Yangtze River Delta, as a pivotal region where the coastal axis and the riverside axis intersect, is characterized by complexity, diversity and typicality of the spatial structural evolution. Therefore, understanding its evolutionary pattern and constructing a theoretical model has important theoretical significance and application value. According to the core-periphery structure theory, the Yangtze River Delta can be divided into a core area that is centered on the Taihu Lake Basin and remaining periphery areas. However, due to its location at the junction of the river and the sea, a gateway area has emerged within the periphery area, thus forming a spatial structure that is composed of the core area and the gateway area. In the early period, the core area was centered on Suzhou, and a five-tier central place structure became well established since ancient times. However, the gateway area kept evolving and underwent three main changes: in ancient times, the gateway area was centered on Yangzhou, forming the canal gateway cluster; in the modern age, the gateway area became centered on Shanghai, forming an offshore gateway cluster; and in the contemporary era, the gateway area became centered on Ningbo, forming an oceanic gateway cluster. Their corresponding navigation capacities were 500 t, 10,000 t, and 200,000 t, respectively. Therefore, in addition to the existing central place theory and seaport spatial structure theory, the spatial structure evolution of the Yangtze River Delta presents a new evolutionary model: namely, the fusion evolutionary model of central places and port gateways. According to this model, in the early period, it was an endogenous evolution of the core area's spatial structure, which was in line with Christaller's hexagonal structure; while in modern times, the evolution of the spatial structure of the Yangtze River Delta was no longer dominated by central places, but rather, it became dominated by the gateway areas, making the k = 3 market principle turn into the k = 4 transportation principle. In this way, the Yangtze River Delta provides a globally exemplary empirical case for validating the process test of the central place theory, analyzing functional attributes of urban centrality and gateway, and refining the relevant theoretical model.

With the rapid advancement of science and technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a significant force driving scientific development and social progress. In the field of geographical sciences, the application of AI technology is deepening, bringing revolutionary changes to the collection, analysis, and application of big data and spatio-temporal information, and demonstrating innovative and application potential in multiple aspects. This paper systematically reviews the development and application of AI in geographical sciences, providing a detailed introduction to the development trajectories of various AI fields such as machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, planning systems, and large AI models, as well as their applications in geography. It discusses the problems and challenges of AI applications in geography and provides an outlook on the future development of interdisciplinary research between AI and geographical sciences.

Sustainable development is a significant scientific issue of global concern. Geography, as a comprehensive discipline focusing on the coupled relationship between human activities and the natural environment, provides systematic research and solutions for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive reviews. This paper summarizes the theoretical framework and research progress of Geography supporting the SDGs and explores its future key research areas. This article indicates that: (1) Geography, in conducting integrated research on human-nature systems and serving regional and global sustainable development processes, has innovatively proposed and developed theoretical frameworks such as social-ecological systems, pattern-process-service-sustainability, metacoupling, and Classification-Coordination-Collaboration. These research frameworks include elements of human-environment system interconnections, process coupling, spatial coupling, and systematic regulation oriented towards SDGs, forming a comprehensive theoretical framework supporting sustainable development research in Geography, also referred to as "sustainable geography theoretical framework". (2) Geography has made positive progress in supporting the United Nations SDGs research in areas such as multi-source data acquisition, localization of indicator systems and multi-scale progress assessment, analysis of inter-target linkage mechanisms, and SDG achievement pathways. Geography provides important theoretical and methodological support for SDG research. (3) Geography and sustainable development-related research mainly focus on climate-ecological crisis response, sustainable utilization of food-energy-water resources, regional development and planning, human well-being and social governance, and the construction of SDG assessment indicators and databases. (4) In future research, there is a need to innovate and develop sub-disciplines of Sustainable Geography, optimize the construction of SDGs indicator systems, develop SDGs assessment and decision-making models, strengthen artificial intelligence geography, deepen research on human-nature system coupling, and promote regional and global sustainable development in the process of advancing innovation in the discipline of Geography.

The relocation of urban administrative centers plays a crucial role in optimizing urban spatial structure and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and capabilities. A thorough analysis of the spatiotemporal patterns, driving mechanisms, and development trends of administrative center relocations in China is not only a practical necessity for supporting the modernization of national governance but also a foundational requirement for the standardization and scientific advancement of administrative center relocations. This study utilizes spatial analysis methods to comprehensively examine the relocation of administrative centers in cities at or above the prefecture level in China from 1978 to 2022. The results show that there have been 81 instances of administrative center relocations across the country since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s. These relocations peaked between 2003 and 2007 and showed significant regional disparities. These relocations are predominantly short-distance and mainly aimed at promoting the development of new urban districts, often resulting in a separation from the geographical center. The relocation of urban administrative centers is a complex process influenced by an interplay of multiple factors, including national policies, governmental guidance, power distribution, resource reallocation, and planning adjustments. The regulatory role of national policies and the guidance provided by city governments are critical components in this multidimensional negotiation. In the context of the current strict national regulation of administrative division adjustment, the relocation of urban administrative centers will continue to reinforce traditional driving factors while aligning with socio-economic and technological shifts, presenting new directions driven by ecological governance, transportation development, and the evolution of innovative industries. In the future, it is essential to carefully evaluate the necessity of relocation while maintaining the fundamental stability of administrative centers. Implementing top-level design for administrative center relocations, adhering to standardized approval processes, and rigorously evaluating the rationale are key to promoting all-encompassing urban advancement. This study provides a reference for scientifically understanding the patterns and intrinsic mechanisms of urban administrative center relocation.

