Highlights

Please wait a minute...
  • Select all
    |
  • Lin Yue, Pan Fenghua
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1871-1882. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240730

    In the era of financialization and global financial integration, the Global Financial Network (GFN) serves as a crucial analytical framework for comprehending the landscape and the dynamic evolution of global financial geography. While existing research predominantly focuses on international financial centers centered around New York and London, there remains a notable gap concerning local economies successfully integrated into GFN and the hierarchy and regionality of GFN. This study examines the overseas Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of 79 Quanzhou enterprises to illustrate the key geographic units, network structures, and formation of GFN through intra-enterprise services and collaboration linkages. This study uses Gephi to analyze the network characteristics of global financial networks quantitatively. This study forms the layout of financial centers participating in overseas IPOs of Quanzhou enterprises through the Fruchterman Reingold algorithm. Moreover, this study measured the centrality distribution characteristics of the network using indices such as intermediary centrality and eigenvector centrality. This study selected 79 companies listed on overseas IPOs in Quanzhou from 1993 to the end of 2023 as samples. We confirmed that the FABS enterprise sample includes 50 securities firms, 21 accounting firms, and 56 law firms. From a spatial scale perspective, these FABS corporate offices are distributed in 26 cities worldwide. The cooperative network of FABS enterprises is a network matrix of 371×371, including 205 inter-city collaborations and 166 intra-city collaborations. In addition, from 2020 to 2022, we interviewed 50 interviewees to understand the process of Quanzhou’s integration into GFN. The interviewees of this study include executives of listed companies in Quanzhou, founders of relevant upstream suppliers, leaders of industry associations, and heads of relevant government departments. 1) Quanzhou enterprises, primarily rooted in traditional manufacturing, chose to list neighboring regional financial centers for overseas IPOs, thus contributing to the emergence of a regional GFN. Geographic conditions and industrial profiles of local economics are pivotal in understanding the formation of regional GFN. 2) Within the regional GFN established via Quanzhou’s overseas IPOs, Hong Kong emerges as the central node. Hong Kong serves not only as a key IPO destination but also as a crucial intermediary facilitating Quanzhou’s integration into the global financial landscape. Due to the perspectives of financing entities and financing regions, this study reveals how the location conditions and industrial characteristics of financing regions affect the formation of regional GFN spatial structure. This enriches the perspective of GFN research and, more importantly, deepens the understanding of the existing spatial structure of GFN centered around London and New York. Additionally, the spatial relationships within regional GFN among regional FABS enterprises, regional financial centers, and financing regions, reveal the inherent connections and behavioral patterns of cross-border financial actors. This case echoes the “with” relationship in existing GFN research at the regional scale. This study proposes the hierarchy and regionality of GFN, emphasizing the importance of regional GFNs in global financial flows and responding to the attention of economic geography to the regional transformation of global networks.

  • Zhong Yun, Tian Rongrong
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1883-1895. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240976

    Knowledge spillover is a crucial concept for explaining innovation. As a form of knowledge, technology possesses a spillover effect. This study posits that technology enterprises provide technical critical support for modern financial industry development, while financial institutions procure these technical services through market. This process facilitates the establishment of cross-industry urban innovation linkages between technology and financial firms through technological spillover. Distinct from previous research that constructed urban innovation networks based on homogeneous activities or internal connections within the same industry, this study employs Python web scraping technology to collect transaction information and constructs a cross-sector urban innovation network. This transaction data details purchase of technologies—such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—by commercial banks from technology enterprises across cities in China (excluding the data of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). Leveraging these transaction data for technologies applied in emerging FinTech business services, an inter-city FinTech network is constructed from a technology spillover perspective. Network analysis reveals: 1) A FinTech network has preliminarily taken shape in China. Although the network density is not high, it exhibits a core-periphery structure and possesses small-world properties; 2) The geographical concentration of core nodes in the network is pronounced, with transactional linkages closely associated with eastern cities. The core node cities demonstrate outstanding technological spillover capabilities and higher administrative ranks, with Guiyang emerging as a core node in the western region; 3) Distinct network patterns emerge across 3 major urban agglomerations, with differential technology absorption tendencies among 3 types of commercial banks; 4) Urban innovation capability, financial environment, economic development, administrative hierarchy, and transportation accessibility differentially impact technology absorption versus spillover effects. Technology demand-driven spillovers establish the foundation for cross-sector urban innovation networks. The FinTech network will not only provides new paradigms for deconstructing urban innovation systems but also poses new propositions for assessing the competitiveness of cities housing major technology enterprises under integrated finance-technology ecosystems.

  • Cheng Kaiming, Gong Shifeng
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1896-1909. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240604

    The scale characteristics of the city, as well as its functional status in the associated network, jointly shape a new pattern of urban system development. Based on the inter-regional investment data of listed companies from 2005 to 2022, a directed weighted city network is constructed to characterize the network structure and evolution characteristics of the urban system. The measurement method of alternative centrality for directed weighted city networks is improved. According to the dual dimensions of the city size centrality and directed weighted alternative centrality, cities are classified into different levels. The panel vector autoregression model is used to explore the dynamic interaction effects of the economic scale, population size, and network status of cities. The results are obtained as follows: 1) The pattern of city network connectivity is gradually evolving from being driven by the dual core of Beijing and Shanghai to a multi core linkage radiation. The distribution of network connections has gradually achieved full coverage of the “Hu Huanyong Line” in the southeast area with dense and extensive network connections, and shows obvious spatial differences. The high-intensity investment connections are gradually occupying a dominant position. And the city network shows a distinct feature of “hierarchy and network”. 2) The “core-periphery” hierarchical structure of the spatial distribution of directed weighted alternative centrality is constantly manifested. The directed weighted alternative centrality of most cities continues to increase, evolving from being distributed only in the fourth level to the sixth level to covering all 6 levels. The number of capital agglomeration cities has increased significantly, and the asymmetric characteristics of nodes in the city network are significantly enhanced. 3) Under the dual dimensions of “size-network”, cities are classified into 5 grades: national core cities, national sub-central cities, regional core cities, regional sub-central cities and local general cities. The typical manifestations are the “scale-network” status matching type cities represented by Beijing, Xi’an, Suqian, and there are also the “scale-network” status non-matching type cities represented by Chongqing, Hefei, Luoyang, Zhoushan. 4) There is a significant sustained positive interaction effect between directed weighted alternative centrality and economic scale. The change of population size has a relatively long-term one-way effect on directed weighted alternative centrality, while the change of directed weighted alternative centrality has only a short-term positive effect on population size. The conclusions are helpful to deepen the understanding of the structural characteristics of urban system and provide reference for optimizing urban development strategy and promoting regional coordinated development.

