The growth and cultivation of leading scientific talent has become a hot topic for the government and academia. However, previous research has focused on education and management issues in the process of talent growth, while the geographical factors and processes influencing talent growth have been overlooked and neglected. Based on the education and work resumes of Nobel laureates in science, this paper systematically deconstructs the geographical pathways, regional functions, and influencing factors involved in the growth of leading scientists from 1901 to 2022. The main conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) The geographical pathways of the growth of leading scientists has a significant institutional community effect, and achieving scientific breakthroughs is highly dependent on a few research institutions. (2) In the education stage, the educational centers where leading scientists grow up exhibit a significant phenomenon of succession, showing a wide range of sources and the highly degree of aggregation of inflows. And the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom account for 78.3% of the volume of leading scientists mobility in the education stage. (3) In the work stage, the geographical pathways of the growth of leading scientists has further narrowed, and there is a clear geographical transfer in the scientific centers where leading scientists work. The United States has become the largest "magnet country", accounting for 53.7% of the volume of leading scientists mobility in this stage. (4) During the growth process of leading scientists, regional functions are divided into six types: birth, education, promotion, birth and education, education and promotion, and omnipotent. After World War II, only the United States has developed into omnipotent type. (5) The influence mechanism of the mobility of leading scientists has its generality and particularity. Language has been widely proven to play an important role in the cross-border flow of the general population, but its impact on the migration of leading scientists is not significant. The proximity of social systems, political environment, and higher education are important factors for leading scientists to consider in their migration. However, the scientific development level of destinations does not significantly affect the mobility of leading scientists in turbulent times.

Traveling has been a constant exploration of new knowledge and experiences in both the journey and the destination throughout the ages. Travelogues, in turn, are direct records of historical travel activities. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the improvement of canal transportation and canal systems, a comprehensive water-land transportation network centered around the Grand Canal (Beijing-Hangzhou Canal) and incorporating the north-south postal roads along the canal gradually took shape. This development attracted numerous officials, literati, envoys, and other elite groups, leading to the creation of a substantial number of travelogues and diaries related to the Grand Canal and its surrounding landscapes. Focusing on these travelogues, this study examines the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of the canal travels of elites in the Ming and Qing dynasties, contributing to a deeper understanding of the operation of transportation systems and the travel patterns of people in traditional societies during historical periods. This article, adopting a perspective of "mobility" and drawing on methods from historical geography, extracts information and expresses spatial characteristics from travelogue texts, revealing the overall spatiotemporal features of canal travels by Ming and Qing elites. Based on this, the study discusses the influences and constraints on individual travel activities. The research findings include: (1) Canal travels during the two dynasties formed concentrated zones, namely the Beijing-Tianjin travel belt in the north and the Huaiyang (Huai'an and Yangzhou)-Jiangnan travel belt in the south, while the central region remained relatively sparse. (2) Under the influence of natural conditions and canal transportation systems, travel activities exhibited a certain temporal rhythm within a year. (3) Factors such as social status, travel destinations, and modes of transportation significantly influenced the behavioral patterns, spatial perception, and emotional experiences of travelers during their journeys. Building on these analyses, this article proposes a mobility analysis framework for historical transportation geography, aiming to provide insights into the application of mobility paradigms in historical periods. This research not only contributes to the understanding of historical travels but also lays the groundwork for further exploration of mobility in historical contexts.

Shaping modern human resources and supporting Chinese modernization with high-quality population development is a necessary requirement for promoting high-quality economic development. This article analyzes the spatio-temporal pattern and evolution characteristics of China's total human capital development at the district and county levels, and constructs a bilateral stochastic frontier model to measure the bilateral impact and mechanism of urban core areas on county-level human capital. The research shows that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, China's county (city) human capital continuously increased, but the growth rate slowed down. (2) Overall, urban core areas had a significant driving effect on the improvement of county-level human capital, and the main paths were industrial spillovers and innovation spillovers. (3) The impact of urban core areas on county-level human capital changed from "siphon" to "spillover", raising the actual total human capital of the county from 0.137% below the frontier level in 2000 to 2.657% above the frontier level in 2020, and there was still room for growth in terms of temporal trend. (4) The impact of urban core areas on county-level human capital showed significant spatial differences. In 2020, the development of core areas in first-tier and second-tier cities resulted in 39.110% and 12.966% of county-level actual human capital higher than the frontier level, while the corresponding figure for fourth-tier cities was only 0.006%. (5) There is a significant negative correlation between the net effect of urban core areas on the improvement of county-level human capital and geographical and temporal distance, with the inflection point from positive to negative being around 100 kilometers and 100 minutes.

Based on the data from childcare institutions released by the National Health Commission in June 2024, this study examines the spatial differentiation of childcare institutions across China using four provincial-level cities and 332 prefecture-level regions. The research employs ArcGIS spatial analysis methods and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to uncover the influencing factors behind this spatial variation. Key findings include: (1) Childcare institutions in China predominantly exhibit a clustered distribution, characterized by a greater concentration in the east and sparser distribution in the west. This pattern manifests as "large clusters and small dispersions," with significant clusters forming in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Rim, and numerous monocentric clusters centered around provincial capitals and major cities. (2) The number of childcare institutions is positively correlated with the tier of the city. Cities with fewer childcare facilities are numerous and spread out, primarily located in the western and northeastern regions. In contrast, cities with a larger number of institutions are mainly situated in the eastern coastal areas and major central-western cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Hefei, and Zhengzhou. (3) The population of children aged 0-4 years plays a decisive role in the spatial distribution of childcare institutions. Per capita disposable income of urban residents, the labor participation rate, and average household size serve as auxiliary factors influencing this spatial variation. While the average household size generally has a negative influence, other factors positively affect the distribution. As city tiers decrease, the impact of these auxiliary factors lessens, with minimal influence on fifth-tier cities. In conclusion, the study offers targeted recommendations for the development of China's childcare services industry.