The physical geography and hydroclimatic conditions in the arid region of in northwestern China leading to diverse flood-generation mechanisms. Under the influence of global and regional climate change, the spatiotemporal variation of floods and flood-generation mechanism in this region is still unclear and restricts flood prevention and mitigation and the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in the major regions. Based on the series of the annual maximum flood peak discharge in 58 river basins in the study area from 1961 to 2017, we analyzed and revealed the mechanisms, spatial distribution and interannual variation characteristics of flood in the basin in the past 60 years based on statistical tests and machine learning approaches. The results show that the frequency of extreme floods and the annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude are increasing, with the maximum increase in the frequency of extreme floods at about 0.84 times/10 years, and the maximum increase in the annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude at about 29%/10 years compared with the multi-year average, and the largest increase is mainly observed in the eastern Tianshan Mountains and the Qilian Mountains. There are three main flood generation mechanisms, i.e., rain (R), snow (S) and mix (M), the frequency of R and M floods increased significantly, while the frequency of S floods decreased. The contribution of flood mechanisms transformation to the increase of annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude can reach up to 38%, which is significantly higher than the contribution of a single hydrometeorological factor such as precipitation. The results of this study emphasize the importance of attributing and predicting the changes of flood characteristics in geographically complex region from the perspective of flood mechanisms. Engineering hydrological design in the changing environment also needs to consider the influence of the heterogeneity of flood samples caused by different flood mechanisms on the flood frequency analysis, so as to provide scientific support for flood risk management and response in the basin.

In the past 40 years since the theory of "pole-axis system" was put forward, its connotation has been continuously enriched, which has profoundly influenced the theoretical and empirical research in multiple disciplines. The theory has also greatly contributed to China's spatial development of national territory, planning and construction of urban system, and layout of major productive forces. In the new era, China's major regional strategies have profound scientific connotations, yet they still need to overcome blockages such as loose connections within and between urban agglomerations in the course of practice. In this sense, the framework of multi-dimensional proximity from the perspective of evolutionary economic geography can be instructive, since it further focuses on the dimensional linkages of cognitive proximity, technological proximity, relational proximity, and social proximity. Thus, in the context of "dual circulation" strategy, China's territorial space development should be further guided by the theory of "pole-axis system" as well as the framework of multi-dimensional proximity, accelerating the cultivation of new quality productivity, constructing a resilient network of inter-regional industrial collaboration, and comprehensively empowering regional high-quality development.

Amid the increasing global uncertainties, studying the risk structure and resilience level of global supply chains for agricultural products highlights their importance. It not only provides China with a scientific foundation for better utilizing international markets and resources and ensuring the safety of agricultural product imports, but also promotes the development of risk resilience management theories and methods for typical products across geographical spaces, thus expanding research in resource geography. This study builds a framework that consists of three sectors (export sectors, logistics and transportation sectors, and import sectors) and four stages (supply, procurement, transportation, and demand). Using two-stage DEA and CoDEA models, it evaluates the supply chain risks and resilience of soybeans, which is the typical import-dependent agricultural product in China. The findings indicate that: (1) The risk of China's imported soybean supply chain increased from 2000 to 2020, with risks predominantly from the demand and procurement stages. By contrast, the supply and transport stages are less risky but significantly increased. Trade relations with exporting countries and economic policy uncertainty are the main long-term risk factors that threaten the security of soybean import supply chains. (2) China's soybean supply chain from Brazil is more resilient than that from the US and Argentina, suggesting great potential for improving supply chain cooperation with Brazil. (3) Making the distinction between short- and long-term threats is necessary for managing the risk resilience of the global soybean supply chain. Improving the capacity to react to sudden hazards represented by trade restrictions, maritime obstructions, and trade sanctions should be the priority in the short term. Long-term exploration of system construction and strategic layout optimization is necessary to improve the discursive power of the supply chain.

The new wave of technological revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI) has become a competitive advantage pursued by countries worldwide, and it is also expected to bring about significant innovations in urban geography. This paper reviews the development trajectory of AI and proposes a conceptual model of the urban human-environment system oriented towards AI. It systematically outlines and summarizes the involvement of AI in urban geography research from four perspectives: data representation, scenario applications, spatial transformations, and urban development. Additionally, it identifies the challenges, contexts, exploration paths, and future prospects faced in the intelligent transformation of academic disciplines. The study finds that: (1) The interactions between elements within the urban human-environment system oriented towards AI are becoming increasingly complex. (2) The trend of AI becoming a primary tool in urban geography research is increasingly evident, offering high efficiency, low cost, and strong learning capabilities in data processing. This has significant implications for spatial perception and intelligent decision-making. AI has sparked spatial transformations, not only creating complex virtual spaces but also reconstructing social spaces. Additionally, AI supports the development of smart cities and the establishment of cutting-edge urban application platforms. (3) Urban geography research in the context of intelligent transformation faces challenges related to data and technology, as well as the broader contexts of global and local changes, technological ethics, and the development of humanistic values. Future development paths could explore overcoming technical barriers, focusing on urban spatial construction and governance, and emphasizing the research on the effects of multiple intelligence shifts. The discipline urgently needs comprehensive transformation and upgrading.

