Close×
    • Select all
      |
      Regional High-quality Population Development
    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      LIU Tao, ZHU Yujia
      2025, 80(6): 1427-1445. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506001
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      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.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      LI Yu, QI Wei, LIU Shenghe, DONG Wen
      2025, 80(6): 1446-1464. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506002
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      China's population dynamics have entered a critical phase. Understanding the regional variations in human capital and the characteristics of its evolution is essential for grasping the new demographic normal in China and promoting high-quality population development. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal changes in human capital across China's prefecture-level units from 2000 to 2020, focusing on total human capital and labor force participation based on census and sample data. It also examines the influencing factors and mechanisms driving these changes. The main findings are as follows: (1) China's human capital demonstrates significant improvement, with an annual growth rate of 11.54% for total human capital and 12.47% for labor force participation in human capital from 2000 to 2020. However, the human capital index exhibits a downward trend, primarily due to the effects of demographic changes. (2) In both perspectives, regions with high human capital index values are primarily concentrated in the economically developed areas of eastern China and provincial capitals. (3) Significant regional disparities in China's human capital evolution are evident, with the human capital index showing divergence from 2010 to 2020 and an increasing prominence of labor participation in human capital stock. The growth of human capital in the eastern region remains robust, with provincial capitals and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions consistently demonstrating the most substantial incremental growth. In contrast, more than half of the small and medium-sized cities experience a decline in human capital growth rates. (4) Socio-economic factors, including economic development and infrastructure, are identified as key drivers of regional human capital. In addition, demographic characteristics and other socio-economic elements influence the spatial and temporal variations in human capital, particularly regarding labor force participation and productivity. This study reveals regional differences in human capital across China and the underlying mechanisms by integrating both population scale and structure. It provides empirical evidence to support the strategy for promoting and implementing high-quality population development.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      GU Hengyu, ZHANG Liang, YU Hanchen
      2025, 80(6): 1465-1481. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506003
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      As China faces challenges such as an aging population, declining birth rates, and regional population imbalances, in the context of transitioning to high-quality and innovation-driven economic development, talent, as a carrier of specialized knowledge and technology, has become a new driving force for enhancing regional productivity, promoting economic growth, and fostering innovation. However, existing research rarely analyzes the driving factors of high-skilled talent and their impact on regional innovation from both spatial and temporal perspectives, making it difficult to fully reveal the spatial non-stationarity of the relationship between high-skilled talent and regional innovation and its changing trends over time. From the perspective of spatio-temporal heterogeneity, this study uses data from the fifth (2000), sixth (2010), and seventh (2020) national population censuses, as well as the 1% national population sample surveys conducted in 2005 and 2015. It constructs a Multiscale Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression (MGWPR) model to investigate the driving factors of the spatial distribution of high-skilled talent and their impact on regional innovation from 2000 to 2020. The main findings are as follows: (1) Both high-skilled talent and regional innovation show a growth trend, with a concentrated distribution in the core cities of urban agglomerations and strong provincial capital cities, and the spatial centers and hotspots of high-skilled talent and regional innovation exhibit a southward shift. (2) Compared to high-skilled talent, the spatial imbalance of regional innovation is more pronounced, but the spatial spillover effect is relatively weak. (3) The spatial distribution of talent is influenced by both regional economic development factors, such as income levels and industrial advantages, and local quality factors, such as healthcare, basic education, and air quality. The high-value areas of income levels have shifted from the southern to the northeastern regions, while the high-value areas of industrial advantages have shown an opposite trend. The impact of healthcare and basic education has transformed into a "dual-core" pattern, centered around the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations or the Yangtze River Delta and Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomerations. (4) High-skilled talent significantly drives regional innovation, with the average marginal impact generally increasing over time, although the marginal effect in high-value areas shows a weakening trend and has gradually shifted from northwestern, northeastern, and eastern regions to southern regions. The study's conclusions have important implications for implementing the national talent strategy, promoting high-quality development, and advancing innovation-driven growth in the new era.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      QIU Yingzhi, CAO Guangzhong
      2025, 80(6): 1482-1501. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506004
