In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a new wave of technological advancements, integrating technological innovation resources and accelerating strategic emerging industries have become crucial for promoting high-quality economic development. Industrial innovation networks are critical in this landscape, as they enable cities to participate in innovation networks that facilitate the absorption of external knowledge, technologies, and market information, which promotes regional technological innovation. In this study, we focused on the rare earth industry in China, which supports innovation within strategic emerging fields, particularly in technological breakthroughs. Patent collaboration data from three critical stages of the value chain (i.e., mining and smelting, material processing, and end-use applications) were used with social network analysis and Quadratic Assignment Procedure regression methods to explore the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of the innovation network at different stages. The primary goal of the study was to determine the structural differences in innovation networks within an industry and how these differences are influenced by the functional roles of the value chain. The findings indicate that the scale of the innovation network in China's rare earth industry expands progressively along the value chain, particularly in the end-use application stage, in which the density of connections among the participants increases considerably, resulting in a "small world" characteristic. Moreover, the innovation network in the mining and smelting stage exhibits a north-south differentiation pattern that is consistent with the geographical distribution of China's rare earth resources (i.e., light rare earths in the north and heavy rare earths in the south). In contrast, the material processing stage exhibits a radial pattern dominated by national innovation centers such as Beijing and Shanghai, whereas the end-use application stage exhibits a "triangular" pattern centered on cities with concentrated strategic emerging industries, highlighting the importance of regional innovation ecosystems. Analysis of the influencing factors indicates that the innovation network is primarily affected by social and institutional proximities, as well as the innovation output capacity. Notably, the impacts of resource agglomeration and openness to foreign markets vary among different stages of the value chain. For example, resource agglomeration is significant in the material processing stage but has a lower impact in the end-use application stage, where the level of openness to foreign markets is crucial for driving innovation. Building on existing research on industry-wide innovation networks, this study investigated the internal differences in innovation networks and mapped value-creation processes within the rare earth industry. The findings indicate that marked spatial differences exist among the mining and smelting, material processing, and end-use application stages, which are closely related to the value processes and resource endowments in each stage. In addition, the findings obtained herein provide theoretical and empirical support for understanding spatial innovation activities along the industrial value chain. We offer policy recommendations for optimizing the spatial configuration of the innovation network in China's rare earth industry, with the goal of enhancing its competitiveness in high value-added sectors and supporting the nation's transition to a more innovation-driven economy.
Counties in the Yangtze River Delta face considerable pressure from industrial transformation. In addition, an enclave economy has substantial value for enhancing county-level innovation capacity and advancing industrial upgrades. Enclave economies facilitate the flow of innovation resources into counties and strengthen collaborative innovations between counties and central cities. However, the effectiveness of these innovations is constrained by factors such as benefit-sharing mechanisms and each county's capacity to absorb innovation resources. Thus, systematic empirical research is urgently required to evaluate their impacts. This study focused on Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, where exploration of the enclave economy in the Yangtze River Delta region has been the most advanced. Using a multi-period Difference-In-Differences (DID) model, we examined how establishing enclave industrial parks from 2001 to 2022 influenced county-level innovation outputs, as well as the heterogeneity of these impacts across forward and reverse enclave models and different county types. The findings indicate that the enclave economy exerted an overall positive impact on county-level innovation, and a larger number of enclave parks corresponded to more pronounced increases in innovation. Multiple robustness tests confirmed the reliability of these results. In addition, nationally ranked top-100 counties demonstrated considerably higher susceptibilities to the positive effects of enclave economies compared with those of non-top-100 counties, likely because relatively developed counties have better environments to support innovation, which facilitates the absorption and transformation of innovation resource flows triggered by enclave park construction. Forward enclaves, which are characterized by earlier initiation and more mature mechanisms, had a markedly superior effect on enhancing county innovation compared with that of reverse enclaves, even though reverse enclaves theoretically exert a more direct and effective impact on county-level innovation. Enclave parks co-constructed by national ministries and local governments, by local governments alone, or between development zones were also more likely to positively influence county innovation than those involving other entities. This may occur because these actors primarily exist within the public sector and share homogenous policy agendas and preferences; thus, collaboration among them is more conducive to reducing communication and coordination costs, thereby enhancing their role in boosting county-level innovation. These results suggest that future efforts should prioritize enhancing the capacities of less-developed counties to absorb innovation resources and direct more policy support towards innovative models, such as reverse enclaves and university-satellite industrial parks. Less-developed counties should address their own developmental foundations and capacity to accommodate innovative resources in the construction of enclave economies, avoid impatience, and emphasize nurturing an environment conducive to innovation. However, compared with forward enclaves, which are characterized by industrial gradient transfer, reverse enclaves have stronger attributes for technological innovation, aiming to promote county-level industrial transformation by incubating innovative enterprises. Given reverse enclaves' shorter construction period and associated inadequate mechanism exploration, it is necessary to provide more policy support and assess their actual effects over a longer timescale. Similarly, because universities are a crucial component of the triple-helix model of innovation, enclave parks co-constructed with universities hold greater potential for boosting county-level innovation than those co-established with other actors. Therefore, barriers related to park management, technology transfer, and funding support for universities and research institutions should be addressed promptly to amplify their spillover effects on county-level innovation activities.
