Highlights

Please wait a minute...
  • Select all
    |
  • Liangjie Yang, Yaling Luo, Xiaohong Zhang, Yongchun Yang
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(3): 347-360. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240330

    Cities function as complex systems where subsystems interact to form higher-level urban complexes characterized by intricate nonlinear coupling relationships among various networks. Although a substantial amount of research on urban networks from the perspective of single-factor flow exists both domestically and internationally, such studies have limitations, as they do not fully capture the multifaceted nature of urban systems. Research on multi-city networks in China primarily examines the structural characteristics and dynamic mechanisms of networks with distinct attributes. While international studies have explored interactions and coupling effects among subsystems within complex systems, focusing on aspects like network robustness and cascading failures, relevant studies on urban networks remain relatively limited. This study proposes a comprehensive research framework called Correlation-Multiplex Coupling Networks-Coupling Linkage Effect Evaluation (CMC). Focusing on the coupling of enterprise and information networks in the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle, this study further analyzes the coupling linkage effect between these networks. The results indicate that: First, there exists a complex nonlinear coupling relationship between information and enterprise networks, with a correlation coefficient exceeding 0.625 and different degrees of interactive coupling between nodes; second, from 2011 to 2020, there were notable differences in the core-edge structures of the three networks within the twin-city economic circle. Interactions between cities in core areas were more frequent than those in peripheral areas, displaying a prominent "rich man clubs" phenomenon and preferential links. The hierarchical structure and "Matthew effect" of the urban network were evident. The enterprise network evolved from a dual-core, single-strong link structure to a dual-core, multiple-strong-link structure, achieving a more balanced network over time. The information network transitioned from a single-centered structure around Chengdu to a weaker dual-core structure, with Chongqing as a secondary core. Third, from 2011 to 2020, differences in coupling and linkage effects between enterprises and information networks were significant, with node coupling and linkage primarily at medium to low levels. Link coupling and linkage were mainly at medium to high levels, and interactive linkage weakened over time. The "rich club" phenomenon in coupled networks was stronger than in information networks but weaker than in enterprise networks. Compared to enterprise networks, the "Matthew effect" of coupled networks was less pronounced. In 2020, due to COVID-19 impacts, coupling and linkage between enterprise networks and information networks were significantly weakened, and urban comprehensive capacity did not markedly improve. This study expands the research perspective on urban networks, enriching the field by using a multiplex network approach and coupling coordination model, providing a methodological reference for similar research in other regions and enhancing understanding of the linkage effects among urban subsystems.

  • Kai Wang, Yan Zhao, Jiaxin Tan, Rui Guan, Chang Gan
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(3): 386-398. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20231005

    New urbanization is an important for narrowing the urban-rural income gap and providing powerful support for promoting regional cooperative development. Based on panel data of 71 county units in the Wuling Mountain Area from 2014 to 2021, the spatial effect and influence mechanism of new urbanization on the urban-rural income gap were investigated using the spatial Durbin, mediation effect, and panel threshold models. The results revealed the following: 1) A positive spatial correlation existed between new urbanization and urban-rural income gap in the Wuling Mountain Area. The local spatial clustering was dominated by the "low-high", and new urbanization had a significant spatial spillover effect on the urban-rural income gap. 2) New urbanization in the Wuling Mountain Area reduced the urban-rural income gap by increasing the level of digitally inclusive financial development and promoting upgrading the industrial structure. 3) The impact of new urbanization on the urban-rural income gap in the Wuling Mountain Area was constrained by itself and the level of economic development, and there was a single-threshold effect, which showed the law of diminishing margins and the inverted "U"-shaped change trend, respectively. Based on the spatial perspective and non-linear perspective, it investigated the spatial effect and influence mechanism of the new urbanization on the urban-rural income gap in the Wuling Mountain Area, which not only made up for the limitations of the existing research in exploring the relationship between the two from the perspective of localization, but also expanded the existing theoretical research system, and provided the theoretical basis and practical guidance for the Wuling Mountain Area and other underdeveloped areas to accelerate the two-way flow of urban and rural factors, to promote the organic integration of new urbanization and rural revitalization strategy, and to promote the realization of common prosperity.

  • Renrong Xiao, Pengjun Zhao, Ting Xiao, Yichun Gao, Juan Yang
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(3): 423-434. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240166