Metropolitan areas are pivotal in driving national economic growth, advancing harmonious regional development, and participating in competitive international collaboration. Consistent with international consensus, China's planning policies define metropolitan areas as a one-hour commuting circle. Simultaneously, these planning protocols particularly highlight the importance of industrial specialization and intercity collaboration, with the objective of developing modern urban agglomerations characterized by a well-defined spatial structure, complementary urban functions, and an integrated industrial division. This study uses the 2017 intercity input-output table analysis to examine patterns of industrial division and functional synergy in Chinese metropolitan areas. The findings are as follows: (1) From the perspective of industrial division and functional synergy, Chinese metropolitan areas can be categorized into four distinct spatial structures: the single-center dispersed structure, the core-periphery structure, the peripheral expansion structure, and the multi-center network structure representing an advanced phase in the spatial evolution of metropolitan areas. (2) The spatial network of industrial chains in Chinese metropolitan areas is predominantly governed by the flow of processing and manufacturing links. There is a substantial gap in the processing and manufacturing links between the Beijing and Tianjin metropolitan areas compared to similar types of metropolitan areas, and there is considerable potential for enhancing the productive service links in the Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan metropolitan areas. (3) The essence of transforming Chinese metropolitan areas into functionally complementary industrial cooperation areas is to further refine the spatial network of the industrial chains, strengthen functional synergy between cities, and encourage spatial integration in the metropolitan areas. (4) Single-center dispersed structure metropolitan areas, including Shijiazhuang, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan should initially transition toward a core-periphery structure. In contrast, peripheral expansion structure metropolitan areas such as Nanjing and Hangzhou metropolitan areas, and core-periphery structure urban agglomerations such as Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing metropolitan areas should progress toward a multi-center network structure.

This paper reviews the social background of "pole-axis system" theory and the "T-shaped" land development and economic layout framework in China, especially the objective conditions that the country cannot implement another "strategic shift" of national development priorities, and the academic contribution of economic geography serving to national strategic development, as well as some concepts, ideas, knowledge and methods to achieve this goal. According to the significance and the scholars' comments of this theory and model in national practice, this paper describes the growth course and academic responsibility of an economic geographer to inspire the academic community to uphold the rigorous attitude of seeking truth from facts to make greater contributions to the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

During the Republic of China (1912-1949), Zhongshan Roads rapidly emerged in major cities and towns across the country, and hundreds of them remain today, primarily in affluent areas. To investigate this uncommon road-naming phenomenon, a comprehensive study was conducted on their construction process and spatio-temporal characteristics (within the scope of county-level and above administrative regions), using toponymy, historical geography, and GIS. Historical documents and maps were re-examined, combined with data from the China National Geographical Name Information Database, OpenStreetMap, and Historical GIS techniques such as spatial measurement, spatial analysis, and visualization. The results showed that: (1) Zhongshan Roads were initially named to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen. During the Republic of China era, 599 Zhongshan Roads were established, primarily in Taiwan, Henan, Shaanxi, and along the southeast coast. (2) Today, there are 653 Zhongshan Roads, except in Xizang, Hong Kong, and Macao. (3) Among these, the Zhongshan Highway in Taiwan is the longest, while Zhongshan Street in Emei township, Hsinchu county, is the shortest. Tainan has the largest number of Zhongshan Roads overall, whereas Shanghai's Huangpu district has the highest concentration and density of these roads across China. (4) Spatial analysis revealed that historically, Zhongshan Roads were mostly found in the centers of old cities and towns. However, since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, new Zhongshan Roads have gradually moved away from city centers. (5) Over the past century, there have been four significant periods of road-naming popularity: following Dr. Sun Yat-sen's passing, commemorating the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the recovery of lost territories, restoring place names altered during the 1966-1976 period in the 1980s, and naming new roads at the start of the 21st century. Zhongshan Road, with its century-old tradition, symbolizes the collective remembrance of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his enduring legacy among the Chinese people. It also reflects China's pursuit of modernization and national rejuvenation in modern times. The data analysis in this paper may require partial refinement as more historical materials are unearthed and quantitative methods are updated, but it does not affect the overall conclusions.

Rural attraction is an important indicator of the functions of the rural regional system during flow situations. This theoretical topic in rural development has been discussed within multiple disciplines, but lacks systematic research. Nevertheless, it has become a cutting-edge theoretical research topic in the field of rural geography. Following the research progress and theoretical foundations of rural attraction, this paper constructs a theoretical framework for rural attraction from a geographical perspective, and explains five of its most important issues. (1) The research literature on rural attraction has shifted from fragmented elaborations on the qualities of attractive villages and the unidimensional analysis of rural attraction to the exploration of its concept, mechanism, and evaluation system in terms of urban-rural interactions. The theories underlying the rural regional system of human-environment interactions, gravity, population migration, and attraction property rights, can provide a theoretical foundation and inspiration for the research on rural attraction. (2) Focusing on scientific issues in rural attraction, such as "what is-how-why-how to", and moving toward the framework goal of "theoretical innovation, serving practice, and methodological guidance," a theoretical framework for rural attraction is constructed with the support of spatiotemporal considerations, a comprehensive theoretical paradigm, and the methods used in the field of rural geography. (3) Five important issues experienced during efforts to improve rural attraction were analyzed. First, we analyzed the conceptual connotations of rural attraction based on the background of rural regional systems and spatial interactions from the perspective of spatiotemporal processes. Second, we constructed a measurement framework for rural attraction based on these conceptual connotations and evaluation principles. Third, we identified the regional types and spatial structures of rural attraction from the perspectives of spatial correlations and scale transformation. Fourth, following the theories of human-regional system of human-environment relationship and scale transformation, we explored the mechanisms of rural attraction's endogenous development and exogenous embedding processes. Fifth, considering historical processes and spatial heterogeneity, we explored the pathways and policy insights for enhancing rural attraction. Overall, this research attempts to construct a "what is-how-why-how to" research framework for rural attraction based on a comprehensive "spatiotemporal human-environment" perspective. This study aims to deepen and expand the theoretical research on rural attraction, in addition to providing theoretical references and policy insights for the implementation of rural revitalization strategies in the construction of harmonious and beautiful rural areas.