  • Zhang Weiyang, Xie Haiwei, Tang Kexin
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1910-1922. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240474

    Intercity relationships can be categorized into multiple types, with collaborative relationships and flow relationships being 2 of the main types. Collaborative relationships stem from cities with similar functions achieving economies of scale or with different functions achieving functional complementarity, while flow relationships arise from the potential differences between source and destination cities. This study, based on an analysis of the differences in the formation of collaborative and flow relationships, examines the structural and influencing factors of collaborative and flow networks from the perspective of venture capital relationships. The study finds that the differing mechanisms of these two types of network relationships lead to differences in the influence of distance and city size combinations. However, both types of networks exhibit a certain degree of similarity in reflecting the regional economic landscape, such as displaying similar hierarchical structures. Moreover, while two-way aggregated flow networks are relatively similar to collaborative networks, one-way flow networks can more accurately reveal the characteristics of flow relationships. By analyzing 20 311 venture capital events across 251 Chinese cities, we highlight that core cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen dominate both networks, yet their roles diverge: Shanghai acts as a capital supplier, while Shenzhen exhibits stronger capital outflow. The gravity model reveals that city size significantly enhances collaboration and capital flow, whereas geographic distance inhibits only the latter. Notably, directional flow networks uncover asymmetric patterns, with 144 cities solely contributing capital outflows. These findings challenge the conventional aggregation of bidirectional flows in urban network studies, demonstrating that unidirectional analysis better captures power dynamics in resource allocation. The study underscores the necessity of integrating relational typologies—such as collaboration versus flow—into urban network frameworks to refine theoretical interpretations of intercity interactions. Practically, policymakers should tailor strategies for capital-attracting versus capital-exporting cities to optimize regional economic synergies. This study distinguishes the pattern differences between collaborative and flow relations, highlighting the importance of differentiating relationship types in urban network research.

  • Yang Jingyuan, Yu Linghui, Yuan Feng
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1923-1937. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240289

    Urban agglomerations serve as crucial bridges facilitating the flow of cross-regional innovation factors and promoting technological spillovers among cities. Most existing literature treats urban agglomerations as the analytical boundary, overlooking the differentiated impact of urban agglomeration strategies on inter-city technology transfer. To address this, based on Chinese patent transfer data from 2001 to 2020, this study analyzes the overall characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of patent transfers within cities within 19 urban agglomerations, between urban agglomerations and their surrounding cities, and among cities in different urban agglomerations across four time periods. Utilizing a difference-in-differences model, the study examines the impact of urban agglomeration strategies on patent transfers at different scales, focusing on the coordination effect, agglomeration effect, and linkage effect of urban agglomerations. The study found that: 1) The scale and density of the patent transfer network in 19 urban agglomerations have been continuously increasing, with deepening connections and intensities. The network efficiency and accessibility have been continuously optimized, and the spatial distribution of the patent transfer network overall presents a pattern of ‘high in the east and low in the west’. 2) The spatial structure of the patent transfer network in urban agglomerations exhibits characteristics of polycentricity and regionalization, with the ‘diamond structure’ centered around Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu-Chongqing gradually emerging. This structure forms a "hub-and-spoke" knowledge flow channel with other regional central cities. 3) The proportion of patent transfers across agglomerations has gradually increased, indicating that the spatial scope of knowledge innovation is expanding and the spatial heterogeneity of knowledge flows is decreasing. 4) The results of the difference-in-differences model verify that the urban agglomeration strategy can promote patent transfers within cities within the same urban agglomeration, between urban agglomerations and their surrounding cities, and between cities in different urban agglomerations. Overall, the implementation of the urban agglomeration strategy has not only played a significant role in regional development but also had a profound impact on inter-city technology transfer in China. This study analyzes the dynamic changes of patent transfer networks within and outside urban agglomerations from multiple dimensions and delves into the differentiated impact of urban agglomeration strategy implementation on China’s intercity technology transfer network. It provides new perspectives and ideas for understanding the evolution of intercity innovation networks and the future innovation development of urban agglomerations. Through this study, it is hoped that the spatial organization mechanism of technology transfer networks can be further deepened, providing scientific support for better promoting innovative integration practices in urban agglomerations and promoting technological innovation and high-quality economic development in urban agglomerations.

  • He Jinliao, Ye Hanxi, Zhang Xu, Qu Huali
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1938-1950. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240427

    Current research on urban networks still has some shortcomings, such as insufficient analysis of industrial chains, neglecting the distinction between local and non-local embedding, and insufficient attention to industrial connections in the digital economy. In view of this, this article attempts to take the Chinese digital game industry as an analytical case. Based on the basic paradigm of urban network research, it starts from the perspective of industrial chain division of labor, focusing on exploring the urban network structure and cooperation models formed by the digital game industry through industrial chain division of labor. It further analyzes the industrial chain position and the evolution of local-global embeddedness of the Chinese digital game industry, thereby promoting the dialogue between urban network research and industrial chain theory and solidifying the analysis of the industrial connection connotation in urban network research. This study selected cooperation data at both the national and global scales from 2013 to 2023, involving 283 cities worldwide. Social network analysis was employed to measure the urban cooperation network structure of China’s digital games, and the internalization link index was used to analyze the differences in local and cross-city connections of game enterprises at different spatial scales. The findings are as follows: 1) The national-level city collaborative network of China’s digital gaming industry has a polycentric structure, reflecting the decentralized characteristics of the digital economy; at the global scale, there exist 3 collaborative models: “Overseas R&D and Publishing-Domestic Operation” (Model 1), “Domestic R&D-Overseas Publishing and Operation” (Model 2), and “Domestic Publishing and Operation-Overseas R&D” (Model 3). Model 1 has the largest network of cities, and Models 2 and 3 are expanding rapidly. 2) Overall, Chinese cities are still in the middle and lower segments of the global digital gaming industry chain, with significant dependence on cities in the United States, Japan, and Europe in the R&D and publishing sectors. However, with the rapid development of Models 2 and 3, cities represented by Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xiamen are continuously upgrading their positions in the global industry chain. 3) Over the past decade, the local-global connectivity of China’s core gaming cities has undergone significant spatial restructuring, mirroring the global industrial chain reconfiguration. Nationally, most cities have transitioned from localized to cross-city domestic collaborations, aligning with the delocalization trend in digital creative industries. Globally, Chinese cities demonstrate reduced external dependency, shifting from strong international-weak domestic ties to domestic-dominated collaboration patterns, with Shanghai emerging as the sole metropolis sustaining robust dual local-global linkages. These evolving spatial embeddedness patterns reflect the industry’s self-optimization and value chain upgrading trajectory. This study contributes to the dialogue and incorporation between industrial chain and urban network research. Future research needs to analyze in more detail the driving mechanisms, globalization strategies and local embedding patterns of Chinese cities’ participation in the division of labor in the global digital game industry chain through more in-depth enterprise surveys and industry chain analyses.