Renewable energy development is critical for advancing energy transitions and addressing climate change, both of which will likely trigger substantial transformations in industrial geography and trade patterns. Previous studies have investigated the impacts of renewable energy on manufacturing sectors from both production and consumption perspectives. In addition, the trade patterns of energy-intensive products have been analyzed in terms of industrial relocation, embodied carbon flows, and carbon leakage mechanisms. However, few studies have explored how renewable energy influences the export of high energy-intensive products. Based on province-product-destination trade data from 2011 to 2020, we used spatial analytical methods to characterize the geographical distribution of China's energy-intensive product exports across origins and destinations. We then applied fixed-effect regression models to empirically assess the impacts of provincial-level renewable energy on these exports. The results indicate that China's renewable energy generation is geographically concentrated in the northwestern provinces, whereas energy-intensive manufacturing exports are predominantly located in eastern coastal regions, revealing a spatial mismatch between the energy supply and industrial demand. While China's high energy-intensive exports remain predominantly destined for developed economies, the growth momentum in recent years has been increasingly propelled by demand from developing countries. In addition, renewable energy development promoted the export of high-energy-intensive products by increasing the proportion of energy-intensive industries in provincial industrial structures. Renewable energy development in China's eastern and central provinces promoted high energy-intensive product exports, whereas no substantial effect was observed in the western provinces. Superior grid infrastructure, stringent low-carbon policies, and higher foreign direct investment levels all enhanced the positive impact of renewable energy on energy-intensive exports, whereas greater agglomeration of energy-intensive industries demonstrated no favorable effect. Carbon mitigation policies in the destination countries strengthened the positive relationship between China's renewable energy and energy-intensive exports, whereas greater renewable energy deployment in these countries exerted a negative moderating effect. Compared with other high energy-intensive products, those subject to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) derived greater benefits from renewable energy development. This study contributes to the literature by establishing a spatial framework for understanding how renewable energy development affects energy-intensive product exports. In addition, this study clarifies the moderating effects of multidimensional factors at the provincial, product, and destination country levels, thereby providing a knowledge foundation for energy-intensive industries to use renewable energy for their green transitions while maintaining export competitiveness. This study demonstrates that the effects of renewable energy on energy-intensive product exports across provinces, product categories, and destination countries are heterogeneous. To maintain export competitiveness, three essential measures must be implemented: electricity market mechanisms and infrastructure improvement, clarification of destination countries' carbon reduction policies, and renewable energy-integrated production model development for energy-intensive industries.
In the digital era, Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC) has become a novel trend in industrial development in China. In particular, CBEC in Guangdong Province, China, has undergone considerable development. By taking advantage of well-developed manufacturing industries and foreign trade foundations, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) has developed CBEC with the goal of establishing itself as a global CBEC center. Previous studies have explored the spatial distribution of CBEC enterprises at macro and national levels; however, few studies have analyzed the spatial distribution of CBEC enterprises from city- and district-level perspectives. Therefore, we explored the spatial distribution of CBEC in Guangdong Province during 2001-2023 and analyzed the factors that influenced the spatial distribution at provincial, municipal, district, and enterprise levels. This study used the enterprise database of "Tian Yan Cha.com" with the kernel density estimation method, standard deviation ellipse, geographic concentration index, and geographic detector model to analyze the characteristics of spatial and temporal distributions of CBEC enterprises and their influencing factors in Guangdong Province. The results indicate that CBEC development in Guangdong Province has included four stages: an initial stage (2001-2013), rapid development (2014-2017), growth and expansion (2018-2021), and adjustment and improvement (2022-2023). Spatially, CBEC enterprises in Guangdong Province have mainly concentrated in the PRD, within which Shenzhen and Guangzhou have become the largest and second-largest clusters, respectively. As CBEC developed, the spatial distribution of CBEC enterprises in Guangdong Province gradually expanded from the PRD to the eastern, western, and northern regions of the province. Most CBEC enterprises in Guangdong Province were established by medium-sized domestic enterprises. Specifically, CBEC development in Shenzhen was mainly driven by large- and medium-scale enterprises, whereas CBEC enterprises in other PRD cities (e.g., Guangzhou and Foshan) have been driven by small-, medium-, and micro-scale enterprises. The spatial distribution of CBEC enterprises in Guangdong Province is considerably affected by four factors: logistics development level, openness to the world, financial services, and Internet and information services. Moreover, interactions among these factors considerably influenced the spatial distribution of CBEC. Notably, the combined effect of the industrial foundation and CBEC comprehensive pilot zone has become the key driving force for CBEC development and agglomeration in Guangdong Province. This study not only enriches the research on CBEC and other digital economies but also provides suggestions for further developing CBEC.