    China imports more than 80% of its iron via sea. The spatiotemporal patterns of iron ore shipping, as well as its changes, are linked to the China's national economic security. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the spatiotemporal patterns of global shipping. By studying the changing trend of China's iron ore import pattern during the pandemic, this study attempts to provide a basis and experience to prevent similar crises and improve supply chain resilience in the future. This study employs Automatic Identification System data to estimate China's iron ore imports during the COVID-19 pandemic from January to June 2020. Furthermore, this study integrates the standard deviation ellipse and origin-destination, flow analysis methods to examine changes in the iron ore trade pattern. The findings reveal the following. 1) The import pattern of iron ore in China exhibits pronounced geographical concentration. In terms of port distribution, the Bohai Rim serves as a core hub, hosting the majority of the country's major ore-receiving ports. Among them, the Caofeidian Port, Zhoushan Port, and Jinggang Port constitute three strategic fulcrums. 2) From the perspective of trade source countries, China's iron ore imports face substantial market concentration risks. Australia (accounting for over 60%) and Brazil (accounting for over 20%) contributed more than 80% of the total import volume, forming a highly dependent supply system. The main ports for iron ore exports from Australia are located on the west coast, including Ports Hedland, Dampier, and Walcott, while Port Itaqui in Brazil is also a major source of China's iron ore imports. 3) COVID-19 had the greatest impact on China's iron ore imports in February 2020. Imports rebounded in March as production resumed in China. In May, a higher import share in the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions shifted the import center slightly southward, although it remained along the southern boundary of the Bohai Rim port cluster. Despite the pandemic, the Bohai Rim ports retained their status as the primary import hubs. 4) Compared with 2019, iron ore exports from major exporters, including Australia, Brazil, South Africa, India, and Ukraine, increased from January to June 2020. China's dependence on iron ore from Australia and Brazil has decreased annually, while its dependence on Ukraine and India has increased. This has led to a westward shift in overseas iron ore supply centers. 5) Among ports with a monthly throughput exceeding 5 million tons, the iron ore supply to China from Australia's Ports Hedland, Dampier, and Walcott generally increased, whereas Brazilian Itaqui Port experienced a continuous decline in its supply to China starting in February. Among significant ports with a monthly throughput below 5 million tons, Peru's San Nicolas Port and South Africa's Saldanha Bay Port were the most severely impacted by the pandemic, with a notable reduction in their iron ore supply to China.

  • Wenliang Zhang, Junli Guo, Zhuocheng Liu, Lianqiang Shi, Zhaohui Gong, Daheng Zhang
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(3): 489-503. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240441

    Over the past 40 years, significant changes have occurred along the coastlines of Qinzhou Bay in China and Manila Bay in the Philippines. Understanding the patterns of these changes is important for the management and planning of coastal zones. This study is based on the Google Earth Engine platform, using the modified normalized difference water index, combined with the Otsu algorithm and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System, to extract the coastlines of Qinzhou Bay in China and Manila Bay in the Philippines over the past 40 years, and then analyze the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the two coastlines and the situation of reclamation. The results show that in the past 40 years, the coastline of Qinzhou Bay has generally advanced towards the sea, with a coastline length increase of 44.78 km, an average End Point Rate(EPR)of 6.81 m/a, and average Linear Regression Rate(LRR)of 6.16 m/a. Natural coastline length continued to decrease, whereas the proportion of artificial coastlines continued to increase. The Index of Coastline Utilization degree (ICUD) values show an upward trend, whereas the Index of Coastline Type Diversity (ICTD) values show a continuously decreasing trend. The Manila Bay coastline first increased and then decreased, with an overall decrease of 1.05 km—a relatively small change. The coastline also shows a trend of advancing towards the sea with an average EPR of 2.36 m/a and average LRR of 2.32 m/a. The proportion of natural coastlines continued to decline, whereas that of artificial coastlines gradually increased. The ICUD values showed a steadily increasing trend, whereas the ICTD values showed a downward trend. The cumulative area of reclamation in Qinzhou Bay has reached 6,674.27 hm2, with an average annual expansion rate of 196.30 hm2/a. Reclamation activities were significantly active and large-scale. However, the cumulative reclamation area of Manila Bay is only 1,718.59 hm2, with an average annual expansion rate of 50.55 hm2/a, indicating relatively limited reclamation activities. The reclamation intensity index and annual spatial expansion rate of Qinzhou Bay were higher than those of Manila Bay. Overall, compared to Manila Bay, the Qinzhou Bay coastline exhibited more significant characteristics in terms of change amplitude, change speed, and reclamation intensity. Reclamation activities have a significant impact on coastline changes, and port and dock construction and aquaculture are the main driving factors for reclamation.

  • Ziye Cheng, Anying Li, Wanrou Zheng, Xinyu Zhang, Zhanpeng Liu, Hao Ji, Xiaochun Tang
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(3): 504-513. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240527