High-quality development of the marine economy is a key task for accelerating the construction of a maritime power, so as to realize Chinese-style modernization. This paper defines the scientific connotation of marine economy and its high-quality development. Based on the three major systems of marine economy and the five new development concepts, this paper synthesizes the high-quality development index of marine economy by means of vertical and horizontal separation grade method and fixed-base efficiency coefficient method. Then, with the help of the method of Dagum Gini coefficient, Markov matrix, standard deviation ellipse and geographic detector, spatio-temporal evolution and driving factors of high-quality development in coastal areas are systematically discussed. The results show that: (1) The continuous improvement of the comprehensive level of high-quality marine economic development is due to the collaborative optimization of marine economic, social and environmental systems. Guangdong, Shandong, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are key regions leading the improvement of marine economic quality and efficiency. (2) The quality of marine economic development has obvious spatial and temporal differences. To be specific, there is a large gap within the southern blue economic circle, and the gap between the northern and eastern blue economic circles is also the most prominent. (3) The high-quality development of marine economy is moving forward in twists and turns. In terms of time, most provinces have the power to advance to a higher level, but the difficulty of transition is gradually increasing; In terms of space, the center of gravity of the marine economy's geographical pattern is always located in the Yangtze River Delta, forming a steady-state spatial structure of "one core and two wings". (4) The optimization of the quality of marine economy is the result of the joint action of the new development concept. After the introduction of the strategy of maritime power, innovation empowerment has replaced opening-up as the first driving force. In order to steadily promote the high-quality development of the marine economy at a higher level, it is necessary to implement the new development concept, which include give full play to the leading role of the blue economic zone, enhance the core competitiveness of the marine industry, build a free trade port with high standards, promote the cause of revitalizing the sea through science and education to cultivate new quality productive forces, deepen the construction of marine ecological civilization as well as clarify the key tasks of coastal areas. In this way, the sound operation of the marine economic, social and environmental systems tend to be promoted, completing the glorious mission of transforming to a maritime power.

Major productive forces are crucial to the country's long-term stability and sustained prosperity, and are also a powerful means of improving economic efficiency, promoting coordinated regional development, and strengthening international competitiveness. This paper summarizes the layout of China's major productive forces and their spatial patterns in different periods by collecting multi-source data such as historical documents, regional socio-economic statistical data and remote sensing of light, and borrowing technical methods such as MCR model, kernel density analysis and standard deviation ellipse, etc. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The layout of China's major productive forces follows the law of economic geography agglomeration and diffusion cycle evolution, and has experienced the evolution of balanced development - decentralised development - centralised development - coordinated development-high-quality complementary development. This is manifested in the concentration of 156 projects to a few geographic spaces in the western region of China, dispersion in the central and western regions during the Third Front Movement, concentration along the eastern coast, and a gradient advancement toward the inland. However, the focus of development has always been in the southeast region along the Hu Huanyong line. (2) The results of the spatial pattern simulation of major productive forces follow the theory of regional development stages. During China's high-level development process, different spatial patterns have emerged successively: points (core poles), point-axis, and point-axis system (network), forming a multi-level pole-axis system with a "T" main framework along the coast and the Yangtze River, supplemented by other central cities and transportation arteries, in order to promote the balanced development of territorial space. (3) The main influencing factors of the development layout of China's major productive forces vary from time to time, with the geo-environment influencing the spatial layout in the early stage, and then the combined force of national strategies, policies and markets; GTWR further reveals that there is significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the factors influencing the development layout. The GTWR further reveals that there is significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the factors affecting its development layout. This study focuses on the layout and spatial patterns of the major productive forces, which can provide practical references for optimizing the layout of major productive forces and constructing a regional economic layout and national spatial system with complementary advantages and high-quality development.