Chinese time-honored brands not only have the attributes of commodity economy but also cultural value, which is an important carrier of urban consumption. Although Chinese time-honored brand enterprises have achieved continuous improvements in brand influence, there have been some unsatisfactory operating conditions. The existing research focuses on the content of time-honored enterprises in brand management, economic benefits, visual communication, and spatial differentiation; however, there is insufficient research on the characteristics and laws of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises in terms of intercity expansion. To promote the organic inheritance and innovative development of Chinese time-honored brands, provide a reference for the location decision-making of time-honored brand enterprises, enhance the application of urban consumption scenarios, and reveal the spatial law of intercity expansion of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises, based on the intercity expansion data of 1,128 Chinese time-honored brand enterprises, a social network analysis method was used to explore the network structure characteristics and influencing factors of the intercity expansion of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises. The results showed the following: (1) Based on the node structure, the core-edge structure of the intercity expansion network of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises was obvious, forming a network structure centered on Beijing and Shanghai, of which Beijing had the strongest agglomeration capacity and Shanghai had the strongest diffusion capacity. The intercity expansion network of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises was controlled by a few node cities. (2) Based on the overall structure, the intercity expansion network of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises was relatively small. It was a typical small-world network with obvious organizational structural characteristics and ten groups. The degree of development of the intercity expansion network organization of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises is still in its infancy, and there is room for improvement. (3) Factors such as Region, Culture, and Distance had a significant impact on the intercity expansion network of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises. Region and Culture were important driving forces in the formation and development of the intercity expansion network of Chinese time-honored brand enterprises, whereas Distance had an obvious impedance effect. Chinese time-honored brand enterprises have cultural symbols that are related to the social culture and consumption habits of specific regions, as well as to the brand culture formed by the enterprise in the process of development. It is easy to expand and spread in close proximity, similar cultures, and the same administrative area. On the contrary, it is necessary to consider the brand radiation power of a particular Chinese time-honored brand and the business environment and cultural agglomeration power of the city where the location is located. This study provides new insights for Chinese time-honored brand enterprises in terms of market expansion, location selection and layout, urban consumption scenario expansion, and intercity expansion network optimization.
As psychological research has expanded, the hegemony of vision in landscape studies has become increasingly challenging. As the second most critical sensory system after vision, sound has emerged as a key focus of theoretical inquiry. This paper focuses on individuals who have left their rural hometowns (hometown leavers) and used their auditory experiences as an analytical context. Drawing on in-depth interviews and using qualitative research methods such as coding analysis and semiotics, we uncovered the Xiangchou signification system of rural soundscape symbols and their operational mechanisms. We found that the perception of rural soundscapes by hometown-leavers followed a four-stage cognitive model: experience accumulation, representamen triggering, symbol reception and recognition, and meaning interpretation. First, the rural life experiences of hometown leavers formed the foundational prerequisites for awakening their perceptions of Xiangchou-related soundscape symbols. Their accumulated rural upbringing, inherited memories, and other lived rural experiences endowed them with a heightened sensitivity to sound symbols, which enabled seamless perception and reception. Second, during the symbolization of the Xiangchou soundscape, the perceptual trigger for the subject played an equally vital role. The activation and interpretation of sound symbols requires specific triggers. When respondents encounter sounds from their past, the unique timbre, pitch, or loudness of these sounds manifested as representamina, which overlapped with the imagined rural sound symbols stored in their minds. This overlap evoked a vivid sense of "as if it was yesterday," which propelled the symbolization process forward. Third, within the traditional village spaces etched in the memories of hometown leavers, complex sound symbols intertwined to form a distinct rural soundscape system composed of animal calls, natural noises, and sounds of human activity. These concrete sounds in the physical world acted as triggers to bridge the spatiotemporal divide between the soundscape symbols accumulated in the subjects' rural memory, stirring a rich array of rural recollections. Fourth, soundscapes characterized by greater abstractness and associativity focus on awakening and engaging the auditory culture. Through cognitive processing, the subjects transcended mere auditory perception to form interpretive meanings, which elevated the auditory experiences of hometown leavers to the emotional realm of rural sentiments via specific sounds. Following reception and recognition, the meanings of these soundscape symbols gradually solidified and assumed symbolic weight. Receivers with rural experiences endowed sound symbols with interpretive intent, mirroring them into four categories of Xiangchou soundscape units: sentimental attachment, pastoral leisure, rustic amusement, and seasonal busyness, thereby generating emotional resonances such as nostalgia, relief from pressure, longing for the future, and a sense of belonging. Compared with visual landscapes, soundscapes have greater penetrative power, significantly deepening the sense of belonging and identity of the hometown leavers toward their rural roots. This indicates that, during modernization, the eroded intimate connections between people can find psychological compensatory fulfillment through Xiangchou soundscapes. Xiangchou sound symbols allowed the hometown leavers to project their perceptions of their past rural life based on their unique auditory cultural field. Amid fast-paced urban life, their wandering souls were temporarily disengaged, healed, and comforted, thereby achieving a brief return to their spiritual haven through sound. The seasonal busyness soundscape centers on land as its core symbol, carrying the emotional memories and cultural totems of hometown leavers and acting as a spiritual bond for identity affirmation and the reconstruction of belonging. The rustic amusement soundscape, which has childhood games and local rituals as its symbolic anchors, awakened joyful memories and cultural identity, which became an emotional solace for hometown leavers navigating spiritual displacement.