    River terraces are important geomorphic indicators that reveal the evolution of rivers, and their climatic and tectonic responses. Dating is key to studying terrace evolution. In the past decade, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating has been widely applied in Quaternary geology and environmental research, and has solved a series of Quaternary chronology problems. This study selected well-exposed river terrace sections of the Zhenjiang River in the upper reaches of the Beijiang River as the research object and used ESR dating to analyze the ages and formation mechanisms of the terraces of the Zhenjiang River system. The experimental data show that the Ti-Li core dose-response curve of quartz in the sediment samples of the Zhenjiang River terraces fits well with the ESR signal strength, indicating that the terrace samples are stable and meet the requirements of ESR dating. Two age data were obtained from the bottom and the top of the ZJ-P1 profile, with ages of 654 ± 79 ka and 231 ± 29 ka respectively; three age data (576 ± 38 ka, 523 ± 55 ka and 256 ± 26 ka) were obtained from the bottom to the top of the ZJ-P2 profile, and three age data (392 ± 56 ka, 132 ± 15 ka and 41 ± 6 ka) were obtained from the bottom to the top of the ZJ-P3 profile, being respectively. These results reflect the continuous sedimentation of the strata. Through the comparative analysis with the existing thermoluminescence age data of the Zhenjiang River and adjacent basins, it is determined that there are two distinct river terraces on the left bank of the Zhenjiang River in the upper reaches of the Beijiang River, and the final formation times of T2 and T1 are approximately 231 ± 29 and 41 ± 6 ka, respectively. Similarly, the ages of the river terraces in the main basins of northern Guangdong obtained by different dating methods were similar, indicating that the rivers in northern Guangdong were generally incised during the Middle and Late Middle Pleistocene and that the main rivers in northern Guangdong have synchronous evolution characteristics. On the basis of sedimentary characteristics of the river terraces in the Zhenjiang section of the upper reaches of the Beijiang River, terrace dating data, and previous research, it is shown that the formation of the second terrace in the Zhenjiang section was mainly influenced by tectonic uplift movements; the final formation time was in the Middle and Late Pleistocene, and the first terrace was formed under the combined action of climate change and tectonic activity during the late Pleistocene. Based on the ages of the samples at the top of the T2 and T1 gravel layers and the incision heights, the corresponding incision rates were calculated to be 0.056 and 0.524 mm/a, respectively. Finally, a comparison with the downcutting rates of other river terraces in neighboring areas showed that the Jinjiang and Zhenjiang Rivers exhibited higher downcutting rates since the Middle to Late Pleistocene, indicating the presence of tectonic uplift in northern Guangdong during this period. This study determined the ages and formation mechanisms of low-level river terraces in the Zhenjiang River section using ESR dating and provides an important reference for the study of climatic and tectonic responses in northern Guangdong.

  • Sainan Lin, Xinyu Peng
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(2): 169-182. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240479

    Skilled migration is a pivotal phenomenon underpinning globalization that has attracted widespread scholarly interest; a nuanced understanding of the patterns and mechanisms of skilled migration is considered essential for fostering coordinated regional development and enhancing labor market allocation. To compare the domestic and international talent mobility research in the 21st century and advance China's talent mobility theory, In this paper, we reviewed Chinese and English literature from fields such as geography, urban planning, demography, economics, and management since 2000 via quantitative and qualitative analysis. Initially, we conducted bibliometric and keyword co-occurrence analyses using CiteSpace to identify research hotspots and trends; subsequently, we performed Qualitative Data Analysis Miner qualitative analysis as a supplementary approach to derive in-depth insights and determine connections between literature sources. Herein, we summarize the research hotspots regarding skilled migration, domestically and internationally. We found that concerning research hotpots, domestic research emphasizes the spatial distribution of different types of talent, the impact of urban factors on skilled migration, and the interplay between talent and urban innovation. In contrast, international research emphasizes more on the mobility decisions of highly skilled migrants within a globalization context, focusing on the impact of international high-skilled migration on the destination and origin countries, the micro-level mechanisms of migration decision-making (such as family dynamics, gender roles, and early career stages), and social adaptation in destination countries (including identity, sense of belonging, and related factors). Theoretically, both domestic and international studies are based on labor migration theory, examining skilled migration mechanisms from macro-regional and micro-individual perspectives, and expanding theoretical frameworks to include amenities and the creative class. However, owing to differences in social, economic, institutional, and developmental contexts among countries, these theories are not entirely applicable in practice, particularly regarding their explanatory power in the Chinese context, which requires further examination. Furthermore, in terms of research progress, we found that international studies are increasingly highlighting the life course of migrants and the socio-cultural micro-mechanisms influencing skilled migration, emphasizing the adoption of a combination of quantitative and qualitative analytical methods. Conversely, domestic research predominantly focuses on the spatial patterns of skilled migration and the effects of macro-urban factors, relying on quantitative analyses. Future research in China should aim to examine micro-mechanisms, develop indigenous theoretical frameworks to foster theoretical innovation, and enhance the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. Moreover, exploiting the potential of big data and emerging technologies could contribute towards overcoming limitations associated with data acquisition. On the basis of our survey of current theories and methods, we propose the following four directions for future research: (1) strengthening investigations into the micro-mechanisms of skilled migration; (2) developing indigenous theoretical frameworks to support theoretical innovation in China; (3) promoting the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods; and (4) enhancing data acquisition and exploiting big data and advanced technologies to overcome the current limitations associated with acquiring data.