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      The differentiation of population growth and decline across regions has emerged as a prominent trend in China's demographic landscape, drawing significant attention from both academia and society. Revealing its patterns and mechanisms from a geographical perspective is of great significance for supporting high-quality population development and promoting balanced regional population development. This paper first proposes a geographical analysis framework for regional population growth and decline based on the spatial and comprehensive attributes of the geographical discipline and relevant classical theories. Within the analytical framework, the spatio-temporal patterns and mechanisms of population growth and decline in prefectural-level units in China from 1982 to 2020 are empirically analyzed using five population censuses from the perspective of compositional structure. The empirical results show that the differentiation of prefectural population growth and decline gradually intensifies since 1990. While natural population growth in most regions remains positive, the number of regions experiencing negative growth has increased over the past decade. The trend of net migration in and out of regions continues to diverge, with the number of regions experiencing net outmigration steadily rising. Regional population growth and decline are jointly determined by natural growth and net migration, with the contribution of net migration continuously increasing. There has been a continuous upsurge in the number of regions experiencing population decline driven by net migration alone, as well as those jointly driven by both natural growth and net migration. The spatial scope of the former has expanded from certain inter-provincial mountainous areas to vast regions in the northeastern, central, and western parts of the country, while the latter is predominantly distributed in Northeast China. Concurrently, areas with population growth have progressively narrowed, confining to eastern provinces, provincial capital cities, Xinjiang, Xizang, and other areas. Regional natural conditions, level of economic and social development, policies, and other factors affect population changes through their impact on natural growth and net migration. The pathways of these various factors are heterogeneous and evolve dynamically over time. This paper concludes with a discussion of the mechanisms behind regional population growth and decline differentiation, as well as the policy implications for promoting balanced regional population development.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      ZHANG Hua, LI Xin
      2025, 80(6): 1502-1519. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506005
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      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.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      LIN Liyue, ZHU Yu, CHEN Xiang, KE Wenqian
      2025, 80(6): 1520-1536. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506006
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Understanding the transformation process and regional differences of China's low fertility-aging types is of great importance for summarizing the historical experience of modernization with Chinese characteristics, and it is also a foundational task for improving population development strategies with a focus on addressing low fertility and aging. This paper constructs a joint framework of low fertility and aging to define the types of low fertility-aging, and uses population census data from 2000 to 2020 to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of China's low fertility-aging types at multiple spatial scales. It also interprets the evolution characteristics and formation logic of typical regional low fertility-aging types. The study finds that: (1) In terms of temporal characteristics, most regions have experienced a transformation in low fertility-aging types over the past two decades, generally following a trajectory from multiple children-not aging, to predominantly low fertility-mild aging, and then to a balanced distribution of low fertility-moderate aging, low fertility-mild aging, and multiple children-mild aging. As the spatial scale becomes more detailed, the types and transformation paths of low fertility-aging tend to become more diverse and dispersed. (2) The spatial pattern of low fertility-aging type transformation exhibits a characteristic of expanding from points to areas: regions such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, and Northeast China are at the forefront of the transformation, followed by other eastern coastal and most central and western provincial-level areas, but most ethnic groups-inhabited areas in northwest and southwest China have not yet begun to transform. At the same time, the Central China Plains and southeast regions show a characteristic of asynchronous transformation in low fertility and aging. (3) Taking the county level as the evaluation unit, and based on local perspectives, the study identifies six typical regional patterns at the national level, including the Northeast, the Yangtze River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin, the Pearl River Delta, the Southeast, the Central China Plains, and the ethnic groups-inhabited areas in the northwest and southwest, by analyzing the commonalities and differences in the transformation process and main driving factors of low fertility-aging types. The conclusions not only provide theoretical references and practical guidance for various regions to deeply optimize national population strategies and improve fertility support policies in a location-specific manner, but also contribute new perspectives and insights to the study of population transformation, promoting the establishment of a community with a shared future for humanity in actively addressing low fertility and aging in developing countries.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      WAN Siqi, QIN Bo
      2025, 80(6): 1537-1555. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506007