Rural development in the new era has ushered in material development opportunities but it is still faced with significant problems of imbalance and inadequacy. Rural social innovation is not only an important endogenous driving force to promote socioeconomic development and reform, but also a key force to break the dual "exogenous-endogenous" structure in rural areas, realize their neo-endogenous development, and promote the full implementation of the rural revitalization strategy to build a livable, viable, and beautiful countryside. This study interprets the conceptual characteristics of social innovation and rural social innovation in the theoretical perspective, sorts out the practical evolution of rural social innovation at home and abroad, explains the internal logic of rural social innovation and rural revitalization in the new era, summarizes the pathway for the realization of rural social innovation to promote rural revitalization, and looks ahead to the future key research areas of rural social innovation. The results show that the essence of rural social innovation lies in enhancing the active capabilities of rural society to achieve sustainable social benefits and promote rural sustainable development. From the perspective of social innovation theory, China's rural development has gone through an initial trial stage, a tortuous exploratory stage, a formal practice stage, and an innovative development stage. Rural social innovation plays a positive role in promoting rural revitalization and neo-endogenous development through innovation initiatives, processes, representation, and goals. In addition, rural revitalization can also react to and strengthen rural social innovation. According to the strategic and practical needs of rural revitalization, one method for promoting rural revitalization through rural social innovation is to reconstruct the relationships among the government, markets, and society. Future research into rural social innovation in the new era should be focused on examining its logical evolution and theoretical exploration, identifying its key elements and invisible thresholds, summarizing its network evolution and driving mechanism, and realizing its dynamic tracking and effect evaluations to provide theoretical guidance and a practical reference for the neo-endogenous development of rural revitalization in China.

Owing to the long-standing land-sea division, the regional development theory represented by the pole-axis system has conducted insufficient research on the development potential of the land-sea transition zone and even the marine space. In this context, this paper re-explores the marine orientation of the "pole-axis system" theory and investigates the application of the pole-axis system beyond the land-based thinking. Specifically, taking the currently highly-regarded development of the Hainan Free Trade Port (HFTP) as an example, it commences from the general laws of island economies, traces the geographical relationships and development history of Hainan Island, and based on the expansion of the "pole-axis system" theory, deliberates on the development direction and ideas of the HFTP. This paper emphasizes that: (1) The spatial metaphor of isolation and connectivity of islands within the context of the pole-axis system are mutually reinforcing and compatible, and the cultivation and development of the pole-axis system of the HFTP need to take into account the synergetic effects of the island's geographical relationships at different spatial scales, namely the global, national, regional, and local levels. (2) The pole-axis system of HFTP highlights the role of "flow" rather than geographical proximity in the growth of islands and island clusters. The focus on island-island relationships needs to shift from centrality to the exploration of node attributes, while the focus on land-island relationships needs to change from hierarchy to functional complementarity. (3) The HFTP needs to establish an economic and industrial composite pole-axis system that integrates land, island, and sea, and deepen the intrinsic driving force for the coordinated development of different geographic units through the bidirectional interaction of "defining development based on the sea" and "leaning on the land towards the sea". This study hopes to contribute to enriching and enhancing the marine orientation of the "pole-axis system" theory and deepening the study of islands, including the HFTP, other island economies, and the entire island.

Urbanization has always been a crucial area for development geography. Regional development strategies that align with urban characteristics and the scientific allocation of construction land indicators can effectively guide the high-quality coordinated development of urban agglomerations. However, the issue of whether urbanization matches the development strategy has always lacked an in-depth response in geography. Moreover, as the control over agricultural and ecological spaces becomes increasingly strict, the availability of construction land indicators is increasingly constrained. The allocation of construction land indicators is thus critical for the distribution of regional resources and the achievement of development goals of regional urban agglomeration. Based on the construction principles of development geography indicator system and the core-periphery theory, this study comprehensively considered the three subsystems of urbanization (population, economy, and land) and the spatial link intensity among cities to analyze the impacts of "siphon" and "radiation" effects on regional development, and assessed whether China's two major regional development strategies matched the comprehensive development characteristics of urban agglomerations. Based on this analysis, the quantitative allocation of construction land in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomerations was completed. The results showed that the comprehensive level index of urban (CLU) in core cities (Beijing and Tianjin) and peripheral cities differed significantly, demonstrating a clear core-periphery structure. Along with urbanization, the "siphon" effect in BTH was gradually weakening. Beijing's urban primacy decreased and the growth rate of the CLU dropped from 53.89% to 18.37% over the first and last 5 years of this study period. In contrast, the "radiation" effect in the YRD remained more obvious, exhibiting a development pattern driven by multiple growth poles in various smaller regions. As urbanization progressed, the BTH indicated a trend of coordinated development, while the integration level of the YRD continued to strengthen. Compared to the government's top-down indicator allocation data, the results of the quantitative allocation of construction land reduced volatility and increased robustness. This study confirmed the scientific basis of the coordinated development of the BTH and the integrated regional development strategy of the YRD from the perspective of development geography. It also provides empirical support for research on the allocation of construction land.

The optimal allocation and scientific management of rural logistics resources is the key to unblock the domestic transportation cycle, and it is also the focus of the construction of a powerful transportation country and the integration of urban and rural transportation. From two perspectives of driving and walking, this study constructs a research framework for the evaluation of rural logistics terminal distribution with accessibility and equity. This study analyzes the accessibility of 440000 administrative villages in China and their nearest rural logistics terminal facilities. By using the online map tool, this study reveals the spatial distribution pattern and regional differences of rural logistics terminal facilities, and evaluates the spatial equity of rural logistics terminal facilities at the county level with Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients. The results show that: (1) Accessibility of rural logistics terminal facilities presents significant regional difference, and it declines from the coast to the interior, which is consistent with the socio-economic development pattern in China. (2) Accessibility of logistics terminal facilities presents significant urban-rural differences. According to the comparative analysis of travel distance, travel time, and travel modes, the urban-rural differences have been widened on travel time and by walking. (3) Based on the analysis with rural population distribution, the distribution of rural logistics terminal facilities presents the transport-related exclusion. The above findings can provide scientific support for the scientific layout of rural logistics terminal facilities so that we could promote the people-oriented integrated development of urban and rural transportation, and assist rural revitalization, so as to achieve common prosperity.