  • Rongwei Wu, Yuanxin Wang, Qin Zhang, Liang Zhou
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(2): 183-196. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240649

    The number of highly educated individuals continues to grow, and the internal heterogeneity of this group is becoming increasingly evident. Examining these differences in location selection mechanisms from the perspective of heterogeneity is crucial for optimizing talent distribution. In this study, we used population census data from 2010 and 2020, along with 1% population sampling survey data from 2015 across various provinces. We employed the Gini coefficient and visualization methods to depict the spatiotemporal patterns of talent distribution at college, undergraduate, and graduate education levels in Chinese prefecture-level administrative regions. Employing a Beta regression model, we identified the factors that influence talent distribution across four dimensions: spatial sorting, spatial selection, spatial agglomeration, and comfort preferences. The key findings were as follows: 1) From 2010 to 2020, regional disparities in educational talent were ranked as postgraduate > undergraduate > college, with a decreasing trend in disparities for all three categories. 2) The proportion of college-, undergraduate-, and graduate-level educated individuals exhibited a clear administrative hierarchy, with the proportion of highly educated individuals decreasing from capital cities to provincial capitals (vice-provincial cities), prefecture-level cities, and regions. Hierarchical differentiation was most pronounced for graduate-level individuals, and was least pronounced for college-level individuals. 3) The Hu Huanyong Line serves as a dividing line for spatial structural differences in the distribution of highly educated individuals. To the southeast of the line, the spatial structure follows a pattern from the center (provincial capitals) to the periphery (general prefecture-level regions), with graduate-level individuals demonstrating the most characteristic spatial structure. Northwest of the line, a high-talent area for college and undergraduates extends from the Daxinganling Forest region in the east to Hami in the west. 4) Urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas are gradually becoming important spatial carriers of highly educated individuals, with the most typical examples being national-level urban agglomerations, especially the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. 5) From 2010 to 2020, dynamic changes in the concentration of talented individuals at the associate degree, undergraduate, and graduate levels exhibited a reverse core-periphery spatial structure. Specifically, the location quotient for talented individuals in capital and provincial-level cities (including sub-provincial cities) decreased, whereas it increased in prefecture-level cities and regions. Additionally, the dynamic changes in the concentration of talented people demonstrated regional differentiation; the location quotient for talented people in areas northwest of the Hu Huanyong Line showed an upward trend, whereas it decreased southeast of the line. Similarly, the location quotient for talented people in the eastern region declined, whereas it increased in the central and western regions. 6) In terms of spatial sorting, talented people at different educational levels tended to prefer prefecture-level administrative regions with higher incomes, higher administrative ranks, and larger urban populations, with the order of preference being graduate > undergraduate > college. Regarding spatial selection, higher housing costs and more competitive job markets in prefecture-level administrative regions generally demand higher educational qualifications, following the trend: graduate > undergraduate > college. In terms of spatial agglomeration, urbanization levels in prefecture-level regions foster clustering of talented people at all educational levels, with the effect being strongest for college-educated people, followed by undergraduate and graduate people. With regard to comfort preferences, regions with higher levels of social environmental comfort are more attractive for the aggregation of highly educated individuals. Our research findings will be helpful for different cities and regions in formulating differentiated talent recruitment policies.

  • Xin Lao, Haoyan Liu, Yixiu Zhang, Can Cui
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(2): 210-222. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240697

    In recent years, the number of Chinese university graduates has been progressively increasing, and their employment situation has become increasingly poor under the influences of the COVID-19 epidemic and downward economic pressure. The employment issue of university graduates has attracted considerable attention. The migration of university graduates is synthetically affected by multiple factors including individual-, family-, and city-level factors. A systematic theoretical framework of the influencing mechanism of the migration of university graduates, which combines these factors, is lacking. Moreover, extant studies have scarcely investigated the migration of university graduates from the overall perspective of family capital, let alone different factors considered by graduates with different family capital levels in the migration decision-making process. The role of human capital in the relationship between the family capital and migration of graduates still remains unknown. To address this gap, based on first-hand survey data on the migration of new graduates from 78 universities in eight cities in 2022, this study employs a nested logit model to examine the influencing factors on the intercity migration of university graduates from both the individual and city levels, and reveals the dual influencing mechanism of family capital (economic, cultural, and social capital) and human capital (education qualification, university type, student cadre status, academic records, certificates, and internship experience). The results demonstrate that: 1) Family capital exerts a significantly positive impact on the intercity migration of university graduates. Graduates with higher levels of family capital are more inclined to move to higher-level cities. Compared with graduates whose parents have an annual income level below 90 thousand RMB and highest education qualification below a college degree, graduates whose parents have an annual income level above 90 thousand RMB and highest education qualification above a college degree are more likely to flow to first-tier and second-tier cities. 2) The influence of family capital on the migration of graduates presents significant heterogeneity. When choosing employment cities, graduates with a higher level of family capital pay more attention to urban economic and amenity factors. Compared with graduates with lower levels of family capital (represented by lower parental income levels, lower educational qualification levels, and parents' non-managerial or professional occupations), graduates with higher levels of family capital (opposite to their counterparts) are more affected by income levels, living costs, environmental quality, medical resources, and cultural resources, in selecting employment cities. 3) The human capital of graduates plays both a positive mediating role and a certain degree of a negative moderating role in the impact of family capital on the migration of graduates. All the variables of human capital play a positive mediating role, that is, family capital positively influences the migration of graduates by affecting their human capital; however, some variables of human capital (student cadre status, academic records, certificates, and internship experience) play a negative moderating role, that is, the human capital accumulated in the university can weaken the impacts of family capital on the migration of graduates. By introducing a spatial perspective, this study provides not only empirical evidence for the response to the social concern about whether getting good jobs depends on family background or personal efforts, but also scientific references for promoting the full employment of graduates and guiding the rational talent flows.