  • Li Jianxin, Liang Man, Chen Xinyi, Zhu Yifei, Feng Xinghua
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(9): 1951-1961. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240714

    This study constructs a network based on investment data from listed companies among cities. It uses social network analysis and structural resilience indices to measure and evaluate the investment network structure and resilience in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The results show that: 1) The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is forming a triangular investment skeleton with Wuhan-Changsha-Nanchang as the vertex. The overall investment network density remains low but continues to grow. Cities play different roles in the network, and core cities are strengthening their control. 2) The investment network shows clear heterogeneity and hierarchy, making it vulnerable to shocks. However, it is gradually becoming more balanced and flat. 3) The network has strong matching resilience. Connections between nodes tend to be heterogeneous and diverse. Enterprise investment flows enhance the “robustness” of these connection paths through overlap. 4) The network has high and improving transmission efficiency. Overall, it demonstrates strong connectivity resilience. 5) The network shows some clustering. Investments mainly flow one-way from core cities to peripheral cities. This helps peripheral cities develop while reducing risks for core cities, improving the network’s structural resilience.

  • Gu Qingyi
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(8): 1635-1645. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240658

    Accurately understanding the connotation and meaning of ecological interests in national territory space, explore the mechanism of the allocation of ecological benefits in national space, is the foundation for resolving spatial conflicts and optimizing the pattern of national territory space development and protection. Research has shown that: 1) The naturally formed spatial environment and the profit-seeking human mechanism, the market mechanism that plays a decisive role in resource allocation, and the policy mechanism for correcting market failure jointly affect the mechanism of ecological interest allocation in territory space. 2) The function of ecological benefit allocation in national territory space is to implement the structure of national land spatial planning, ensure the spatial redistribution of ecological benefits, and correct the profit seeking nature of market mechanisms. 3) The standardized spatial structure, rational allocation of public resources, and effective allocation of spatial rights are the predetermined benchmarks for ecological benefit allocation. At present, the spontaneous allocation of ecological interests in national territory space is characterized by prominent competition in spatial use, numerous misallocations of spatial resources, unequal spatial rights, and hidden concerns about the imbalance of secondary allocation boundaries. It is necessary to define the bottom line boundary of the ecological carrying capacity of the “three lines and one order” and the upper limit boundary of constraining government power for the allocation of ecological interests in national territory space, optimize the collaborative mechanism of ecological interests allocation in national territory space, reasonably allocate ecological interests at different spatial scales, and achieve the universal sharing of ecological interests.

  • Wang Huanye, Miao Rui, Lu Hongxuan, Zhao Zenghao, Cai Zeyuan, Sheng Weijuan, Liu Weiguo
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(8): 1646-1656. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240978

    Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) produced by microorganisms such as bacteria are important tools for reconstructing past climatic and environmental changes. However, previous works on brGDGTs mainly focus on various proxies based on their distributions, whereas environmental controls on their concentration remains unclear. This hampers our proper understanding on the climatic significance of brGDGT concentration in geological records as well as the seasonality of brGDGT proxies. This study investigated brGDGT concentration in surface soils in different regions of China and analyzed its correlations with environmental factors. The aims were to: 1) Explore environmental controls on soil brGDGT concentration, 2) Verify whether soil brGDGT concentration can be used as a paleoclimatic proxy, and 3) Clarify the seasonal bias of brGDGT-based paleotemperature proxies in soils. Totaling 273 natural soils were collected during 5 fieldtrips from 5 regions including: the Chinese Loess Plateau and its surroundings, North China to Northeast China, South China, the Shandong Peninsula, and the Northeast Tibetan Plateau. The correlations between brGDGT concentration and aridity index (AI), soil pH, and mean annual air temperature (MAAT) were analyzed. For the whole surface soil dataset, brGDGT concentration showed stronger correlations with AI and soil pH (r = 0.81 and −0.74, respectively) than that with MAAT (r=0.10). For the 5 different regions, brGDGT concentration all correlated positively with AI and the correlations were strong or moderate (0.94>r>0.42). On the other hand, the correlations with pH or MAAT were generally weaker and not stable. Specifically, brGDGT concentration correlated negatively with soil pH with r ranging from −0.17 to −0.75, except for a positive correlation (r=0.98) for soils collected from the Shandong Peninsula, while negatively with MAAT with r ranging from −0.12 to −0.94, except that no correlation (r=0.02) was observed for soils collected from the Chinese Loess Plateau and its surroundings. The strongest and most consistent correlations between brGDGT concentration and AI across regions and the whole dataset indicate that soil moisture is the controlling factor for brGDGT production in surface soils. Therefore, we propose that variations in brGDGT concentration in geological records, such as loess-paleosol sequences, can potentially be used to indicate past drying and wetting events. Moreover, our results imply that the seasonal bias in brGDGT-based paleo proxies, traditionally believed to reflect the seasonality of temperature, can also be influenced by seasonal changes in soil moisture (precipitation).

  • Qin Yang, Zhai Shuai, Shi Bowen, Zhang mei, Chen Weiwei
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(8): 1720-1732. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20230707

    Severe air pollution disrupts traffic, poses significant health risks, and adversely affects economic development. Therefore, systematically analyzing the causes of severe pollution in typical urban areas and accurately predicting the occurrence of severe pollution events is of considerable scientific and practical importance. The northeastern region of China, a major hub for heavy industry and agriculture, is characterized by its northernmost latitude and longest heating period, making its emission sources and meteorological conditions highly representative. This study focuses on Baicheng City, a plain-type city in Jilin Province, and utilizes multi-source data from 2015 to 2022, including air quality, meteorological, satellite, and remote sensing data. Through a systematic analysis of the underlying causes of severe pollution events, we identified the most effective machine learning algorithm for predicting PM2.5 concentrations during such events.The results indicate that, prior to 2017, Baicheng City experienced a high frequency of severe pollution events, primarily occurring in late autumn, early winter, and deep winter. However, after 2017, the number of severe pollution days significantly declined. Severe pollution events were classified into four primary types: local emission-driven, transmission-dominated, meteorologically-induced, and composite pollution, with composite pollution being the most prevalent. A machine learning-based prediction algorithm was developed using air quality, meteorological, and remote sensing data during severe pollution episodes to forecast PM2.5 concentrations in Baicheng. Among the tested models, the XGBoost algorithm demonstrated the best performance, with an R2 of 0.92 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 24.6 µg/m3, significantly outperforming other algorithms such as Random Forest (R2=0.87) and Support Vector Machine (R2=0.67). This study provides a straightforward, accessible, and highly accurate process and algorithm for predicting severe pollution events in plain-type cities of northeastern China, offering valuable insights for the effective management of atmospheric environmental conditions.

