suburban-commuter-gentrified villages focus on production and employment, reflecting the distinctive characteristics of rural gentrification in the developed regions of eastern China. By thoroughly identifying Nanjing's gentrified villages and systematically depicting their socio-spatial features, this study both enriches Chinese case studies on rural gentrification and enhances China-specific rural gentrification research systems and theories. Moreover, it proposes to develop the positive economic and social effects of rural gentrification to promote rural revitalization and integrated urban-rural development.

Flight delay reveals important spatial interaction patterns and could offer crucial insights into the unique characteristics of airports. Existing studies mainly focus on identifying static or individual airport delay patterns, but neglecting the complex nonlinear dynamics involved. To fill the gap, this study proposes a novel methodology to explore the variations in airport delays, considering both temporal changes and spatial differences. We develop a new PageRankCube model that adopts multiple technologies, such as delay network generation, G_i^* statistics, Mann-Kendall trend identification, and network node effect measurements. Three types of flight delay networks, including arrival delays, departure delays, and flight delays, are constructed to discover spatiotemporal variability patterns, utilizing a dataset of approximately 350,000 flight records from 247 airports in China. The results show that: (1) Airport delays have a greater impact in eastern and southern China, but less influence in western and northern China. Strong cold and hot spots are grouped in several locations, whereas weak cold spots are distributed. (2) Large international airports in Beijing, Tianjin, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and Chengdu have formed a continuous and enhanced high delay spatial influence; small and medium-sized airports in the Northeast, Central and Western regions have shown a continuous low delay influence in time and space. (3) Compared with the departure delay network, the arrival delay network shows more significant heterogeneity in spatio-temporal distribution. The spatio-temporal heterogeneity between the flight delay and arrival delay networks shows higher similarity. (4) Enhanced hotspot airports can cause or transmit large-scale delays, while continuous cold spot airports have discrete and marginalized structural characteristics, resembling a "small world" network. This work addresses the constraints of conventional static delay pattern analysis, captures the changing spatial and temporal variations in delay patterns, and offers technical assistance in developing aviation control techniques.

As part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has actively participated in global port construction over the past decade. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of these efforts and enrich the theoretical framework of BRI development. We constructed a port vitality index (PVI) using shipping big data. The PVI was calculated across four key dimensions (production, maritime, service, and radiation) using 17 fundamental indicators based on the port transportation chain model. This study evaluated the vitality of port development over the past decade. The results were as follows. (1) There was significant growth from 2013 to 2022 in the overall vitality index of ports invested in China, with Asia and Europe being the primary hubs of port vitality, and Africa emerging as a major center of growth. (2) There was higher vitality growth among ports where China was involved in both investment and operations, compared to ports where China's role was limited to construction. (3) Chinese port construction companies held global power by helping developing countries or regions lacking transportation capacity quickly establish international transportation capabilities. (4) Terminal operators and shipping companies invested in ports with strong underlying conditions, located on key shipping routes with minimal economic risks, to ensure effective investment outcomes. (5) Some small and medium-sized ports gained rapid production vitality through investment, yet lacked maritime vitality, as insufficient urban market growth hinders the increase in maritime vitality. The port vitality evaluation method proposed in this study provides insights for adjusting China's future port investment strategies and optimizing location choices for enterprise investments. It also enriches the theoretical framework of the BRI development and provides practical evidence of China's commitment to fostering shared prosperity with the Global South through port infrastructure development.