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      As China experiences rapid population aging and the diversification of elderly care, the scale of residential mobility among older adults is rising. This trend poses challenges to individual health, family well-being, and the governance of an aging society. Drawing on existing theories of elderly residential mobility, this paper develops an analytical framework tailored to China's unique institutional and socio-cultural context. Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2018, this study employs panel logit regression models to examine the mechanisms influencing relocation intentions and behaviors among older adults, with a focus on two key dimensions: relocation conditions and motivations. The main findings are as follows: (1) While the overall relocation rate of older adults in China is comparable to that of developed countries, relocation intentions remain relatively low, with unplanned relocations and abandoned intentions being common. In general, urban residents exhibit higher relocation rates than their rural counterparts. Both relocation intentions and behaviors are more prevalent in larger cities. (2) Residential mobility of older adults in China typically follows a nonlinear decision-making process, influenced by demographic characteristics, socio-economic conditions, family and intergenerational relationships, and life-course events, while health, environmental and institutional factors have minor impacts. (3) The factors affecting relocation intentions differ from those affecting actual relocation behaviors: external environmental features and life-course events strongly shape relocation intentions, while socioeconomic conditions and intergenerational relationships play a critical role in actual relocation behaviors. The transition from intention to behavior is significantly mediated by relocation capability.

    • Regional High-quality Population Development
      WEN Peizhang, SU Zhaowen, LIU Jinsong, YAO Haifang, LI Lingling
      2025, 80(6): 1556-1571. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506008
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      The mask serves as an auxiliary technique for constructing the population density random forest model. The previous population density random forest model suffered from issues such as questionable sample quality, ecological fallacy within the model, distortion of the population distribution law, inability to perform test-retest reliability checks, failure to ensure reproducibility and weak replicability, etc. To address these issues and improve the test-retest reliability and criterion validity of the population density random forest model, the specialized masks for points, bands and surfaces have been developed based on the traditional mask system. By incorporating specialized masks, this study standardizes the modeling workflow of population density random forest models, systematically resolving the persistent challenges inherent in conventional approaches. The study shows that a comprehensive mask system consists of control masks (including research area mask, zonal mask, calculative mask, zonal calculative mask, and total sampling frame mask), sampling-related masks (including zonal sampling frame mask and zonal sampling mask), dasymetric mapping masks (including county mask or township mask), and testing masks (including reliability testing mask, validity testing mask, and boundary testing mask). The mask system is a key basis for standardizing the modeling process of the population density random forest model. The complete mask system provides a process-oriented framework for improving the population density random forest model. It not only effectively improves the test-retest reliability and criterion validity of the model, but also ensures the reproducibility of the model at the same point in time and the weak replicability of the model at different points in time. Furthermore, the mask system provides a reliable assistive technology for quantitatively characterizing the spatio-temporal evolution of population distribution and influence mechanism. The comprehensive mask system also provides a systematic and structured solution for standardizing modeling workflow of the spatial disaggregation algorithm applied to other social and economic statistics.

    • Urban and Regional Development
    • Urban and Regional Development
      OUYANG Xiao, CHEN Jian, WEI Xiao, XIE Hualin, HUANG Tuofu, CHEN Siyun
      2025, 80(6): 1572-1584. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506009
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Ecological resilience refers to an urban agglomeration's ability to resist, adapt, and recover from external disturbances. Enhancing ecological resilience is crucial for promoting high-quality development in the modern era. However, few studies have evaluated the ecological resilience of urban agglomerations from the perspective of human-land interactions or explored its evolutionary mechanism. This study assesses the interannual variation of ecological resilience in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration, focusing on resistance, adaptation, and recovery. The Least Squares Structural Equation Model is employed to analyze the impact degree and pathways through which human-land interactions affect ecological resilience. The results indicate that from 2000 to 2020, resistance, adaptability, and recoverability exhibited fluctuating trends over time and an unbalanced spatial distribution. Ecological resilience initially decreased but later improved, with significant spatial heterogeneity, forming a "higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest" pattern. Natural environment improvement (coefficient: 0.42) and regional policies (coefficient: 0.18) had significant positive direct effects on ecological resilience, while urbanization exerted a significant negative effect (coefficient: -0.26). Although green innovation had no significant direct effect, it exhibited significant indirect influence, with the most significant pathway being green innovation→regional policy→natural environment→ecological resilience (coefficient: 0.18). This study enhances our understanding of how the natural environment, green innovation, and regional policies shape ecological resilience, providing a scientific reference for urban agglomeration development that fosters harmony between humans and nature.