  • Zhang Jie, Sun Bindong, Zhang Weiyang
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(8): 1745-1757. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240292

    The study of functional division within urban agglomerations holds paramount significance in optimizing the urban system and promoting the coordinated development of large, medium, and small cities. While existing research predominantly examines the pattern of functional division from the perspective of urban functional disparities, there is a notable dearth of studies focusing on the relational aspect of inter-city functional linkages. By integrating functional monocentric-polycentric theory, supply chain relationships, and urban network analysis, this paper establishes a functional division model and delineates partitioning methods alongside corresponding thresholds, and conducts empirical analysis of data from the supply chain of Chinese listed companies across 19 urban agglomerations in China, offering a comprehensive understanding of functional division within urban agglomerations. The main findings are as follows: 1) The functional division linkage patterns from the supply chain perspective can be divided into centrifugal monocentric pattern, centripetal monocentric pattern, and balanced polycentric pattern. Furthermore, these division linkage patterns effectively discern the structure of urban agglomerations in China, with each linkage pattern linked to the hierarchical structure of functional linkages and the stage of development within urban agglomerations. 2) The centrifugal monocentric pattern is dominated by urban agglomerations with sparse functional linkages and the stage of optimization and upgrading, such as Lanzhou-Xining, Ningxia along the Yellow River, and Huhhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin. The centripetal monocentric pattern is dominated by urban agglomerations with less-connected functional linkages and the stage of development and growth, such as the Pearl River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and the Central Plain. The balanced polycentric pattern is dominated by urban agglomerations with well-connected functional linkages and the stage of optimization and upgrading, such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Shandong Peninsula, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. 3) Diverse urban agglomerations adhere to distinct evolutionary pathways in terms of functional division patterns, while most pattern evolution occur between centrifugal monocentric pattern and centripetal monocentric pattern, evolutions between monocentric pattern and polycentric pattern are relatively rare, indicating that the current functional division relationship in China’s urban agglomerations is primarily characterized by a core-city-led monocentric pattern, with the formation of polycentric pattern facing a certain threshold. By scrutinizing the functional division linkage pattern of China’s urban agglomerations through the lens of supply chain dynamics, this paper contributes to expanding the scope of regional division studies beyond attribute data and lays a solid foundation for subsequent research grounded in related data analysis.

  • Yang Shasha, Hu Long, Wang Yue
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(8): 1758-1767. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240240

    This paper aims to evaluate the level and temporal and spatial pattern of the collaborative development of digital technology and cultural tourism integration in Chinese cities. The collaborative development of digital technology and cultural tourism integration is the advanced stage of the evolution of the relationship between digital technology and cultural tourism integration. It is clear that the collaborative stage and current level of the integration of digital technology and cultural tourism in Chinese cities are the prerequisite for promoting the high-quality development of digital technology and cultural tourism integration. Based on the analysis of the connotation of the collaborative development of digital technology and culture and tourism integration, this paper constructs a multi-dimensional evaluation index system of digital technology and culture and tourism integration development at the city scale, and depicts the process status and temporal spatial differentiation characteristics of the integrated development of digital technology and culture and tourism in 284 prefecture level cities in China from 2010 to 2020. The research shows that: 1) The overall level of collaborative development of digital technology and culture and tourism integration in China is in the middle and low range, showing a heterogeneous spatio-temporal pattern, with obvious gradient differentiation. The cities with good collaborative situation of digital technology and culture and tourism integration are mainly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta region, Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and Shandong Peninsula, and the slow regions are mainly distributed in some cities in the northeast and western regions. 2) From high to low, there are four types of collaborative development: collaborative development, tending to synergy, synergy imbalance and synergy lag, and the transformation among the latter three types is more active. 3) The development trend of the collaborative integration of digital technology and culture and tourism is further presented from the dimensions of foundation, scale and structure. There are differences in the degree of collaborative development of digital technology and culture and tourism in each dimension. Finally, through the problem identification of different types of collaborative development areas, this paper discusses the path of collaborative development of differentiated digital technology and the integration of culture and tourism, which provides a reference for the city to formulate the collaborative development strategy of the two systems.

  • Chen Xiaolong, Di Qianbin, Liang Chenlu
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(7): 1393-1406. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240296

    Cultivating and guiding new quality productivity to empower common prosperity is the inherent requirement and important focus of promoting Chinese-style modernization. The new quality productivity represents an advanced and transformative mode of production that aligns with the principles of China’s new development philosophy. As a critical driver of high-quality development, the cultivation and strategic deployment of new quality productivity to advance common prosperity constitute a fundamental requirement and a pivotal pathway for achieving Chinese modernization in the new era. This study embeds new quality productivity within the analytical framework of common prosperity, systematically examining the theoretical foundation and practical mechanism through which these forces contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society. Utilizing a comprehensive panel dataset encompassing 31 Chinese provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions from 2010 to 2022, this research employs a multi-method analytical approach to rigorously assess the impact of new quality productivity on common prosperity. The entropy weight method is first applied to constructing a scientifically robust evaluation index system for both new quality productivity and common prosperity. Subsequently, a dynamic spatial Durbin model is employed to capture the temporal and spatial spillover effects of new quality productivity, while a mediation effects model is utilized to dissect the underlying transmission mechanisms. The findings reveal that, in the process of achieving common prosperity, the influence of new quality productivity follows a nonlinear “U-shaped” trajectory, initially exhibiting a suppressive effect before transitioning to a promotive one. The long-term effects of new quality productivity on common prosperity significantly outweigh their short-term effects, while their spatial spillover effects on neighboring regions display an “inverted U-shaped” pattern. Moreover, the impact of new quality productivity on common prosperity exhibits significant regional heterogeneity across the eastern, central, and western regions of China. The study further identifies multiple pathways through which new quality productivity facilitate common prosperity: by stimulating technological innovation, accelerating industrial restructuring and upgrading, and optimizing the allocation of resources and production factors. Among these pathways, the mediating effect of technological innovation is the most pronounced. These findings underscore the foundational role of new quality productivity in advancing common prosperity and provide empirical support for policymakers seeking to leverage these forces in the pursuit of Chinese modernization.

  • Wang Zhaofeng, Yu Peixin
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(7): 1407-1419. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20241234

    Improving the efficiency of urban-rural integration development is a crucial scientific issue related to efficiency and quality changes. It is a vital approach for promoting coordinated regional economic development and meeting people’s needs for a better life. This paper uses methods such as the super-efficiency EBM model, Dagum Gini coefficient, spatial Markov chain, and spatial Durbin model to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution and driving mechanisms of the urban-rural integration development efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2006 to 2021. The study finds that: 1) From 2006 to 2021, the efficiency of urban-rural integration development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt showed a “decline-rise” trend, with the differentiation trend between cities showing a “decrease-increase-decrease” pattern. Regional differences between river basins are the main reasons for the divergence in urban-rural integration development efficiency. The overall spatial pattern shows a clear hierarchical “core-periphery” structure diffusion trend. 2) The urban-rural integration development efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt exhibits “path dependence” and “self-locking” effects, with significant spatial transmissibility. High-efficiency areas have a positive spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions. 3) The level of informatization and financial development have a negative and positive impact, respectively, on improving the efficiency of urban-rural integration development in both local and neighboring areas. The degree of openness and the level of human capital are important factors for improving local efficiency but have negative spillover effects on adjacent areas. The level of social consumption does not significantly affect the efficiency of urban-rural integration development.