A series of regional major strategies has continuously been implemented since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (2012). The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomerations are the core spatial carriers of regional major strategies. In the new situation of decreasing and aging population, the growth of employment and the changes in employment structure in the four major urban agglomerations will have a profound impact on the regional sustainable development. Based on the location quotient model, and spatial autocorrelation analysis, the spatial and temporal patterns of employment size and employment industrial structure in the four major urban agglomerations were examined by using the sectoral population data from the 2000, 2010 and 2020 national population censuses. Comparative analysis was conducted in the context of regional major strategies to explore the regularities of urban agglomeration employment growth and structural transformation. The study finds that: (1) The scale of employment in the four major urban agglomerations continues to grow, but the overall growth rate slows down. The overall pattern of employment distribution remains stable, and the high-value areas of employment growth rate have shifted from the central cities to the surrounding cities of the urban agglomerations, forming a trend of balanced distribution and multi-point support within the urban agglomerations. (2) The trend of advanced and high-tech development in employment structure is obvious, and the distribution of employment types within urban agglomerations presents a clear "core-periphery" pattern. The central city always maintains a structure of "high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industry", while the employment structure of the cities near the central city of the urban agglomeration is characterized by an alternating distribution of "low-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industry" and "high-tech manufacturing and low-tech service industry". The majority of employment in peripheral cities of urban agglomerations belongs to the structural type of "low-tech manufacturing and low-tech service industry". (3) The continuous growth of the employed population and the advanced and high-tech employment structure have created conditions for the four major urban agglomerations to carry out regional major strategies and participate in global competition. However, urban agglomerations face different challenges. It is essential to strengthen the multiplier effect of high-tech employment, promote the qualitative transformation of non-high-tech employment, and implement differentiated employment attraction policies to foster coordinated development among urban agglomerations and ensure the effective implementation of regional major strategy.

The rapid and intricate evolution of socio-culture poses critical challenges to the development of cultural geography. Currently, tourism has emerged as a crucial cultural phenomenon; however, it has long been neglected by the academic community. This paper, grounded in the tension between reality and theory, addresses the necessity of tourism research within cultural geography and the specific nature of such research required. Its aim is to stimulate the development of cultural geography through interdisciplinary dialogue. This study reviews the current status and trends of tourism-related research within the realm of cultural geography, both domestically and internationally. It then examines the "newness" of tourism culture from two approaches: the spatial study of culture and the cultural study of space. At the ontological and epistemological levels, the paper discusses the following aspects: (1) Tourism has become an omnipresent cultural fact, providing a continuous and vivid empirical foundation for cultural geography research; (2) As a distinctive phenomenon, tourism has opened up frontier topics that facilitate the contextual application and perspective shift of theories; (3) Tourism, functioning as an intersecting "interface", links multidisciplinary thinking and offers platforms and experiences for interdisciplinary integration; (4) Tourism, as a "metaphor", indicates a new cultural perspective that transcends traditional cultural geography research, presenting a dynamic of integration, development, and anti-structuralism. This paper advocates for the cultural geography community to re-evaluate tourism, reversing the past neglect of tourism-related research and thereby fostering equitable interdisciplinary communication and academic innovation.

Space of flows research provides a novel analytical perspective in the domain urban and regional development, facilitating the elucidation and comprehension of dynamic interactions within urban systems and inter-regional networks. This research not only offers scientific analytical tools for urban governance and spatial planning but also provides theoretical guidance for promoting sustainable urban and regional development by optimizing resource allocation and improving spatial efficiency. This paper systematically reviews and analyzes the connotation of the space of flows in terms of its concept, attributes, characteristics, and fundamental elements. Based on this, the paper proposes and examines the evolutionary framework of space of flows research. Through theoretical tracing, research trend analysis, and hotspots identification, the study reveals that space of flows research exhibits a development pattern characterized by "super-core, polycentric, and pan-thematic" tendencies. Furthermore, this paper explores the analytical paradigm of space of flows research and its significant shifts: the research domain has expanded from singular economic linkages to multi-dimensional connections encompassing social, cultural, ecological, and geographical spheres; research data have evolved from traditional statistical surveys to an integration of conventional data and multi-source big data; and research methodologies have transitioned from qualitative studies to dynamic quantitative research. Future directions for deepening space of flows research include innovating data acquisition and integration technologies, developing advanced analytical tools, expanding cross-scale research methods, enhancing the synthesis of theoretical and empirical studies, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of spatial dynamics and urban-regional systems.