Promoting the coordinated allocation of rural human-land elements is crucial for implementing rural revitalization strategies. Existing research suffers from insufficient theoretical mechanisms, weak specificity in measurement methods, and overreliance on macroscale analysis. Based on the perspective of farmland transfer, this study theoretically analyzes the evolutionary mechanism and influencing factors of human-land coordination, innovatively constructs an indicator to measure the level of human-land coordinated allocation, and conducts an empirical study on the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of county-level administrative units in Hubei Province as a case study. The results show imbalanced human-land coordination in Hubei Province, with an evolutionary trend generally consistent with the national pattern, exhibiting three distinct fluctuation phases. Spatially, it demonstrates a pattern of "higher in the southeast, lower in the northwest." Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated high-high clusters in the Jianghan Plain and the counties surrounding Wuhan and low-low clusters in the western mountainous areas. The development level of the land transfer market, level of agricultural mechanization, elevation, and registered population urbanization rate were significant influencing factors, with the effects decreasing in that order. Land transfer market development had a positive effect, whereas agricultural mechanization and elevation had negative effects. The registered population urbanization rate exhibits either positive or negative effects, depending on the region. Spatial heterogeneity analysis revealed new patterns: sensitivity to elevation decreases successively from hilly areas to plains and then to mountainous areas; the effect of registered urbanization rate is nonlinear, turning inhibitory beyond a certain threshold; the promoting effect of land transfer market development is stronger in regions with lower market maturity, reflecting a pattern of initially increasing and then decreasing marginal benefits; the negative effect of agricultural mechanization, most pronounced in plains more suitable for mechanization, reflects a "double-edged" role: it promotes scale operation and land transfer, yet delays land exit by lowering the threshold for agricultural engagement. The study suggests that factor market-oriented reforms should account for the spatial heterogeneity of these four factors, and promote urbanization, improve the social security system, and refine the land transfer market mechanism in a region-specific and phased manner. First, to alleviate topographical constraints, market-oriented reforms of human-land factors should be prioritized in hilly areas suitable for agriculture but with significant terrain variations. Second, regions with higher urbanization levels and more developed land markets should focus on strengthening the social security system to reduce farmers' overreliance on land, whereas areas with greater potential should continue to facilitate the transfer of agricultural labor and improve the land transfer mechanism. Third, a nuanced approach is essential to balance the dual role of agricultural mechanization and steadily promote mechanization, while accelerating the improvement of farmers' social security systems.
With the advancement of China's Rural Revitalization Strategy, the traditional single-village development model faces resource, industrial, and governance bottlenecks. In response, a clustered rural development model has emerged. Although this practice is underway, academic research on its theoretical logic and internal mechanisms remains nascent and requires in-depth analysis to guide implementation. This study constructs an analytical framework based on the Actor-Network Theory and the Theory of the Production of Space. Using Xiaogucheng Village in Hangzhou as a case study, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the internal mechanisms and evolutionary logic of clustered rural development, aiming to offer theoretical guidance for sustainable rural development. The findings are as follows: (1) Clustered rural development unfolds in three stages: initial start-up, single-village development, and collaborative cluster-building. During the single-village stage, Xiaogucheng Village leveraged early policy advantages and took the lead in development, becoming a key node that radiated influence and guided its surrounding villages and communities. (2) In the single-village stage, propelled by policies, the Village Committee, as the key actor, formed a network. Through its grassroots consultative democracy mechanism of "discussing public affairs among the people," it successfully enrolled human (government, villagers, returning entrepreneurs) and non-human (land, idle farmhouses) actors into environmental renovation, land transfer, and industrial operations, driving the village's transformation from an ecological to a tourism-oriented settlement. However, developmental bottlenecks, a widening gap with neighboring villages, and the national policy orientation toward "Common Prosperity" pushed Xiaogucheng into the "collaborative cluster-building" stage. This has prompted the extension and translation of the actor network. In the new network, the Village Committee remains the key actor, utilizing a consultative mechanism to enroll a wider range of heterogeneous actors in specific rural construction affairs through policy and financial support, planning, and industry operations. (3) Underlying the actor network's evolution is a profound transformation in the logic of spatial production, which evolved from being power-dominated through an interplay of everyday life and capital to a mechanism in which the logic of life is superimposed upon those of power and capital. Initially, spatial transformation was government-led. Initially, rural construction was led by government policy; however, as market demand for rural tourism expanded, capital gradually intervened. The village collective, through consultation, guided villagers to become "participants" in development, mitigating conflicts between capital's logic and villagers' needs and creating a spatial form that integrated life and consumption. To break through bottlenecks and respond to the Common Prosperity agenda, Xiaogucheng united neighboring villages to enhance tourism value by integrating services and upgrading facilities. A 'Strong Village Company' was established to operate industries independently and absorb local labor, effectively strengthening community identity and consciousness. Through consultation, residents of neighboring areas became active agents rather than passive producers of space, linking local culture, daily life, and consumer experience. Xiaogucheng is a microcosm of rural revitalization in China. Its lessons can inform contemporary rural construction. Administrative boundaries can be transcended using demonstration villages as anchors to coordinate geographically connected units for synergistic regional development. Based on consultative democracy, platforms for multi-stakeholder participation should be built and the village collective's coordinating capacity should be strengthened to form a collaborative governance system. Finally, local character should be balanced with marketization by building upon unique rural features, creating distinct brands, and establishing professional operational platforms.