    • Urban and Regional Development
      LIU Yi, LIU Yingtiao, JI Jiehan, ZHU Shengjun, CHEN Rui
      2025, 80(6): 1585-1603. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506010
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      This paper provides a comprehensive reflection on the evolution of globalization research in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), considering the current international context and national strategies. It identifies several challenges in existing studies, such as the ambiguity of globalization patterns and the insufficient representativeness of key indicators. In response to these challenges, this paper draws upon the theory of strategic coupling to propose a new theoretical framework for analyzing globalization in latecomer regions. Based on the concepts of spatial stickiness and locational advantages, this paper further develops a two-dimensional quantitative indicator matrix. Using the PRD as a case study, this paper conducts empirical measurements and analysis, drawing three main conclusions. First, the theory of strategic coupling proves well-suited for analyzing the globalization of latecomer regions, exemplified by the PRD. It offers a more systematic, clearer, and more robust explanatory framework compared to traditional measurement methods. Second, the empirical analysis from the PRD reveals that the pattern of regional globalization does not follow a simple linear growth or cyclical model. Instead, it exhibits a circuitous, complex, and upward spiral, unfolding along an S-shaped evolutionary trajectory. Third, through comparisons of the east and west coasts of the study area, as well as segmented city analyses, this study finds that locational advantages significantly shape the evolutionary pattern of globalization. This influence is not only apparent during the region's initial take-off phase but also plays a more profound role in shaping its subsequent developmental trajectory. This study makes a distinctive contribution to both the theoretical understanding of globalization in latecomer regions and the practical field of regional economic development in China. Additionally, it introduces a novel measurement approach for studying regional globalization.

    • Urban and Regional Development
      QIAN Xiaoying, YANG Yu
      2025, 80(6): 1604-1619. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506011
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Domestic reinvestment by foreign enterprises (referred to as "domestic reinvestment") represents an emerging yet understudied dimension of foreign investment from a geographical perspective. Drawing on firm-level investment data from over 210,000 enterprises in Guangdong province (2000-2021), this paper constructs a domestic reinvestment network relationship matrix to systematically analyze its network structure, industrial spatial patterns, and underlying mechanisms. A comparative analysis is further conducted against foreign direct investment (FDI), investments by Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan (HKMT) enterprises, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and private domestic firms. Key findings reveal that: (1) Domestic reinvestment has transitioned from constituting 2.42% of total foreign investment in 2000 to surpassing FDI at 61.16% by 2021, emerging as Guangdong's predominant foreign-invested modality; (2) Spatially, exhibiting "local network embeddedness" and "hierarchical diffusion" characteristics, with capital concentration in Shenzhen-Guangzhou dual cores (82.3% of the total) and interprovincial flows favoring regional hubs; (3) Industrially, policy-driven expansion dominates power industries (76.4% state-guided projects), while manufacturing and service sectors demonstrate industry-chain dependent patterns-low-value-added industries cluster locally versus high-value-added sectors' hierarchical dispersal; (4) Compared to other types of enterprises, domestic reinvestment is influenced by distance and market size, ranking between direct investment and domestic enterprise investment, and relies more on talent and technology, external connections, policy support, and industrial linkages than direct investment. This study provides critical insights for optimizing China's foreign capital governance framework through differentiated industrial spatial policy instruments.