Rural areal system is a multidimensional object of rural revitalization in the new era, and its complexity and dynamics require a breakthrough in single-domain thinking. Through the in-depth fusion of system science theories, multi-source data-driven technical methods and sustainable transformation paths, the full-chain governance of system diagnosis-scenario simulation-precise policy implementation should be carried out. Based on the scientific theory of human-land system and the multi-scale analysis paradigm of geography, this paper explores the "element-structure-function" cascade analysis system of rural areal system, analyzes the scientific connotation of rural areal system and rural revitalization, clarifies the multi-scale evolution law and transformation mechanism of rural areal system, develops rural areal system development status assessment and scenario simulation technology, and sorts out and proposes a "three-device" (diagnostic device, detector, simulator) platform framework for the transformation mechanism and simulation of rural areal system. By innovating multimodal spatiotemporal data fusion and intelligent interpretation methods, it can break through the technical bottleneck of quantitative inversion of rural areal system elements, establish a multi-factor collaborative observation indicator system and a data sharing application platform, reveal the spatial pattern of rural transformation under different development paths, and explore and create "three major systems", including a theoretical system of rural areal system with multi-dimensional interaction of nature-society-technology, a technical system of cross-platform coordinated observation of rural areal system, and a system of standards and norms for the scientific path of rural revitalization and its management. The findings will help to achieve the systematization of coordinated observation and scenario simulation of multi-source heterogeneous data in rural areal system, and provide theoretical guidance and technical support for the scientific formulation of rural revitalization plans and the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization strategic decisions. Additionally, focusing on the current trend of technological progress, modern geography should connect with the international scientific frontier and national strategic needs, and take the system integration of geographic science-technology-engineering-practice (Geo-STEP) as the core to promote the transition of rural areal system research from "problem explanation" to "future design" and "scientific governance".

Border ports serve as critical frontlines against potential threats from neighboring countries, with their risk status directly impacting national security and the livelihoods of local residents and businesses. Despite this importance, there remains a lack of quantitative assessments of geo-risk at these border ports. This study addresses this gap by constructing a geo-risk assessment model based on the concepts of probability and potential loss. By integrating multi-source spatio-temporal data, the geo-risk at border ports is estimated for type classification and feature analysis. The results reveal several key findings: geo-risk stress is gradually shifting westward, with significant accumulation at southwestern border ports, and comprehensive border ports are experiencing heightened risk. Geo-risk probability is high at China-Myanmar and China-Vietnam border ports, with notable risks at northern transit node ports, and Ruili ranks highest in geo-risk probability among all ports. Potential losses are concentrated along the southern border, especially at critical nodes of external transit routes and ports along the Belt and Road. The overall spatial distribution of geo-risk at border ports follows a pattern of "dense in the south, sparse in the north, and balanced across multiple points,"with risks categorized into four types: high risk, high probability, high loss, and low risk, with approximately one-quarter of ports categorized as high-risk. This study enhances the understanding of border risk, and the constructed geo-risk assessment model provides a valuable reference for risk quantification in other countries or regions while offering a scientific basis for decision-making related to border security.

Developing new quality productive forces is a significant proposition emphasized at the meeting on promoting the full revitalization of Northeast China in the new era. Subsequently, research on the spatiotemporal evolution and spatial differentiation of new quality productive forces has become a cutting-edge and hot topic in geographic science. Based on the theory of productivity layout in economic geography, this paper introduces a spatial perspective from geography into the study of new quality productive forces and systematically examines the locational conditions and spatial layout of new quality productive forces from two dimensions: policy-side and factor-side. The paper constructs a three-dimensional evaluation indicator system for new quality productive forces, consisting of "new laborer-new labor materials-new labor object", and employs threshold regression model and coupling coordination degree model to explore the dynamic relationship and spatial characteristics between local government attention and the level of new quality productive forces from 2009 to 2022. The results show that: (1) From the perspective of policy-side, there is a growing trend of following the crowd and repetitive competition in the development of new quality productive forces among provinces. (2) From the perspective of factor-side, there is spatial heterogeneity in the level of new quality productive forces across different regions, presenting a gradient pattern of "high in the east and low in the west", and the spatial distribution of new quality productive forces is more imbalanced than regional development. (3) From the perspective of dynamic analysis, there is a U-shaped threshold characteristic for the role of government attention in developing new quality productive forces, and there is a positive coupling relationship between the two. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the matching and connection between policy-side and factor-side of regional new quality productive forces. The conclusions of this study fill the research gap in the relevant fields of geography and provide policy inspiration for optimizing productivity layout, developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions, and promoting high-quality regional development.