The common wealth in China must benefit everyone, and inhabitants of traditional villages should be included in this process. Owing to historical, social, and natural environmental factors, most traditional villages in China have a poor starting point for development. They are relatively economically backward, making the question of shared prosperity even more complex, arduous, and time-consuming. Rural tourism plays a key role in promoting rural economic development, optimizing industrial structure, fostering social progress, and achieving rural revitalization. It is critical in reviving rural economies, preserving and inheriting rural cultural heritage, fostering rural modernization and change, and helping local communities to increase their income and become wealthy. Although academics have recognized the importance of integrating traditional village cultural resources into tourism with the goal of creating common wealth, most have examined traditional village culture and tourism integration strategies while ignoring the impact of social embeddedness on traditional village tourism development. The central question of how to transform the low-market traditional cultural resources generated by the embedded environment into a sustainable development force for the revitalization of rural distinctive industries needs to be addressed. However, existing research has not investigated the endogenous causes of low integration of village culture and tourism, ignoring the impact of social relations on economic activities; second, there has been insufficient attention paid to how to adapt to local social rules during the integration of culture and tourism. Therefore, this paper employs the case study method to study the traditional festivals of Huanggang Dong Village in Qiandongnan, Guizhou Province, to explain two questions: one is the root cause of the non-economic behaviors of villagers in traditional villages under the structure of 'embeddedness' in the integration of culture and tourism, and secondly, whether the endogenous forces under the context of 'embeddedness' can achieve the marketization of tourism development. The main findings of this paper are that Huanggang Dong Village inhabitants' economic behavior in traditional festivals is influenced by multiple embeddedness; structural and institutional embedding affect residents' non-economic behavior, whereas cultural and cognitive embedding influence residents' non-economic behavior. Overall, the conflict of multiple embeddedness impacts the effectiveness of the cultural and tourism integration project, as well as the realization of common prosperity for the people. The main contribution of this paper is to empirically demonstrate the importance of multiple embeddedness in terms of providing local resources for cultural and tourism integration, paving the way for the development of a collaborative economy, and empowering community participation. Moreover, this paper makes recommendations for local governments to consider the social and local nature of the villages in which they are located, to update the village value and target orientation, and to shift from market-driven economic growth to the presence of social human values and practical needs. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider how to employ internal and external forces in the holistic development of traditional villages, as well as to set 'common prosperity' as the ultimate goal of cooperative action, to fully exploit the advantage of 'embeddedness.'
Rural gentrification is a global phenomenon. Studies of rural gentrification in the West emphasize the role of middle-class gentrifiers in promoting gentrification under private land ownership. However, few studies have investigated the more complex role played by governments in the process of rural gentrification in countries and regions with non-private land ownership. In addition, the more diverse interaction patterns among the government, market, and social forces have not been examined. Using Longshang Village in suburban Nanjing, China, as a case study, we explored the role of rural reconstruction enterprises in the rural tourism gentrification process. Longshang Village is a typical village in the Jiangning district of Nanjing, which is located in Southeast China. However, the village was transformed into a Minsu guesthouse village with the help of a rural reconstruction enterprise called Tianyuan Dongfang. Therefore, we investigated Longshang Village to understand the rural reconstruction enterprises involved in rural tourism gentrification. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. Twenty-one people were interviewed, including local government officials, Tianyuan Dongfang employees, entrepreneurs, lifestyle migrants, and village residents. Online resources were used as secondary data by following the public WeChat account of Tianyuan Dongfang. By analyzing the process and mechanism of rural tourism development in Longshang Village, we found that rural tourism gentrification involving rural construction enterprises represents the convergence of local governments' rural tourism development goals in the context of China's rural revitalization, rural tourism gentrification models explored by rural construction enterprises, and the motivations of gentrified groups for rural life or entrepreneurship. Specifically, local government and rural construction enterprises jointly create institutional conditions for developing rural tourism gentrification. In addition, rural reconstruction enterprises create rural landscapes with gentrified aesthetics, thereby enhancing the symbolic and commercial value of rural land and houses. Furthermore, rural reconstruction enterprises recruit gentrifiers with high economic and cultural capital to produce differentiated tourism products. Thus, the local government, rural reconstruction enterprises, and middle-class gentrifiers combined to transform Longshang Village from a typical suburban village into a tourism-gentrified village. In this process, rural construction enterprises acted as bridges that connected local governments and gentrifiers. This study presents a new model for the gentrification of rural tourism in China. The findings enrich research on the agents and motivations of gentrification and contribute to comparative gentrification studies by exploring new interaction patterns among the government, market, and social forces in rural tourism gentrification in locations where land is not privately owned. Furthermore, the findings provide theoretical guidance and empirical references for promoting rural revitalization through rural tourism in China.