Through the lens of industrial transfer, this study leverages data spanning from 2004 to 2020 to empirically investigate the spatial interrelationships of the division of labor among prefecture-level cities in China. The research constructs a spatial Origin-Destination (OD) model to scrutinize the determinants influencing the urban division of labor. The findings elucidate several key points: (1) A substantial network autocorrelation attribute is prevalent in the urban industrial division of labor. In comparison to the destination network autocorrelation, the source network autocorrelation exerts a more potent influence on the division of labor, whereas the source-destination network autocorrelation imparts a detrimental effect on the division of labor. (2) The intensity of network autocorrelation in urban industrial division of labor is intertwined with the geographical locations of the industrial transfer "city pairs" and the disparity in economic development levels, exhibiting industrial idiosyncrasies and temporal phases. The network autocorrelation of industrial division of labor is more conspicuous within and among cities in the eastern and central regions, as well as between cities with substantial disparities in economic development. The network autocorrelation of spatially mobile industries and the urban industrial division of labor prior to 2012 is also more discernible. (3) The urban industrial division of labor is propelled by a myriad of factors, encompassing spatial distance, the digital economy development levels of both the source and destination cities, the extent of openness to the global market, human capital reserves, environmental regulations, energy consumption structure, financial constraints, and innovation capacities. These factors influence the division of labor and manifest spillover effects. Consequently, in discerning the paradigms of urban industrial labor division and facilitating the metamorphosis and enhancement of urban industries, it is imperative to consider the asymmetrical ramifications engendered by industrial transfer and its concomitant network interdependencies.

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.

Streamflow from the Lena River is one of the major sources of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean and has a significant impact on the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice thermal processes and ocean thermohaline circulation. In recent years, streamflow in the Lena River basin is changing significantly with intensified global warming. In order to investigate the response of streamflow to climate change in the Lena River basin, the study firstly analyzed the trends of precipitation, air temperature and streamflow in the basin from 1975 to 2014 using the M-K trend test. Then, we constructed the abcd-cr hydrological model by considering a coupled snowmelt and permafrost module. Based on the abcd-cr model, we simulated climatic scenarios and quantitatively estimated the relative changes of annual and seasonal streamflow and the elasticities of annual and seasonal streamflow to changes in air temperature and precipitation respected to different climate scenarios. Results showed that: (1) Both the annual and seasonal air temperatures in the Lena River showed increasing trends from 1975 to 2014; The annual, summer, and autumn precipitation presented increasing trends while the spring and winter precipitation showed decreasing trends; The annual, spring, autumn, and winter streamflow had significant increasing trends while the summer streamflow showed a non-significant decreasing trend. (2) The climate scenario simulation results quantified the variations in annual and seasonal streamflow resulting from changes in precipitation and air temperature. (3) The results of sensitivity analysis showed that annual streamflow increases with the increase of precipitation and decreases with the increase of air temperature; The impact of precipitation change on seasonal streamflow is similar to that of annual streamflow change. However, the impacts of air temperature varied in different seasons. Specifically, the relative change of summer streamflow is the largest, while that of winter streamflow is the smallest. The impact of air temperature on seasonal streamflow is more complex than that of annual streamflow due to the interactions between seasonal evaporation and freeze-thaw processes. With increasing air temperature, spring streamflow increases, while streamflow in other seasons decreases.

China is deeply interwoven with the world, which has an important impact on the economic geographical pattern of Chinese-style modernization. The economic geographical pattern of Chinese-style modernization is mainly configurated by three relations: relations between urban and rural areas, relations between the eastern and western regions, and relations between China and foreign countries. It is the foundation of the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Using strategic-relational approach, this paper analyzes the characteristics of pattern evolution dialectically from the perspective of political party discourse and multi-scale spatial characteristics. After 1840, the capitalist world system disintegrated China's unified pattern, and the regional imbalance and rural-urban gap became prominent in China. At the beginning of the 20th century, the imbalance and gaps intensified in China amid the world's multipolar conflicts. The Communist Party of China created the path of the rural areas to encircle the cities and won the victory of the Chinese revolution, which also changed the world pattern. After 1949, under the Cold War, China began to embark on the path of independently building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The relations between urban and rural areas, between eastern and western regions, between China and foreign countries are shifting to balance. Since the reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, globalization and multi-polarization have propelled the transformation of Chinese-style modernization. The imbalance has shifted from worsening to easing, and China has quickly become an important pole in the world. The world is undergoing profound transformation unseen in a century, uneven development between urban and rural areas, between the eastern and western regions, between China and foreign countries is fraught with uncertainties. Coordinating the three relations is the key to the realization of Chinese-style modernization. China-world relations have a U-shaped cycle of 50 years, regional relations play an intermediary role, and rural-urban relations are the easiest to change. It is necessary to strengthen the research of the economic geographical pattern of modernization, and integrate the three relations into a new development pattern. The H-shaped pattern should integrate spatial development strategies and reshape an open oriented, inside-out pattern through institutional innovation and the empowerment of talent resources.