  • Honggang Qi, Jian Chan, Junjie Shi, Ruihui Luo
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(2): 223-237. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240626

    Understanding the factors influencing the return of high-level scientific and technological talent from outside China's customs borders is important for optimizing the policy practice of introducing high-level talent from abroad. Based on the biographical information of 1,248 high-level scientific and technological talents who had studied or worked outside China's customs borders and then returned to China to obtain the National Outstanding Young Scientist Fund from 2009 to 2020, this study analyzes the characteristics of the spatial pattern of the return of high-level scientific and technological talents from outside China's customs borders and their influencing factors using social network analysis and a nested logit model, respectively. The results reveal the following: The outflow city network for talents from outside China's customs borders centers around Hong Kong (China) and Cambridge (USA), while the inflow city network is centered on Beijing and Shanghai. There are notable regional differences in the distribution of cities where these talents return.Cambridge (USA) is the primary source of returning talents to Beijing and Shanghai, while Singapore is the main source of returning talents to Nanjing. For Guangzhou and Wuhan, Hong Kong (China) serves as the main source of returning talents.At the individual level, academic ties and the level of talent introduction programs significantly influence the choice of cities for returning talents. At the macro level, high salaries, significant investment in science and technology, and a high concentration of top-tier scientific research platforms in Chinese cities are the primary factors attracting high-level talents from outside China's customs borders. Additionally, the quality of educational service facilities and favorable climate conditions also play a significant role in influencing city choices.Individual heterogeneity exists in the influence of urban macro-factors on location choices for talent return. Male talents, those with mobility experience, or those who have resided outside China's customs borders for an extended period tend to place greater emphasis on academic and social ties as well as support from high-level talent introduction programs. Conversely, talents returning later are more influenced by higher salary levels and the availability of top-tier scientific research platforms in the city.Compared with existing studies that primarily focus on analyzing the influence mechanisms of talent return driven mainly by policy factors, this study contributes to revealing the joint impact of government policy factors and market-oriented factors on the return of high-level scientific and technological talents.

  • Wenwan Jin, Xinyi He, Shengjun Zhu, Xudong Zhang
    Tropical Geography. 2025, 45(2): 275-290. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240640

    In the knowledge economy era, technological innovation has become increasingly crucial in forming international competitive advantages and driving national economic development. However, the global distribution of technological innovation remains uneven, with a sustained "core-periphery" structure. From the perspective of evolutionary economic geography, technological development paths are closely linked to the local knowledge base, making it generally difficult to overcome spatial constraints. Consequently, the path-dependent nature of national technological development may reinforce the disadvantageous position of late-developed countries in global technological progress, further widening the technological development gap. In this context, exploring how latecomer countries can achieve innovation breakthroughs spatially becomes essential. From the viewpoint of talent mobility, we employ a global patent database and data on the stock of highly skilled mobile talent to construct a country-time-level econometric model to analyze the impact of birthplace diversity among highly skilled talent on the ability of destination countries to achieve place-breaking innovations. Additionally, we conduct group regression based on multidimensional proximity (geographic, cultural, and institutional) to analyze the varying roles of different talent groups. Our findings reveal that greater diversity in the birthplaces of mobile talent significantly increases the likelihood of destination countries accessing new technological fields unrelated to their existing knowledge base. This suggests that the diversity of talent's country of origin positively influences place-breaking innovations in the destination country. Moreover, we find that multidimensional proximity affects the mechanism by which talent diversity drives place-breaking innovations. Specifically, talent diversity has a stronger impact on breakthroughs between geographically and culturally distant countries, while institutional distance appears less significant. This is likely because mobile talent from geographically distant countries brings more differentiated knowledge and skills, helping destination countries overcome geographical constraints on technological development. In contrast, between culturally closer countries, mobile talent faces fewer communication and integration barriers, which enhances the positive effects of their birthplace diversity. The results suggest that, when introducing highly skilled migrants, countries should focus not only on the scale and quality of talent but also the diversity of talent origins. Actively recruiting highly skilled individuals with diverse skills and differentiated knowledge can foster technological development, help overcome geographical constraints, and achieve technological catch-up. Additionally, countries should cultivate supportive linguistic, cultural, and social environments to ease the cross-cultural adaptation challenges faced by highly skilled immigrants. Simultaneously, countries should promote interaction among diverse talent groups, facilitate communication with local talent, and build affiliation networks to better leverage the benefits of talent diversity. These insights provide important guidance for latecomer countries in designing immigration and innovation policies and offer a new direction for future research. Future studies should explore non-proprietary innovation behaviors, delve into the integration and exchange among different talent groups at the micro level, and examine the underlying mechanisms using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