  • Zhao Xu, Zheng Siyu, Dai Tongqing
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(7): 1420-1430. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20241316

    Different prohibited fishing areas in the Yangtze River Basin have different resource endowments, resulting in differences in the assistance paths to promote the resilience of fishermen’s livelihoods. Based on the theoretical framework of livelihood resilience of involuntary ecological migrants, this study uses survey data from 260 fishing households in the key fishing area of the Hubei section of the Yangtze River Basin. It combines the comprehensive index method, obstacle degree, and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method to explore the differences in livelihood resilience of fishing households in different waters of the Yangtze River and the best support policy path. The results showed that: 1) The overall livelihood resilience level of fishermen who quit fishing is relatively low, at 0.173, with significant regional differences. The highest resilience level is in the main (branch) flow protection area (0.199), and the lowest resilience level is in the inner lake protection area (0.128). 2) The obstacles to the livelihood resilience of fishermen vary in different prohibited fishing areas. The dimension of skill training is more important for fishermen in the main (branch) flow protection area, and the level of pension is a key factor affecting the well-being of fishermen in the inner lake protection area. The unsatisfactory social integration situation has become a core factor restricting the subsequent livelihood development of fishermen in non protected areas of the main (branch) streams. 3) The most suitable “policy driven” assistance policy for non protected areas is to focus on the transformation and restoration of livelihoods through increased policy efforts. The “social integration” support measures are the best for the main (branch) flow protection area, which provides strong support for the sustainable development of livelihoods by enhancing the social participation of fishermen. The allocation of natural and physical capital compensation for “livelihood capital type” in the inner lake protection area is the best solution, which ensures the stability and sustainability of fishermen’s livelihoods by increasing their livelihood capital stock.

  • Tong Weiming, Jiang Yuxin, Guo Jiaxin, Zheng Jinhui
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(7): 1431-1441. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20230968

    The flow and integration of factors between urban and rural areas is an important approach to achieve common prosperity, and the integration of urban-rural factor is of great significance to the development of common prosperity. This paper constructs an evaluation index system of common prosperity from 3 dimensions of the co-construction, the shared development and the symbiotic development. Based on the relevant county-scale data of Zhejiang Province from 2011 to 2021, this paper reveals spatial distribution characteristics of the development of common prosperity in Zhejiang Province, and uses the spatial Durbin model to reveal impacts of the urban-rural factor integration on common prosperity. The results show that there is positive spatial correlations between the development of common prosperity among counties in Zhejiang Province. Generally speaking, high-value accumulation areas of common prosperity in Zhejiang Province are mainly distributed in the eastern and northeastern coastal areas, while low-value accumulation areas are mainly distributed in the southwest and western inland areas. Morever, integrations of urban and rural elements in Zhejiang Province will promote the development of common prosperity, and this influence has a positive spatial spillover effect. Finally, from the perspective of different dimensions, the urban-rural factor integration in Zhejiang Province plays a significant role in promoting the co-construction and the shared development, but it has no significant positive impacts on the symbiotic development. From the perspective of different periods, urban-rural factor integration in Zhejiang Province have significant positive impacts on common prosperity from 2015 to 2021, while it has no significant promoting effects from 2011 to 2014.

  • Liu Ziyu, Shi Linna, Wu Xinyan, Ding Jinmei, Wen Qi
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(7): 1442-1452. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240828

    Relative poverty is a crucial factor that constrains social harmony and stability. The Loess Plateau region is a composite area characterized by both ecological and economic poverty. Investigating the degree, influencing factors, and formation mechanisms of relative poverty in rural areas of poverty alleviation regions in this area can provide a scientific basis for the effective governance of relative poverty. This article takes Pengyang County in Ningxia as the study area and constructs a relative poverty measurement system from 5 dimensions: material foundation, economic conditions, capabilities, development opportunities, and social security. The relative poverty index model is used to measure rural relative poverty. By defining a relative poverty line, 421 households with relative poverty were identified. The Geodetector was employed to analyze the influencing factors of relative poverty, and on this basis, the formation mechanisms of individual and regional relative poverty were explored. The results indicate that: 1) With the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation policies, the relative poverty in Pengyang County is relatively low in the dimensions of material foundation and development opportunities, but high in the dimensions of economic conditions, capabilities, and social security; 2) The Geodetector results show that average elevation, labor force proportion, infrastructure satisfaction, and wage income proportion are the dominant factors influencing relative poverty, while the education level of the main labor force, medical expenditure, access to microcredit, and the contribution rate of the primary industry are secondary factors; 3) The interactions among these factors lead to the obstruction of sustainable livelihoods for rural households and significant regional development disparities. To break the dilemma of relative poverty in rural areas of poverty alleviation regions on the Loess Plateau, it is urgent to use urban-rural integration as a bond to improve the integrated urban-rural infrastructure and equalize public services. At the same time, relying on cross-regional factor mobility to break development barriers and innovating governance scales, a multi-level coordinated governance system should be established to lay a solid foundation for rural revitalization and common prosperity.

  • Chen Dongsheng, Li Junjun, Xu Weipan, Li Xun
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(6): 1157-1167. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240001

    Folk migration is a historical and social phenomenon worthy of study. However, most of folk migration in Chinese history does not have detailed written records and accurate data. Folk migration has left many traditional villages, whose settlement forms contain information on the “genes” of their folk groups and their evolution. Thus, traditional villages can be used as side evidence to reveal historical migrations. However, there is still a lack of means to study traditional settlement morphology on a large geographic scale, which makes it difficult to obtain overall universal patterns. Currently, artificial intelligence techniques for satellite remote sensing images show strong potential in earth observation. Applying these techniques is a promising way to restore the wholeness of traditional settlement patterns. In this study, we propose a remote sensing-based AI method to explore the evolution of traditional settlement morphology on a large geographic scale. In detail, a self-supervised deep learning model, called convolutional autoencoder, is applied to automatically extracting the folk prototype information of settlement forms from building footprint data and remote sensing images. The extracted folk prototype information is represented as feature vector format, which then is input to KMeans clustering algorithm to categorize the folk prototypes. In addition, cosine similarity is used to calculate the similarity space of the selected villages, in order to discover the topological relationship between the folk prototypes. Hanjiang River Basin area is taken as the study area and the traditional villages of Hakka and Teochew folk groups are the research objects of this study. The result of the convolutional autoencoder is combined with historical records of folk migration, in order to restore the process of the evolution of the settlement morphology. The results show that the prototypes of Hakka and Teochew villages exist in the basin of the Hanjiang River, and show a pattern of morphological gradual change along the migration path. From the data-driven perspective and historical records’ perspective, this article demonstrates that the Hakka and Teochew settlement prototypes derived from the migration-driven cultural fusion process have created a transitional settlement form “Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix”, which combines the characteristics of Hakka and Teochew prototypes, and thus complements the existing knowledge of traditional settlement morphology. In detail, from the data-driven perspective, Type 2 is recognized as the transitional type between the Type 1 and Type 3 in the feature similarity space. Also, the villages of Type 2 are mainly located between the villages of Type 1 and Type 3 in the geographic space. From the historical records’ perspective, the villages of Type 1 and Type 3 are recognized as Hakka and Teochew villages. And the villages of Type 2 are identified as the settlement form of “Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix”. In summary, the settlement form of “Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix” is recognized as the transitional form between the Hakka and Teochew settlement prototypes. Using traditional villages as a medium, this article provides a feasible tool for exploring the morphological evolution of folk settlements on a large scale without manual survey and labelling. Currently, the method proposed in this article automates feature extraction, but the input remote sensing images of traditional villages still need to be manually selected by the researcher. In order to further improve the automation of traditional settlement pattern recognition, in the future, this study will combine other artificial intelligence tools to achieve automatic selection of traditional village remote sensing images and combine them with the method in this article to form a set of automated processes, which will further break through the limitations of traditional surveys, and bring more data for the study of historical population migration.