As China progresses in its high-quality development and new urbanization, the spatial development pattern of large cities is evolving from expansion of scale to optimization of existing stock. The polycentric system is widely utilized in guiding the macro-structure of spatial planning, playing a critical role in transforming urban development strategies, increasing urban efficiency, alleviating "urban diseases" and promoting urban renewal. This study establishes a framework for analyzing spatial performance in urban polycentric systems. With Hangzhou as the focal example, the evaluation proceeds across four dimensions of spatial performance, examining the city's internal spatial organization and the mechanisms of its formation. The results indicate that: (1) The polarization effect of the main center outweighs its diffusion, leading to a development pattern characterized by "strong primary and secondary centers, weak tertiary centers; concentration in the old cities, dispersion in the outskirts, differentiation of tertiary centers", with distinct disparities in the effectiveness of planning guidance; (2) Centers in the urban core and principal development directions generally exhibit high performance, with spatial forms moving towards "integration" or "central dissolution"; (3) Activity density performance maintains a balanced state at lower levels, with centers in tertiary areas and primary development trajectories achieving greater equilibrium; (4) Industrial upgrading and the construction of significant facilities drive the functional differentiation of the polycentricity, displaying patterns of horizontal and vertical divisions among center functions; (5) Travel efficiency performance aligns with the polycentric configuration, incrementally revealing the balanced nature of employment distribution across centers; (6) The evolution of the center system is shaped by a confluence of historical path dependence, natural geographic characteristics, economic and industrial development, advances in social demand, and government policy directives, especially those driven by government administrative efforts including development strategies, spatial planning, resource distribution policies, and major events, all of which have a pronounced guidance effect. Future initiatives should concentrate on the cooperative division of functions within the polycentric system, adapting spaces to meet the specific needs of different industries related to spatial and transaction costs, thereby forming both comprehensive and specialized centers. Utilizing major events and infrastructure-driven mechanisms should elevate the energy levels of centers. Moreover, the needs of micro-entities should be addressed by capitalizing on the economic effects of aggregation and market mechanisms to facilitate the orderly emergence and growth of autonomously formed centers. Strategic allocation of crucial resources through government administrative capabilities and policy instruments is essential to boost the development potential of peripheral secondary and tertiary centers.

Against the backdrop of new development, the domestic circulation plays a critical role in boosting social and economic development. Based on inter-provincial rail freight data,this paper explores the evolution characteristics of the inter-provincial rail freight network structure on three fronts: node characteristics, spatial association and proximity. The results show that: (1) Network node centrality obeys a power-law distribution with obvious clustering characteristics. There are obvious spatial differences in outdegree and indegree, showing the pattern of sending goods from the central and western regions to the eastern region. The areas with both high indegree and outdegree are located in North and Northeast China. Low outdegree and indegree provinces are concentrated to the southwest of the Fujian-Xinjiang Axis Belt, while high outdegree and low indegree provinces are mainly in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shaanxi. Low outdegree and high indegree provinces present a pattern of scattered distribution. (2) The spatial association has obvious clustering and spatial directionality, with a significant 'Matthew effect'. East-Central-West geographical heterogeneity and gradient nudging characteristics are significant, and path dependence and path locking coexist. The organization models of inter-provincial freight network are characterized by core-periphery and pole-axis.However, the spatial structure feature is not obvious and it does not present a rhombic distribution. (3) The roles of sectors are reasonable and stable, with good reciprocity in inter-provincial freight trade. The bidirectional spillover sector is concentrated in Northeast and North China, net beneficiary sector is mainly in Southwest China, broke sector has shifted from the Yangtze River Delta to the Fujian-Xinjiang Axis Belt, and there are few net spillover sector provinces scattered. Regional proximity, geographic distance, social distance and cultural distance have significant effects on inter-provincial trade, but economic distance does not have. (4) The impact of social and cultural distance on inter-provincial freight transportation is decreasing, while the degree of impact of spatial proximity and industrial distance is increasing.

With the transformation of the economy from material product reproduction to data, information, knowledge, and intelligent reproduction, the Krugman Core-Periphery Model, which focuses on traditional tangible material product factors, is no longer able to systematically explain the phenomenon of spatial agglomeration of economic activities and the mechanism of talent regional migration in China. This article constructs a new core-periphery model based on the theory of new spatial economics, which includes qualities of space and its premium effect. The study finds that: Firstly, the new model has new characteristics such as quasi-burst aggregation, asymmetric maintenance points, and spatial differences in completely free trade; Secondly, non-agricultural labor tends to be in areas with higher qualities of space, and the larger the gap in qualities of space, the more obvious the trend of mobility; Thirdly, narrowing the gap in qualities of space requires comprehensive consideration of various factors such as the level of convenience facilities in each region and the cost of intra-regional and inter-regional travel. The research results indicate that promoting high-quality and coordinated regional development in the future requires a scientific understanding of the impact of qualities of space on the spatial location of economic activities. It is necessary to grasp the theoretical logic of narrowing the gap in qualities of space and attach importance to regional integration construction of qualities of space.