    • Urban and Regional Development
      CHEN Xiaofei, HU Yonggui, CAI Heqian, MIAO Changhong
      2025, 80(6): 1620-1635. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506012
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      In response to climate change and global environmental crisis, more and more countries have started to pursue a low-carbon economy. With significantly reduced or no tailpipe emissions, new energy vehicles (NEVs) - vehicles that are powered by alternatives to fossil fuels, such as electricity and non-traditional fuels - are gaining popularity and becoming the future of the automotive industry. Using NEV supplier data of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory (Tesla Shanghai), the paper performed a network analysis based on firm headquarter-subsidiary connections to map out the factory's global production network (GPN), revealed the spatial configuration of the network, and explored the forces driving its formation and development. The research yielded several findings. First, the global production of auto parts for Tesla Shanghai resembles a typical GPN with a core-periphery structure. Tesla Shanghai has established strong high-frequency connections with economic centers (or manufacturing centers with strong R&D capability) located in East Asia, North America, and Europe. Second, within the Tesla Shanghai's GPN, four supply chain systems - smart electronic components, battery and electric drive systems, thermal management systems, and chassis and trim - display varying hierarchical structures. Third, within each of the four supply chain networks, most communities (or subnetworks) span across geographical and administrative boundaries, connecting cities around the world through modular production of auto parts. These communities demonstrate strong internal heterogeneity with an emerging core-periphery structure of network nodes. Using the four explanatory variables of the GPN 2.0 framework (i. e., cost-capability ratio, market imperatives, financial discipline, and risk environment), the paper further analyzed the main factors that shape the highly complex NEVs GPN of Tesla Shanghai from the perspectives of global environment, market demand, technological linkages, and local competitive advantages. The study contributes to the new economic geography literature by providing an interesting case study. The findings of the research provide theoretical insights and practical implications for the innovation and sustainable development of the NEV industry.

    • Urban and Regional Development
      CHEN Junnan, YAN Longxu, CAO Zhan, WANG De, MU Lingting
      2025, 80(6): 1636-1650. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506013
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Intercity connections are crucial for understanding regional structures, with business activities serving as key elements in the formation of city networks. Although big data is increasingly applied in urban network studies, its inability to distinguish between various groups and travel purposes limits a deeper understanding of intercity business connections. This paper proposes a method that integrates big and small data to identify inbound business visitors. It uses survey-based small data to construct a model and applies it to large-scale mobile phone data to identify and analyze the activities of inbound business travelers in Shanghai. The analysis focuses on temporal characteristics and the spatial distribution of their originating cities, main business destinations, and accompanying activities, summarizing spatial structures and regional patterns. The study reveals that approximately 37% of Shanghai's inbound travelers are for business purposes and they mainly originate from the core Yangtze River Delta region and distant major cities. These visits are mostly short-term, lasting less than four days, and show regular weekly fluctuations. Spatially, inbound business travel and related activities exhibit significant polycentric characteristics, forming a four-tiered structure: dual hubs (Hongqiao and Lujiazui-Nanjing Road), a horizontal core area, contiguous districts, and corridors. The spatial distribution of inbound business destinations regarding different originating cities varies significantly by city size and distance, presumably associated with industrial characteristics. The proposed method of integrating big and small data offers broad applicability and holds substantial value for city network research and spatial planning.

    • ZHU He, WU Yuanyi, LIU Lu, LIN Mingshui, ZHU Xiaohua
      2025, 80(6): 1651-1673. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506014
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      China's national strategies concerning resources and the environment necessitate a reorientation of tourism geography research. Theoretically, the discipline's core research object is the "tourism regional system", which reflects the dynamic human-environment interaction within tourism contexts, analyzed across spatial, scalar, and objective dimensions linking activities in source, transit, and destination areas to resource conditions. Current Chinese research in this domain primarily focuses on four key themes: resource protection and utilization, climate change adaptation, achieving carbon peak and neutrality, and national spatial governance. However, there is a clear need to broaden this scope and strengthen comprehensive and cross-disciplinary knowledge integration. In terms of development imperatives, particularly since the 18th National Congress of the CPC (2012), the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have issued 51 policy documents concerning resources and the environment. These policies innovated a number of important systems, established key fundamental premises, developed various special regions, and integrated numerous advanced technologies. Marking a profound transformation from addressing "key issues breakthroughs" to embracing "systematic holistic protection and optimization", these policies demand that tourism geography research adopts views emphasizing large-scope resources, comprehensive systems, integrated governance, synergistic synergy, and broad responsibility, pivoting from an economics-driven paradigm towards sustainable development coordination analysis, while integrating multi-disciplinary theories, multi-domain techniques, multi-scale subjects, and multi-dimensional data. Future tourism geography research in China must actively serve national resources and environment strategies by concentrating on institutional development, policy implementation effectiveness and regional exploration. Priorities include deepening understanding in the ecological civilization construction, tourism system optimization and support under policy mandates, and ecological recreation in key spaces and protected areas. Continued theoretical and methodological development, coupled with interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, is vital to contributing to China's ecological civilization and the "Beautiful China".