  • Shen Jing, Lin Chenghui
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(6): 1168-1181. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240004

    In the era of information, smart cities represent the future of urban development. The integration of intelligence can enhance the economic, environmental and social performance of cities, which is crucial for the sustainable development of urban areas. Since the reform and opening-up, China has achieved remarkable progress in urbanization and economic growth. However, these advancements have also brought about risks stemming from the inefficient use of land. Intelligent cities contribute to the promotion of intensive urban land use and enhancement of urban land use efficiency. Since the launch of the Smart City Pilot Project in 2012, the transformation of cities towards intelligence has had a significant impact on the economic productivity, social services and environmental pollution. Existing research on urban land use efficiency primarily focuses on its measurement and influencing factors. However, there is a lack of studies that integrate the intelligence transformation of cities with urban land use efficiency within a single research framework. This study addresses a research gap by investigating the impact and mechanism of intelligence on urban land use efficiency. This study has developed a theoretical framework through literature review to examine the influence of intelligence on urban land use efficiency. Then, the study utilized the entropy value method and super-SBM model to assess the level of urban intelligence and urban land use efficiency of 281 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2020. The panel regression model and mediated effect model are used to investigate the mechanism through which intelligence influences urban land use efficiency. The findings indicated that urban intelligence and land use efficiency in Chinese cities have shown overall improvement, albeit with regional disparity. Intelligence has a positive impact on urban land use efficiency. Technological innovation, upgrading of industrial structure, and improvement in labor skill structure all play a mediating role in this process. The impact of intelligence on urban land use efficiency exhibits spatially heterogeneity. Intelligence significantly enhances urban land use efficiency in the eastern and central regions, but not in the western region. The mediating effects of technological innovation, industrial structure and labor force skill structure upgrading are significant in the eastern and central regions, while labor force skill structure does not play a mediating role in the western region. Finally, specific policy recommendations tailored to different regions are proposed in order to improve urban land use efficiency, drawing from the research findings.

  • Zhu Gaoli, Zhang Jian, Fan Yeting, Sheng Li
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(6): 1182-1192. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240601

    Based on panel data from 110 resource-based cities in China from 2010 to 2022, this study uses a threshold effect model to explore the dynamic impact of environmental regulation on resource misallocation, further analyzing the moderating role of government governance capacity. The results indicate that: 1) The intensity of environmental regulation in resource-based cities has shown an overall upward trend, with the most significant increases observed in eastern regions and mature resource-based cities. While the overall conditions of capital and labor misallocation have been continuously improving, the northeastern regions and declining resource-based cities show limited improvement and face substantial transformation pressures. 2) Environmental regulation helps to improve resource misallocation. At the regional level, the improvement effect is strongest in the eastern regions and weakest in the northeastern regions. At the city type level, environmental regulation significantly improves resource misallocation in mature resource-based cities but has relatively weaker effects on declining resource-based cities. 3) Mechanism tests reveal that marketization progress partially mediates the relationship between environmental regulation and resource misallocation. Before the marketization process reaches the first threshold value, environmental regulation has no significant effect on resource misallocation. After surpassing the first threshold, environmental regulation significantly improves resource misallocation, and the improvement effect becomes increasingly pronounced once the marketization process crosses the second threshold. 4) Further analysis shows that enhancing government governance capacity facilitates the positive impact of environmental regulation on resource misallocation. Moreover, environmental regulation not only improves local resource misallocation but also exerts spatial spillover effects that improve resource misallocation in neighboring regions.

  • Yuan Zhenjie, He Jun’an, Yang Liguo
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(6): 1193-1205. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20250001

    The ‘International Charter on Geography Education’ explicitly states that helping students understand human-environment relationships is crucial for sustainable development education. Among these, the human-environment coordination concept, as a fundamental value in geography, is a key objective in the development of core competencies at the higher education level. However, current research on the assessment of human-environment coordination concept mainly focuses on basic geography education and predominantly utilizes explicit measurement methods such as paper-and-pencil tests or questionnaires. This study first uses literature analysis and the Delphi method to collect and design vocabulary for the experiment, followed by the use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and survey methods to measure university students’ implicit and explicit attitudes towards human-environment coordination concept. Finally, interviews are conducted to triangulate the evaluation results. The participants were third- and fourth-year undergraduate students from both geography and non-geography majors at a comprehensive university in China. The results show: 1) Both the IAT effect values and explicit measurement scores of students are relatively high, reflecting a generally positive recognition of human-environment coordination concept; 2) Geography students exhibit significantly higher IAT effects than non-geography students, indicating a notable difference in implicit connection strength; 3) Geography students’ response times in both compatible and incompatible tasks are significantly longer than those of non-geography students; 4) A dissociation effect is observed between implicit and explicit recognition of human-environment coordination concept, validating the effectiveness and value of the IAT as a tool for measuring human-environment coordination. These findings not only verify the positive role of geography in cultivating college students’ human-environment coordination concept, but provide dual-perspective measurement evidence of explicit attitude and implicit attitude for geography education reform and offer practical insights for enhancing university students’ core competencies.

  • Hou Juzhi
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(5): 933-940. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20241468

    Lake sediments contain rich information on climatic and environmental changes, making them ideal archives for studying the climate and environmental changes since the last deglaciation. Lakes are widespread on the Tibetan Plateau. Scientists have conducted paleolimnological studies in hundreds of these lakes. Using various proxy indicators in sediment cores, numerous records have been acquired on past changes in climate, environment, ecosystems, and human activities at different timescales on the plateau. This has promoted a deeper understanding of the processes and mechanisms of climate and environmental changes on the plateau. However, some problems have emerged with rapid increase in paleolimnological records in past decades. For instance, contradictions between different records have caused interference in further integrated studies. This article suggests that this may be due to neglecting some fundamental scientific issues in limnology, such as unclear lake types (lake water stratification and mixing and lake classification), ambiguous implication of proxy indicators, and unknown histories of lake status changes (e.g., open and closed lakes). Using paleolimnological records from typical lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, this paper illustrates how these issues affect the interpretation of different proxy records. A deeper understanding of fundamental scientific issues in limnology not only helps in reasonably interpreting proxy records and accurately reconstructing past lake processes and climate and environmental changes but also contributes significantly to a better understanding of the processes and mechanisms of climate and environmental changes. This paper attempts to discuss the impact of the thermodynamic characteristics of lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, the implications of climate environment change proxies, and the lake status on the interpretation of lake sediment records. The thermodynamic characteristics of the lake determine the ecological niche of proxy producers and implications of the proxies; the change in lake status (taking the conversion between open and closed states as an example in this paper) directly affects the lake sediment system, thereby influencing the sediment records. If there is no in-depth understanding of the basic information of the lake, it may lead to unreasonable interpretations of the lake sediment records. Therefore, in paleolake studies, full attention should be given to the basic information of the lake. This is not only applicable to paleolake studies on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau but also relevant to related studies in other regions.