Tropical cyclones frequently affect China. However, tropical cyclone rainfall studies in China have mostly focused on the characteristics of and variations in annual rainfall; research on the tropical cyclone rainfall event characteristics and trends remains relatively scarce. Tropical cyclone rainfall is often highly erosive, which negatively impacts regional water erosion processes. However, almost no research has been conducted on the rainfall erosivity of tropical cyclones in Chinese Mainland. The hourly rainfall and tropical cyclone path data from 1,097 meteorological stations affected by tropical cyclones in Chinese Mainland were analyzed from 1981 to 2020. The basic characteristics of and spatiotemporal variations in the tropical cyclone rainfall and rainfall erosivity in Chinese Mainland under climate change were analyzed. The main findings were as follows: 1) The furthest station affected by tropical cyclones in Chinese Mainland was located in northeastern China, 1,228 km away from the coastline. The average annual contribution of tropical cyclone rainfall to the total rainfall per station was 9.14% for stations in areas with frequent tropical cyclones (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan). Tropical cyclone rainfall contributed 11.85% on average to the annual rainfall erosivity. Less than one tropical cyclone rainfall event occurred per year in the northern regions. However, the average annual contributions of tropical cyclone rainfall to total rainfall and rainfall erosivity in this area were 14.16% and 17% during cyclonic years, respectively, with the highest contributions of 32% and 72%, respectively. Tropical cyclone rainfall, when occurring in northern regions, may pose higher risks of erosion and danger to humans. 2) Tropical cyclone rainfall in Chinese Mainland tended to increase with increasing rainfall amount, duration, intensity, and erosivity. The tropical cyclone event rainfall duration, highest hourly rainfall event intensity, and event rainfall amount significantly increased over the study period, increasing by 3.53%/10 a (P<0.1)、2.89%/10 a (P<0.1)、and 7.3%/10 a (P<0.1), respectively. Tropical cyclone rainfall events in China may pose more severe erosion risks under climate change. 3) The trends in various parameters were analyzed at 183 stations where tropical cyclones were frequent. These stations had been affected by tropical cyclones for over 30 years and experienced more than one tropical cyclone per year. The tropical cyclone rainfall (rainfall amount, duration, and average rainfall intensity per event) and erosivity (highest hourly rainfall intensity and rainfall erosivity per event) indicators increased over time at these stations. The highest hourly rainfall intensity and event rainfall erosivity trended upward over time at 78% of these stations, and more than 10% of all stations showed upward trends in these two indicators (P<0.05), with most of these stations located in northeastern Fujian Province and the coastal regions in Zhejiang Province. Increases in tropical cyclone rainfall amounts and rainfall erosivity will likely further intensify the erosion risk in these regions because the stations with upward trends in the indicators are mainly located in densely populated and developed coastal regions. The water erosion risk posed by extreme rainfall induced by tropical cyclones in Chinese Mainland will further increase under climate change. The implementation of targeted soil and water conservation measures should be strengthened, regardless of whether tropical cyclone rainfall is frequent, in areas affected by tropical cyclones in Chinese Mainland.
Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and escalating risks posed by extreme rainstorms, the complexity of urban hydrological systems and limitations of fragmented data-driven approaches underscore the necessity of constructing integrated frameworks to enhance rainstorm situation awareness. Traditional methodologies typically rely on isolated physical monitoring, digital modeling, or social response mechanisms and fail to address the interdependencies among physical infrastructure, informational technologies, and social systems. This study aims to deepen our understanding of how digital and intelligent technologies can be configured across a physical-informational-social ternary space to achieve robust urban rainstorm governance by identifying context-specific empowerment paths and their applicability to diverse urban typologies. Guided by the theoretical framework of the physical-informational-social ternary space, this study employs a mixed-method approach combining fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) modeling to investigate the pathways through which digital and intelligent tools empower urban rainstorm perception and to explore the disaster-affected characteristics of cities under different configurational paths. By tracking 35 typical Chinese cities, the fsQCA analysis reveals three differentiated empowerment configurations: (1) Balanced ternary space empowerment (G1), which achieves high-efficiency empowerment through three-dimensional collaboration among physical space data integration (including real-time sensor networks for hydrological monitoring), informational space intelligent analysis (including machine-learning-based risk prediction models), and social space emergency response (including interagency coordination systems), relying on dynamic interactions across the three domains. (2) Physically–socially dominant ternary space empowerment (G2): Grounded in core conditions of multisource data integration (combining meteorological, topographical, and citizen-generated data) and high disaster perception efficiency, this configuration incorporates peripheral conditions of server-side intelligence (including cloud-based data analytics) and user-side participation (including mobile application-driven hazard reporting), emphasizing data diversity and user-centric empowerment. (3) Physically–socially interactive binary space empowerment (G3): Empowerment is realized through the binary coupling of multisource data integration and high perception efficiency as the core conditions, prioritizing the technical synergy between physical monitoring and informational processing. Concurrently, a single-dimensional, low-empowerment configuration, which relies on isolated spatial data or technologies, is found to be insufficient for comprehensive disaster perception, thus empirically validating the necessity of ternary space configurational intersections. LDA topic modeling further demonstrates that different digital-intelligent empowerment patterns align with distinct disaster-sensitive city types: G3 suits hazard-sensitive cities (including Guangzhou), G2 matches vulnerable cities (including Xi'an), and G1 benefits exposure-sensitive megacities (including Beijing and Shanghai). Theoretical contributions of this study include constructing a "ternary space for urban rainstorm situation awareness" framework, which systematically analyzes the effects of digital-intelligent empowerment through the coupling mechanism of real-time physical space perception, intelligent informational space processing, and optimized social space decision-making—thereby transcending the limitations of traditional technological determinism. Methodologically, the research overcomes the constraints of single-method approaches by retaining fsQCA's strength in causal necessity analysis and integrating LDA's capability for semantic theme identification, forming a complete explanatory chain of "causal mechanisms-adaptive paths-type characteristics." At a practical level, this study proposes differentiated implementation strategies that provide both theoretical foundations and practical guidance for the digital and intelligent enhancement of urban rainstorm situation awareness.