  • Wei Wei, Yunsheng Duan, Li Yin, Liming Bo, Junnan Xia
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(11): 1933-1948. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230393

    Urban, agricultural, and ecological spaces, collectively referred to as the "three types of space," are central elements in China's Territorial and Spatial Planning reforms. These spaces are crucial in bridging the National Main Functional Area Planning and regional coordinated development strategies at a higher level and in guiding land-use control at a lower level. The Pearl River Basin is one of China's most important economic development regions. This basin serves as a crucial region for the case study of evolution of the "three types of space." Understanding this evolution is critical for aligning regional land use with national strategic objectives and optimizing the coordinated development of these spatial elements. Using the National Main Functional Area Planning strategy as a starting point, this study applied a cross-conversion matrix and a multiscale geographically weighted regression model to analyze the evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of the "three types of spaces" in the Pearl River Basin from 1990 to 2020. Three main results were obtained. First, over the past 30 years, urban space in the Pearl River Basin has expanded considerably, ecological space has slightly increased, but agricultural space has significantly decreased, with marked spatial differences in the evolution of the "three types of spaces" across the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the basin. Agricultural space has fully decreased across all reaches, converting to urban space in the lower reaches and reverting to ecological space in the upper and middle reaches. Second, within different national functional zones, urban space growth is most pronounced in urbanized areas, ecological space recovery is significant in ecological functional zones, and agricultural space has remarkably decreased in major agricultural production areas. Third, the driving factors for the different evolution directions of the "three types of spaces" in the Pearl River Basin vary. Industrial development has significantly driven the expansion of urban spaces, whereas ecological protection policies have effectively promoted the restoration of ecological spaces in key ecological areas. These findings effectively reveal the land-use evolution process in China's socioeconomic development regions over the past 40 years, highlight the risks and influencing factors of rapid urban space development and ecological space threats, and provide an important reference for optimizing land-use patterns in similar key regions of China.

  • Yifei Chen, Jinliao He
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(11): 1949-1961. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230658

    It is a common geographical phenomenon that the birthplaces of talented individuals tend to cluster; however, this has not been fully explored in human geography. Existing studies primarily focus on the spatial mobility of talents after their development, overlooking the influence of the environment in which they grow up. Based on cultural capital theory, this paper examines Chinese pop singers by analyzing their birthplaces and their relationship with local cultural capital. Using GIS methods, such as kernel density analysis, the study visualizes the spatial clustering characteristics of Chinese pop singers and explores the factors influencing the spatial distribution of their birthplaces through a negative binomial regression model. The findings suggest that: 1) The birthplaces of Chinese pop singers exhibit a multi-core spatial structure, with Taiwan, Beijing, and Sichuan as the epicenters. "Beijing-Hong Kong" serves as the main destination for established pop singers, followed by "Shanghai-Chengdu-Taipei". Notably, underdeveloped western regions, such as Xi'an, Urumqi, and Kunming, also show an advantage in nurturing Chinese-speaking pop singers. 2) The spatial distribution of Chinese pop singers' birthplaces differs from China's regional economic development patterns. Regions rich in cultural capital, such as Sichuan and Northeast China, are relatively prolific in producing pop singers. The number of Chinese pop singers from new first- and second-tier cities like Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, and Harbin exceed that of the first-tier city of Guangzhou. The study shows that cultural capital factors have a significant positive impact on the distribution of Chinese pop singers. The rich cultural capital and favorable local music culture have fostered a long-standing music tradition, providing a supportive environment for pop singers. For example, Sichuan, with its rich folk music heritage, such as Sichuan Qingyin, Xiling Mountain Songs, and Dongjing Music, has also established China's first popular music college. 3) The increase in local cultural capital can benefit the growth and cultivation of Chinese pop singers, although the significance varies by type of cultural capital. Educational and cultural capital, on the one hand, enhances singers' musical creativity by embodying cultural capital, shaping habits, cultivating music aesthetics, and acquiring skills; on the other hand, it inspires young students' interest in music. Geographical and environmental factors serve as sources of artistic inspiration for cultural products and create a melting pot for diverse ethnic cultures. The factors of music industrialization reflect the specialization of local music industry networks, such as discovering and cultivating new musical talents and promoting music collaboration and production. This study provides a comprehensive empirical analysis of the role of local cultural capital in cultivating creative talents and offers constructive suggestions for enhancing regional cultural industry strategies.