  • Tan Minghong, Yan Ziyan, Li Xiubin, Xu Xiaofan, Huang Zhenyu
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(5): 941-949. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20231034

    Changes in cropland are affected or restricted by natural resource endowment, economy, society, technology and other factors, and are a comprehensive index reflecting the change of human-land relationship. With the rapid development of society and economy, the changes of cropland in China present significant regional differentiation characteristics. Studying the characteristics is very important for grasping the future development trend of cropland, formulating cropland protection policies according to local conditions, and improving the implementation effect of policies. Based on land use maps interpreted by remote sensing images and national land survey data, this paper analyzes the spatial changes of cropland in China in the past 30 years, and proposes the geographical dividing line of cropland increase and decrease in China: 40°N. In the north and south sides of this line, the changes of cropland showed an opposite trend. According to the national Land survey, from 2009 to 2019, cropland in the south decreased by 14.5% and increased by14.0% in the north. And the proportion of cropland in the north of the total cropland area in the whole country increased from 31.5% in 2009 to 38.1% in 2019, which significantly increased its importance in China’s agricultural production. The fastest reduction of cropland in the south is mainly distributed in the southeast coast and the southern section of the second stage, which is a “horseshoe” area. Finally, this paper systematically analyzes the causes of cropland change on both sides of the north and south, and puts forward the corresponding policy suggestions on cropland use. In arid and semi-arid areas of China with better irrigation conditions, drip irrigation technology should be widely adopted, and water-fertilizer integration should be implemented to tap the potential of existing cropland. In the “horseshoe” area, due to the occupation of construction land and the adjustment of agricultural structure, the speed of the reduction of cultivated land is fast, and the policy aim of balancing the total cropland in this area has been difficult to achieve, so the policy of protecting cropland should be adjusted correspondingly. In the south of the 40°N line, especially in the north China Plain and inside the “horseshoe” area, priority should be given to protecting high-quality, flat farmland suitable for large-scale operations for grain production, strictly controlling the expansion and occupation of construction land and non-grain agricultural land, and preventing the fragmentation of cropland.

  • Wang Shengyun, Fang Fang, Wang Shi
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(5): 950-962. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20230907

    This study constructs and assesses the digital economy development index and the carbon intensity of human well-being (CIWB) in China from 2011 to 2020, elucidates the driving mechanism and spatial spillover effect of digital economy on the CIWB in China. The findings indicate that: 1) From 2011 to 2020, there is a marked advancement in the level of digital economic development in China, delineating a spatial distribution characterized by “lower in the west and higher in the east”. Concurrently, the CIWB displayed a notable decline, exhibiting a “higher in the north and lower in the south” spatial pattern. 2) The cultivation of the digital economy significantly diminishes the CIWB in China. For every unit increase in the digital economy development index, the CIWB decreases by 1.138 units. The digital economy curtails the CIWB through the reduction of electricity consumption and industrial structural upgrades. An increase of one unit in the per capita electricity consumption and tertiary industry’s proportion leads to a decrease in the CIWB by 0.645 and 0.083 units, respectively, with the former demonstrating a more pronounced mitigating impact. 3) The digital economy’s efficacy in reducing the CIWB in China exhibits spatial spillover effects, evident in its significant contributory reduction in both the province and its neighboring regions. It is advised to concentrate efforts on narrowing the east-west gap in the level of development of digital economy and the north-south difference in the CIWB in China, to bring into play the spatial spillover effect of the digital economy, and to reduce electricity energy consumption and promote the upgrading of industrial structure, so as to reduce the CIWB in China.

  • Qiao Pengfei, Li Chuanhua, Zhong Shiyao, Zhu Hongjuan, Miao Peidong
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(5): 1105-1117. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20241103

    Climate change exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity, leading to relative climatic variations that have substantial impacts on vegetation. However, there is currently no quantitative method to assess the effects of relative climate change in time and space on vegetation. This study proposes using the ranking of Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) differences (VPDr) as an index for relative climate change, with VPD, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentration, and annual precipitation (Pre) as climate change indicators. Using ridge regression and correlation analysis, the study quantitatively estimates the impacts of VPDr, VPD, CO2, and Pre on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NIRv) in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China. The results demonstrate that VPDr, derived from VPD, is a feasible index for assessing relative climate change and estimating its effects on vegetation. Regional analysis further validates the results. Relative climate change has a significant impact on vegetation, with this impact being more pronounced than the effect of VPD alone. In arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, the rate of aridification exceeds that of humidification, resulting in an overall trend of relative aridification, which negatively affects vegetation. An increase in VPDr across most regions indicates relative aridification, suppressing vegetation growth, particularly in areas such as the western Tarim Basin, Tianshan Mountains, and central Inner Mongolia Plateau. Conversely, regions with decreasing VPDr indicate stable or relatively humid climates, which enhance climate suitability and promote vegetation growth, notably in areas like the Taklimakan Desert hinterland, Hexi Corridor-Badain Jaran Desert, and Hulunbuir Plateau-Northern Da Hinggan Mountains. In these regions, vegetation shows a growth trend, largely driven by CO2 fertilization effects and increased precipitation. This study introduces an innovative quantitative index for relative climate change and provides a method for estimating its impact on vegetation, thus expanding our understanding of climate change’s effects on vegetation. More importantly, the study shows that even in regions with relatively stable climate, the climate will also have relative changes in time and space, and vegetation is also affected by the relative changes in time and space of climate, and the impact of climate change on vegetation is very different. All regions can not be immune to climate change, and should work together to cope with climate change.

  • Cui Shoubo, Liu Yonghe
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(5): 1118-1129. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20230708

    Improving the simulation accuracy of land surface models for regional vegetation dynamics is of great significance for studying the mutual influences between vegetation and land surface water-heat cycles, and it further aids in predicting regional vegetation and carbon cycles under climate change scenarios. Parameter optimization is an effective approach to enhance the simulation accuracy of land surface models. This study focuses on the application of the Noah-MP land surface model in the Yellow River Basin. By adjusting five parameters related to dynamic vegetation simulation and conducting multiple repeated simulation experiments, we analyzed the impact of parameter variations on vegetation simulation performance using satellite remote sensing-derived leaf area index (LAI) products as a reference. The results indicate that the default parameters of Noah-MP lead to a severe underestimation of simulated vegetation, primarily caused by the excessively high vegetation turnover rate parameter (LTOVRC). Finally, an optimal parameter set was selected.The parameter optimization significantly addressed the underestimation and seasonal lag issues in LAI simulations for certain regions under the original default parameters. The improvements were evident in the correlation coefficient (R), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), and root mean square error (RMSE) across various vegetation types. For example, for deciduous broadleaf forests, R increased from 0.489 to 0.879, NSE improved from −0.83 to 0.46, and RMSE decreased from 2.22 to 1.21. A comparison with corresponding remote sensing products further demonstrated that this parameter optimization also enhanced the model's simulation performance for gross primary productivity (GPP) in the Yellow River Basin.