This study employs the interlocking network model approach of the Globalization and World Cities Research Group (GaWC). Using data from 2702 modern financial institutions, including Chinese banks, foreign banks, and old-style native banks, mentioned in the 1935 National Banking Yearbook, we construct a modern Chinese urban network. The study analyzes the network characteristics, spatial structure, and distribution of cohesive subgroups, and ultimately explores the influencing factors using a Generalized Linear model. Our findings are as follows: (1) The modern Chinese urban network based on the financial industry is dominated by Chinese banks, followed by foreign banks and old-style native banks. (2) In terms of network linkage intensity, the urban network of Chinese banks forms a development axis structure with "(Shanghai-Nanjing)-(Tianjin-Beijing)" as the vertices. The urban network ties of foreign banks are centered in the coastal and northeastern regions. The network linkages of the old-style native banks show a discrete distribution pattern. (3) Concerning cohesive subgroups, subgroup 0 of the urban network of Chinese banks covers areas north of the Yangtze River and the coastal provinces, and a number of provincial subgroups survive in areas south of the Yangtze River. The city network of foreign banks is divided into two major subgroups: the northeastern region and the coastal provinces. The spatial extent of the subgroups of the urban network of the old-style native banks varies greatly, with much overlap between subgroups. (4) Compared with the modern inter-port trade network, the finance-based city network has a more balanced north-south distribution and a more integrated spatial configuration; compared to the modern financial industry-based urban network, the early-modern network shows a more concentrated distribution of vertices and greater alignment with political centers. (5) Regression analyses show that economic privileges, the prosperity of the national capital, and new transport conditions are major factors influencing the modern finance-based city network.

Cultivating new quality agricultural productive forces (NQAPFs) is an intrinsic requirement for promoting the construction of a strong agricultural country. It is of great practical significance to explain the scientific connotation of NQAPFs in China, analyze their spatial and temporal characteristics, and examine their impact on strengthening China's agriculture. This paper constructs an index system for measuring NQAPFs from four dimensions: agricultural science and technology, labor factors, industrial upgrading and agroecology, based on panel data from 30 provincial-level areas in China from 2012 to 2022. The Theil index, Markov chain and double machine learning methods are used to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of NQAPFs, identify lagging regions, and empirically test the impact of NQAPFs on agricultural labor productivity and farmers' income. The research found that: China's NQAPFs increased steadily, with industrial upgrading contributing the most and the contributions of the labor factor and agroecology relatively weak; the current development presents a pattern of "high in the east and low in the west", with the eastern region>northeast region>central region>western region, and regional development is unbalanced. However, the NQAPFs converged towards higher levels, and the distribution dynamics are internally stable. Except for the northeast region, there is a converging trend of rapid growth in low-value areas in the eastern, central and western regions of the country. Econometric analysis shows that NQAPFs have significant positive impact on both agricultural labor productivity and farmers' income; 17 provincial-level areas with weak NQAPFs have been identified, mainly in the western and northeast regions. In the future, the focus of efforts to improve China's NQAPFs should be on increasing investment in agricultural science and technology, continuing to promote industrial upgrading, improving the quality of the workforce, strengthening the protection of agricultural ecosystems, and accelerating the improvement of the comprehensive development level of NQAPFs in central and western China.