In the era of post-covid globalization, the integration of geography and country and region studies is becoming increasingly urgent. This study draws on the concept of the "epistemic domain" to explore the convergence and possible pathways for integrating these two disciplines at the level of knowledge construction, research paradigms, and methodologies, using Southeast Asia as a case study. The "epistemic domain" (domain of knowledge) refers to the "space of knowledge," which is the manifestation of knowledge in different contexts such as "academic knowledge" and "public knowledge." It emphasizes the integration of traditional geographical knowledge and regional studies. The "epistemic domain" is characterized by multi-scale, multi-domain, and relativity. The conclusions suggest that the perspective of the "epistemic domain" helps to break down disciplinary boundaries and promotes the organic integration of geography and country and region studies. Combining these two fields will give rise to a new knowledge system for regional studies. The holistic perspective of geography, combined with the diverse perspectives of country and region studies, will foster innovative interdisciplinary research paradigms; the quantitative analysis of geography and qualitative research methods in countries and regions can also achieve complementary integration. Using Southeast Asia as an example, the integration of these disciplines should focus on the interaction between resource environments and socio-economic factors, intrinsic mechanisms of spatial political economy, and coexistence of cultural diversity in the region. This should be approached through an interdisciplinary research pathway that combines holistic and diverse perspectives, resulting in a balanced quantitative and qualitative "epistemic domain" methodology. Although the "epistemic domain" concept provides a new perspective on interdisciplinary integration, issues such as operational inadequacies and the potential overshadowing of global knowledge universality by regional orientations need to be addressed. Future dialogues and exchanges between different "epistemic domain" backgrounds must be strengthened. In summary, the close integration of geography and country and region studies within the "epistemic domain" framework aligns with contemporary development trends and will contribute new cognitive intelligence to address the challenges of global integration and regional diversity.
Abstract: Continental Shelf Delimitation in Global Ocean Governance: Legal, geopolitical, and Resource Dimensions. Continental shelf delimitation constitutes a central issue in global ocean governance because it directly involves sovereignty claims, access to marine resources, and stability of the international geopolitical order. With the increasing assertion of maritime rights by late-developing coastal states, tension between traditional maritime powers and emerging maritime nations has become increasingly visible. Against this backdrop, continental shelf delimitation practices have become testing grounds and catalysts for the evolution of maritime boundary governance, reflecting a dynamic interplay between international law, resource politics, and technological advancements in marine science. Research Purpose and Methods: This study provides a systematic review of the literature on continental shelf delimitation, with an emphasis on states' claims concerning sovereignty, resource entitlements, and geopolitical order. Through a comparative analysis of legal texts, judicial precedents, and case studies of disputes in different maritime regions, this review highlights commonalities and divergences in state practice. It also identifies the key obstacles faced by coastal states when invoking the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the principle of natural prolongation. Methodologically, this study relies on a doctrinal legal analysis combined with geopolitical interpretation, which enables an integrated understanding of how law and politics jointly shape the delimitation process. Results Three major findings emerged from this review. 1) Resource-based conflicts: Continental shelf areas are often rich in hydrocarbons, fisheries, and other marine resources. However, the transboundary and mobile nature of these resources makes them frequent sources of interstate conflicts. Fishery disputes in the North Atlantic, hydrocarbon competition in the Eastern Mediterranean, and overlapping claims in the Arctic illustrate how cross-border resource flows challenge stable delimitation and lead to the complex interweaving of multilateral negotiations and contested ownership. 2) Multidimensional boundary perceptions: Delimitation cannot be reduced to the purely geological question of natural prolongation. Coastal states are increasingly invoking historical rights, security concerns, and geopolitical spatial strategies to construct composite claims. The integration of legal, historical, and political arguments reflects the multilayered nature of contemporary maritime governance and demonstrates that boundary-making is as much a political process as it is a legal-technical exercise. 3) Limitations of the UNCLOS: Although the UNCLOS provides the principal legal framework for delimitation, its practical application is limited. The insufficient operationalization of natural prolongation rules, coupled with the inconsistent reliance on judicial precedents by international courts and tribunals, creates significant uncertainty. These gaps hinder coastal states from asserting sovereignty and fairly distributing resources, particularly late-developing maritime nations that lack the technical and legal capacity to substantiate their claims. Conclusion and Research Contributions: In light of these findings, this study proposes three directions for future research and the normative development of global ocean governance. First, the principle of natural prolongation should be re-examined and strengthened as a natural legal basis for dispute resolution, ensuring that geological realities continue to inform legal outcomes. Second, the continuity of historical rights should be incorporated into interpretive logic consistent with customary international law, recognizing that long-standing practices form part of legitimate maritime entitlements. Third, the interpretive gaps in UNCLOS should be supplemented by documenting and theorizing coastal states' practices, thereby enabling a more inclusive process of consensus building in global maritime rule making. This study contributes to the literature by offering a structured synthesis of the key legal, political, and resource-related dimensions of continental shelf delimitation. It highlights the ways in which boundary disputes reflect competing national interests and shape the evolution of the international maritime order. By bridging doctrinal analysis with geopolitical perspectives, this study underscores the need for adaptive governance mechanisms that can accommodate established powers and rising coastal states in the rapidly changing global ocean governance seascape.