  • Wu Baiyan, Liu Fanshuo, Liu Xi
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(4): 699-710. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20231149

    Encryption serves as a safeguard against unauthorized access to data by unauthorized users. Reversible watermarking, on the other hand, can be employed to authenticate the integrity and origin of data, while enabling the lossless recovery of the original data. In light of the security requirements for vector map data protection, this study combines encryption and reversible watermarking techniques to present a novel reversible vector map watermarking algorithm within the asymmetric homomorphic encrypted domain. By capitalizing on the homomorphic characteristics of the encryption algorithm, the proposed approach devises a reversible watermark embedding mechanism grounded in an improved histogram shifting method, which is directly executed within the ciphertext domain. Upon decryption of the ciphertext map with a private key, the watermark can be retrieved from the resultant plaintext map. Subsequently, the original map can be restored through the implementation of inverse histogram shifting. The algorithm is implemented and evaluated using 3 distinct map datasets. The experimental results validate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed algorithm. Through a comprehensive analysis of the watermarking performance on these 3 map datasets, along with a comparison with existing reversible watermarking algorithms in both the plaintext and ciphertext domains for vector maps, it is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm exhibits a larger payload capacity, higher imperceptibility, and a more secure encryption effect. Thus, it represents a practical and viable reversible watermarking solution in the asymmetric homomorphic encryption domain for vector maps.

  • Ning Jiachen, Zhang Pingyu, Yang Qifeng, Ma Zuopeng, Chu Nanchen
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(4): 744-755. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240114

    As a leading area for the development of modern large-scale agriculture, northeast China needs to give consideration to enhancing both peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency, so it is necessary to research their relationship in depth. This study is based on the multi-objective collaborative perspective of economic, social and ecological benefits. Using the prefecture-level administrative regions in northeast China from 2010 to 2021 as samples, peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency were calculated, and their evolution characteristics and regional differences were analyzed. Then the relationship between peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency in northeast China was explored through regression analysis, and the moderate peasant household’s cultivated land management scale in northeast China at this stage was estimated. The results show that: 1) Both peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency in northeast China increased from 2010 to 2021, with larger peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and higher cultivated land use efficiency in Heilongjiang Province, smaller peasant household’s cultivated land management scale in Liaoning Province, and lower cultivated land use efficiency in Jilin Province and eastern Inner Mongolia. 2) During the period, regional differences in peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency in northeast China expanded and the dispersion was enhanced. Regions with smaller peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and lower cultivated land use efficiency still accounted for a large proportion. The polarization of peasant household’s cultivated land management scale was gradually obvious, and the polarization of cultivated land use efficiency was mitigated. 3) There is a significant inverted “U”-shaped relationship between peasant household’s cultivated land management scale and cultivated land use efficiency in northeast China. When peasant household’s cultivated land management scale is at a low level, its growth has a promoting effect on cultivated land use efficiency. However, after reaching a certain level, the effect of peasant household’s cultivated land management scale on cultivated land use efficiency changes from positive to negative. 4) Currently, the moderate peasant household’s cultivated land management scale in northeast China is 11.61-11.95 hm2 without considering the interconnectivity of regions, while it is 10.04-10.10 hm2 that considering the interconnectivity of regions.

  • Zhang Weili, Ma Zihao, Li Jianxin, Zheng Daolin, Wei Ruibo, Qin Chenglin
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(4): 756-769. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20240274

    This study defines and evaluates the level of urban economic high-quality development (UEHQD) under the goal of common prosperity, revealing its dynamic evolution and driving factors to foster spatial momentum for shared affluence. Using a longitudinal and transversal tiered evaluation method, we measure UEHQD levels and further analyze their distribution dynamics and driving forces. Key findings include: 1) The UEHQD level demonstrates an overall upward trend. Eastern high-performance cities in China exhibit “spillover effects” radiating to neighboring areas, central cities show significant “catch-up effects”, western cities remain in a fluctuating phase, while northeastern cities urgently require revitalization to reverse developmental stagnation. 2) The transfer probability of the whole country and the four major regions has changed from upward to downward within the relative UEHQD level [0.93,0.99]. Eastern cities demonstrate strong resilience against downward trends, western cities lag slightly in upward transition potential, and northeastern cities show weak upward momentum. The spatial imbalance pattern is projected to persist which is characterized by “eastern superiority over western regions, southern strength versus northern weakness”. 3) Innovation vitality directly drives UEHQD, with industrial coordination and service sharing serving as key channels. Ecological preservation and open connectivity play secondary roles, while income growth exerts indirect effects, with factor interactions collectively propelling development. Regionally, innovation vitality and industrial coordination dominate UEHQD dynamics: eastern and central regions prioritize innovation, western regions emphasize innovation vitality-service sharing synergy, and northeastern regions highlight industrial coordination’s positive impacts on ecological and service systems. Across city scales, innovation remains paramount: megacities rely on innovation-ecology-industry synergies, large cities on innovation-ecology collaboration, while small-medium cities depend on innovation-service-industry interactions.

  • Li Wei, Wang Wan, Fu Yiming, Hu Xiaohui, He Canfei
    GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. 2025, 45(4): 770-782. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.20231210

    Regional industrial renewal has been considered as an important factor for regional economic development. Currently, evolutionary economic geography has pay much attention to the role of technological relatedness in the entry of new industries in regional industrial renewal studies, while the role of technological relatedness in the exit of incumbent industries has often been neglected. One of the reasons for this neglection is the lack of method to identify related and unrelated industries which exit from regions. This paper develops a new method to identify related and unrelated exit industries. Based on this method, we first analyze the number and spatial distribution of related and unrelated exit industries and then further investigate the relationship between (un)related exit and the level of regional economic development. The findings are shown as follows. First, compared with related exit industries, the number of unrelated exit industries are much larger. The number of unrelated exit industries account for about 65% in the total number of exit industries from 1998 to 2012, while the figure for related exit industries is at about 35%. This means that technological relatedness play an important role in the exit of industries in regions. This finding is in line with the previous studies. Second, the spatial distribution of unrelated and related industries varies. Regions in eastern and central China has more related exit industries while the regions in western China has more unrelated exit industries. Third, technological related play a decreasing role in the economic development process. We find that the share of unrelated exit industries in regions is positively associated with the level of regional economic development while there is a negative relationship between the share of related exit industries in regions and the level of regional economic development. The findings of this paper have important implications for policymakers in pursuit of eliminating backward production capacity and promoting industrial renewal.