  • Zhuo Huang, Miaoxi Zhao
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(11): 1978-1989. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230343

    Currently, global uncertainties and instabilities are increasing significantly. Therefore, research on the evolution of urban industrial network resilience is essential for strengthening the ability of urban industries to withstand major events. This study constructs a network of firms using data on corporate headquarters and branches in Dongguan registered between 1979 and 2020. It analyzes the evolution of urban industry network resilience through interruption simulations and complex network invulnerability. The study empirically examines the resilience of Dongguan's industrial network, focusing on single-node resilience, overall network resilience, and regional network resilience. The results indicate the following: (1) In the single-node simulation attack of the Dongguan industrial network, the impact of urban core nodes on network resilience gradually weakens. The differences between urban core nodes and general town nodes continue to diminish, and the network's resistance to single-node disruptions tends to stabilize. (2) Compared to random attacks, deliberate attacks can cause networks to collapse faster. However, as Dongguan's industrial networks evolved toward a multi-center structure, the impact of targeted attacks on network resilience gradually decreased. (3) The resilience of Dongguan's industrial network to Shenzhen is lower than that to Guangzhou. However, the strength of enterprises inside and outside the city tends to balance, and the resilience level of the regional network is gradually stabilizing. (4) Overall, the evolution of industrial network resilience in Dongguan is characterized by a shift from a single-center network with a low level of resilience to a multi-center network with a higher level of resilience. The innovation of this research lies in two key areas: First, it provides valuable contributions to related research on urban network resilience and industrial resilience by introducing the concepts and methods of interruption simulation and complex network invulnerability. Second, by conducting a long-term, continuous analysis of network resilience, this study explores the evolution of network resilience from a dynamic perspective, offering a fresh viewpoint for existing static network resilience studies. Therefore, based on this research, the study suggests that constructing a multi-centric development structure and strengthening coordination among industries at various nodes can effectively improve the resilience level of the industrial network. Meanwhile, it is important to focus on balancing internal and external forces in the development of urban industries to avoid excessive interference from external industries on local urban industries.

  • Zhengqian Liu, Yonghua Luo, Yuanguang Yang, Danna Lyu, Dongju Jiang, Yuyao Ye
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(11): 2050-2062. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.2024125

    Ecological protection and restoration of territorial space is a national strategy aimed at safeguarding China's ecological security and enhancing people's well-being in the new era of ecological civilization. Establishing a legal framework for ecological protection and restoration of territorial space is a key strategic requirement for China to build the "multiple pillars" of ecological civilization. However, the legal provisions related to ecological protection and restoration are currently dispersed across various environmental laws and basic environmental legislation, making it difficult to provide robust support for the construction of a comprehensive legal system for ecological protection and restoration of territorial space. This study employs a textual analysis to systematically review the history of China's ecological protection and restoration legislation since 1978, tracing the evolution of relevant environmental laws, revealing the legislative foundations for the protection and restoration of national land space, and offering critical insights and references for building a legal framework that promotes integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands in the new era. The evolution of legal themes related to ecological protection and restoration of territorial space in China has undergone three stages: natural resource management and utilization (1978‒2011), single-element protection (2012‒2017), and barrier zone ecological protection and restoration (2018‒2023), marking three levels of transformation. From the perspective of legislative objectives, the focus has shifted from legislation concerning individual natural resources elements, such as mountains, water, forests, grasses, and seas, to comprehensive legislation targeting key regional ecosystems. In terms of legislative goals, the shift has been from single-element governance aimed at singular objectives to multi-objective, synergistic protection and restoration of mountains, water, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, sands, and more, through an integrated approach. Additionally, the legislative framework has transitioned from managing natural resources to managing integrated ecosystems. These changes and innovations have laid a foundation for China to establish a legal system for ecological protection and restoration of territorial space, focused on integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, water, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands in the new era. However, challenges remain, such as the absence of legal norms to implement the new concepts and approaches, unclear departmental responsibilities, and insufficient public participation mechanisms. Moving forward, it is essential to fully implement the ecosystem approach, develop a management system with centralized jurisdiction, joint coordination, and step-by-step refinement centered on the "two unified" responsibilities of the natural resources departments, and deepen legislation to enhance public participation. Additionally, leveraging the combined expertise of multiple disciplines and fields will support legislative research and practical exploration, leading to the comprehensive establishment of a legal system for the ecological protection and restoration of territorial space.

  • Ruirui Liu, Lin Lu, Jieqi Chen, Yan Xu, Qian Li
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(11): 2063-2077. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230513