As the economic polarization has become increasingly prominent of China, underdeveloped regions urgently need radiation and driving forces. Simultaneously, with the notable trends of population return and decentralization, initial conditions have emerged for developing new growth points. China's territorial spatial governance faces new missions, necessitating the exploration of the contemporary value of the "pole-axis system" theory to guide the practice of coordinated regional development. Based on the essence of the "pole-axis system" theory, the central place theory, and the central flow theory, this paper proposes a polycentric and coordinated regional development model of large countries. Drawing upon the empirically verified effective radiation radius of first-tier central cities, this paper envisions establishing new first-tier central cities in the northwest and northeast regions, in addition to the existing four first-tier central cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong (Shenzhen), and Chongqing. This endeavor aims to establish a multi-tiered system of central cities that relies on metropolitan areas, urban agglomerations, and urban networks to foster specialized division of labor and collaboration among regions, ultimately guiding balanced national development. As a novel application and extension of the "pole-axis system" theory, the polycentric coordinated development of large countries contributes to achieving the diverse goals of "efficiency-equity-security" in the territorial spatial system. Regarding the implementation path, territorial spatial planning should serve as the guiding force, with market mechanisms as the foundation, and the active intervention of a promising government as the support. This will reverse the imbalanced regional development patterns in China, realize regional coordinated development, and provide spatial support for enhancing China's overall competitiveness.

Rural living space is the spatial area that accommodates the daily activities of rural residents. With the acceleration of new urbanization and rural modernization, and the comprehensive promotion of livable, business-friendly, and beautiful rural construction, the demand for rural space by diverse subjects such as original villagers, new villagers, and traveling villagers has shifted from "comprehensive spatial functionality" to "high-quality spatial functionality", presenting new theoretical requirements for the understanding of rural living space. To better serve the construction of livable, workable, beautiful and harmonious countryside, this paper proposes the concept of a "rural living space system". It clarifies the conceptual origins of the rural living space system from three perspectives: geographical understanding of space, the theory of "production of space", and the academic thought of "human-land relationship regional system". It deconstructs the connotations and extensions, elements and structures, functions and values, evolution trends, and risk predictions of the rural living space system. It is suggested that the research on the rural living space system should be carried out from four aspects: theoretical analysis, evolutionary drivers, operational mechanisms, and optimization regulation. Research on the rural living space system is an area that rural geography needs to focus on. Future research should concentrate on the relationships between elements, their evolution and drivers, and innovations in operational mechanisms. Empirical analysis of different types of rural areas should be conducted to establish a theoretical foundation for the optimization and reconstruction of the rural living space system in the construction of livable, workable, beautiful and harmonious countryside, providing case references to enhance the governance capacity and modernization level of the rural spatial governance system.

Globalization has resulted in a notable rise in highly-skilled talent flows from emerging to developed countries. Highly-skilled talents introduce external information, skills, and tacit knowledge, and provide impetus for technological path-breaking processes. Although the impacts of highly-skilled immigrants on economic growth, exports, and the social welfare of receiving countries have been widely studied, little research has been done to date on the influences on sending countries. This paper contributes to the limited existing literature by analysing the relationship between the migration of inventors and technological evolution in sending countries based on the OECD REGPAT database. This relates to the hypothesis that the mobility of talents from emerging to developed countries can bring back external knowledge and technologies, hence facilitating sending countries' technological path-breaking process. The findings of this paper include: (1) The technological development of emerging countries is a path-dependent process, as countries often branch into new technologies that are related to their preexisting knowledge base. As a result of knowledge feedback from highly-skilled talents, the probability of sending countries to develop unrelated technologies increases. (2) The mobility of talents across countries contributes to more international collaborations and citations for patents that are unrelated to the local knowledge base, thus enriching the technological paths of sending countries. (3) The mobility of highly-skilled talents typically affects complex technologies, which have strong economic effects that provide an impetus for other countries to imitate. And the effect on novel technologies is not significant, due to their high geographical sticky characteristics. In general, this paper highlights the importance of highly-skilled talent outflows on the technological evolution of emerging countries, then offers some policy implications for migration and innovation. Besides, there are issues about the regional consequences of talent mobility for future research to explore.

The morphological characteristics of floods are important indicators for flood prevention and control, and have important indicative significance. Traditional hydrological studies mainly focus on the change of characteristics in flood magnitude under the changing environment, and the characteristics and mechanism of changes in flood morphological parameters under the influence of urbanization and climate change remain to be further explored. Taking the highly urbanized river network area of the Taihu plain as a typical example, this paper proposed a process-based method to identify flood events, and revealed the change in flood morphological characteristics and its driving mechanisms between 1971 and 2020. The results show that not only the flood magnitude (peak water level and water level increment) but also the morphological characteristics of flood fluctuation (such as rate of rising limb and recession) have changed significantly in the Taihu plain under the background of changing environment. Impervious area has a non-linear effect on the flood morphological characteristics. In the study area, the stations with significant breakpoint for peak water level occupy 61.5%, and 76.9% stations showed a significant upward trend. 46.2% of the stations have a significant breakpoint for rate of rising limb, and all stations showed an increasing trend, among which, 38.5% of the stations reach the significance level. A total of 53.8% of the stations have significant mutation and significant trends of recession rate, and the recession rate reaches 0.628 mm·d^-1·a^-1 in the whole period in the study area (p<0.05). The antecedent water level conditions and rainfall characteristics are the main driving factors affecting the flood morphological pattern in the river network area of the Taihu plain. The results of this study could deepen the understanding of flood evolution in the Taihu plain region under a changing environment, and provide reference and support for flood disaster prevention and control in similar plain river network areas.

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.