The study of rural spatial distribution, an important aspect of rural research, has great significance in supporting comprehensive rural revitalization and integrated urban-rural development. Previous studies have mainly focused on distribution and factors. With the deepening of relevant research, the connotation of rural spatial distribution has become increasingly rich, where factor study has gradually expanded to an element study, which requires urgent restructure of overview framework. This overview presents the basic concepts of rural spatial distribution at two levels. The evolution of modern research was analyzed in chronological order, and changes in the number of publications, field distribution, and topic distribution in recent years were statistically analyzed using a literature database. Subsequently, based on the two-level meaning of rural spatial distribution, the research content was summarized into four types of units: natural geographic units, administrative regional units, professional characteristic units, and rural element units. Finally, looking ahead to the future research in this area. The conclusions were as follows. The study of modern rural spatial distribution in China is divided into five stages according to the timeline: before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the early years of the People's Republic of China, after the reform and opening up, the early 21st century, and the new era of socialism. Recently, an overall increase has been observed in the number of related publications. A multidisciplinary intersecting system centered on geography and integrating agriculture, economy, tourism, and architecture was formed from a macro-geographic perspective, which encompasses four research themes. Significant differences were noted in rural spatial distribution across different natural geographical units, where the administrative level affects the distribution characteristics and reorganization modes. Meanwhile, professional characteristic units conformed to important geographical spatial distribution patterns in China. Additionally, various rural elements revealed spatial differentiation in terms of land use and industry distance. In summary, it is recommended to establish a research system for natural geographic units as soon as possible; expand multiple-term research; conduct in-depth analysis of the influencing factors of administrative regional units; conduct cross-administrative research; explore the commonalities of rural spatial characteristics; enrich research on professional characteristic units; introduce new elements such as digitization, intelligence, and networking; and strengthen research on various element units. The significant contribution of this study is that it not only systematically sorts out the concept and development process of rural spatial distribution, but also analyzes the research status and integrates the content into four types of units. In addition, it prospectively guides future research and provides solid theoretical and practical guidance.
Special industries are being developed to revitalize rural areas. Aromatic tourism is a special industry that is important for expanding agricultural functions, increasing the economic value of rural services, innovating business formats, and promoting the in-depth development and integration of the first, second, and third industries: agriculture, culture, and tourism, respectively. Aromatic tourism is an increasingly strong driver of rural revitalization. This article thoroughly covers the concept of and research progress on aromatic tourism. CiteSpace 6.3.1 was used to analyze the knowledge map of domestic and international research on aromatic tourism. Aspects such as aromatic plant resources, the cultural value of aromatic festivals, and the integration and development of the aromatic industry and tourism were reviewed. The following results were obtained: 1) Research on aromatic plant resources, with aromatic plants as the core subject, mainly focused on how to effectively use their unique resource advantages to promote and optimize the tourism industry development. 2) Aromatic festivals and their cultural value have been researched different perspectives; however, the research has mostly focused on the perception of tourists regarding activities at tourist destinations. Historical periods differ in their manifestations of aromatic culture, which is inherently culturally valuable. 3) The research on integrating the aromatic industry and tourism has mainly explored the various applications of aromatic products in tourism scenes; the overall effects of aromatic tourism on the economy, society, culture, and ecology; and the pathway to deeply integrating the two industries. A research framework for aromatic tourism was constructed from three development levels: new directions for aromatic tourism research; new paths for integrating agriculture, culture, and tourism; and new fields for the rural revitalization strategy. Suggestions are proposed for developing aromatic tourism from the perspectives of optimizing the allocation and development of aromatic tourism resources; integrating and developing aromatic culture and tourism; innovating pathways for developing aromatic tourism products; conducting multidimensional research on aromatic tourism; identifying methods of integrating agriculture, culture, and tourism through aromatic tourism; and creating new areas for promoting rural revitalization strategies through aromatic tourism. Finally, research themes of aromatic tourism should be further deepened, research on the integration of aromatic tourism should be focused., and the mechanisms through which multiple industries can be integrated with aromatic tourism should be studied in depth. Research methods should be innovated to provide scientific and technological support for the aromatic industry. The integration of multiple disciplines should be deepened to comprehensively evaluate the benefits and form a more comprehensive understanding of the aromatic industry.