    • Tourism Geography
    • Tourism Geography
      HUANG Rui, XIE Chaowu, LAI Feifei
      2025, 80(6): 1674-1696. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506015
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Tourism safety incidents are barometers reflecting the safety status of tourist destinations. Scientifically quantifying tourism safety incidents is an inherent requirement for improving the modern tourism management system and promoting the construction of a strong tourism nation. This paper constructs a quantitative measurement framework of tourism safety incidents from the perspective of "cluster intensity", and measures the cluster intensity of tourism safety incidents at the city scale in China with 117000 samples from 2010 to 2020. The results show that: (1) A total of 121 cities out of 337 exhibit clustered characteristics of tourism safety incidents. The cluster intensity is categorized in different cities with a hierarchical classification, forming a pyramid-shaped distribution structure. Highly clustered cities are relatively dispersed, with cities like Sanya, Lijiang, Kunming, and Haikou exhibiting polarized cluster intensity of tourism safety incidents. (2) High-intensity incident cluster areas are spreading from localized, scattered distribution to nationwide. The cluster intensity of tourism safety incidents in cities west of the Hu Huanyong Line is rising, and the intra-group differences in cluster intensity among eastern, central, and western regions are greater than the inter-group differences. (3) The temporal changes in the cluster intensity of tourism safety incidents in cities across the country show a convergent trend, with fewer instances of leapfrogging between levels. The evolution curves of cluster intensity of tourism safety incidents in each city exhibit diverse temporal evolution patterns, including continuous upward, fluctuating upward, continuous downward, inverted U-shaped, and W-shaped patterns. This research provides theoretical reference for quantitative statistics and optimized governance of tourism safety incidents at the city scale across the country.

    • ZHANG Tongyan, ZHANG Shengrui, WANG Yingjie, YU Hu, HAN Ying
      2025, 80(6): 1697-1716. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202506016
      Download PDF ( ) HTML ( )   Knowledge map   Save

      Scale-related issues have long been a critical focus in geographic research, profoundly influencing the evaluation and development of tourism resources. This study employs geographic spatiotemporal theory and ontology theory to reclassify tourism resources from a multi-scale perspective. Furthermore, it examines scale division, scale relationships, and scale transformations, using islands at provincial and county scales as case studies to explore the scale effects on tourism resources. The main findings are as follows: (1) Reclassification of tourism resources based on causative attributes, temporal granularity, and spatial granularity reveals that tourism resources exhibit ontological, dynamic, and spatial characteristics. (2) The interconnections of tourism resources across different scales often involve combinations of multiple relationship types. These relationships, which may be spatial-semantic or temporal-semantic, highlight the intricate linkages among tourism resources. (3) Within the tourism resource system, changes in observation or analysis scales lead to transformations in spatial-semantic and spatiotemporal-semantic dimensions. Shifts in spatial scale result in changes to the granularity and structural configuration of tourism resources. Similarly, as time progresses, the transformation of tourism resources into tourism products evolves accordingly. (4) Tourism resources demonstrate both ontological scale effects and regional scale effects. These effects are characterized by significant variations in tourism landscapes across spatial scales and diverse types of semantic relationships. Notable differences in the quantitative structure and spatial distribution of tourism resources at varying scales manifest as spatial-semantic scale effects and temporal-semantic scale effects throughout the development process.