    The development of urbanization has fostered the rise of instrumental rationality and the decline of value rationality, leading to a diminishing sense of belonging among individuals in fast-paced urban life. As a result, rurality has become a core attraction for rural tourists. Research on rurality has emerged as a key topic in the fields of rural geography and rural tourism. However, relatively little research has focused on how to realize micro-level human-land interactions and achieve a subjective understanding of rurality in rural tourism destinations from a cognitive perspective. Schema theory offers a framework to explore this issue. Amid the confrontation and integration of modernity and provinciality, the rurality of rural World Heritage sites, by preserving the integrity and authenticity of traditional rural social structures, enhances tourists' local attachment and local experiences. This paper uses Hongcun, a rural World Heritage site, as a case study, introducing schema theory to explore the cognitive schema of rurality and its generation mechanism among tourists by conducting a grounded theory analysis of travel notes on Ctrip. Through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, a model of rurality cognitive schema and its generation mechanism was constructed. The findings are as follows: 1) Tourists acquire a concrete schema of rurality through embodied experiences and behavioral interactions, which resonate with and enrich their existing schemas, facilitating schema integration across time and space; 2) The existing schema, shaped by cultural background and individual experience, serves as the foundation for tourists to form cognitive schemas. The local characteristics of traditional Chinese rural society and the traditional culture passed down through generations are embedded in individuals' existing schemas. Tourists' existing schemas interact with the rural tourism environment, engaging in both top-down and bottom-up cognitive processing through anticipation contrast, uniqueness contrast, feature association, and cross-temporal imagination. 3) The rural cognitive schema consists of four sub-schemas: the natural ecological schema, life schema, cultural schema, and place atmosphere schema. The natural ecological schema emphasizes tourists' perception of the interplay between rural nature and humanity. The life schema pertains to daily life scenes observed at the tourist destination, while the cultural schema refers to the local culture formed through the development and evolution of the destination. The place atmosphere schema captures the abstract perception and impression of the destination, formed through the interaction between tourists' embodied experiences and their existing schemas. The natural ecological schema provides the spatial foundation for both the life and cultural schemas, while the latter two exert external influences on the natural ecological schema, helping shape the rural area's natural and humanistic characteristics. The cultural schema informs and regulates the life schema, while the life schema simultaneously practices and reshapes the cultural schema. Together, these schemas, along with the place atmosphere schema, form a comprehensive cognitive network of rural nature. This study is significant for deepening the understanding of the connotation and formation mechanism of rurality, exploring human-local interaction from a microscopic perspective, and offering theoretical and practical guidance for the development of rural tourism through the mining of rurality and culture.

  • Wen Guo, Shangyi Zhou, Min Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Shaowei Ai, Peng Li, Shuangyu Xie, Yajuan Li, Xing Chen, Xu Zhang, Zhiyuan Yu, Dawei Li, Haoping Dong
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(9): 1527-1548. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003902

    "Zibo Barbecue," "Village Premier League," "Erbin Phenomenon," "Tianshui Spicy Hot Pot," "Wang Po Matchmaking," "Chengdu Disney," "London's Canary Wharf," and other phenomenal events at home and abroad have become popular on the Internet, shaping a new landscape of online and offline network technology and a new form of social space. The new comprehensive spatial effects of network technology and traffic orientation have led to clear changes in daily life, spatiotemporal structure, social organizational forms, relationships, placeness, and identity. However, academic research on this phenomenon has been insufficient. Against the backdrop of new media technology that promotes social change and frequently affects people's daily lives, further discussion is necessary. This study organized well-known experts and young scholars to conduct academic analysis of the digital practice of Internet-famous sites and the production of new spatial forms. Presenting scholars' understanding of and reflections on the phenomenal events of Internet-famous sites from different perspectives is conducive to enhancing deep understanding of new phenomena in academia. In practice, the presentation of this research can both be a reference and provide inspiration for network technology, spatial-order guidance, local construction, and socioeconomic development.

  • Fei Xu, Ji Yang, Wenlong Jing, Yingbin Deng, Lingling Zhao, Zehua Li
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(9): 1549-1561. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240234

    With water resource shortages becoming a global concern, water conservation is one of the key factors in the sustainable development of watershed ecosystems. However, previous studies of water conservation have focused on annual mean water conservation, which does not reflect changes in water conservation on shorter time scales. Shorter time scales have more significant responses than longer timescales. An annual scale reflects the supply function of the water culverts, whereas a shorter time scale reflects the function of stagnant flood replenishment. Thus, we analyzed the annual, monthly, and daily changes in water conservation in the Zengjiang River Basin, an important water source area and ecological barrier in Guangzhou, from 1959 to 2018. The WEP-L distributed hydrological model and water-balance equations were used to explore the supply, regulation, and peak reduction and replenishment of the water conservation dryness functions. The results indicate that the annual mean water conservation in the Zengjiang River Basin was 685.7 mm from 1959 to 2018, with a non-significant decreasing rate (-1.30 mm/a) during this period. This decreasing trend indicates that the water supply capacity of the basin decreased, which is not conducive to the water security of the basin and downstream areas. Therefore, relevant policies should be formulated and measures should be taken to improve the water conservation capacity of the basin. The multi-year average monthly water conservation in the Zengjiang River Basin was positive in January‒September and negative in October‒December, with non-significant increases in water conservation in January, March, June, November, and December, and non-significant decreases in the other months. The trend ranged from -0.04 to -0.67 mm/a during the entire study period. Water conservation changes in the Zengjiang River Basin during pre-flood, post-flood, and dry-water periods indicate that the basin's ability to regulate water conservation runoff weakened. The maximum 1-day, 3-day, 5-day, and 7-day periods in the Zengjiang River Basin were positive, whereas the minimum 1-day, 3-day, 5-day, and 7-day periods were negative. Except for the minimum 5-day and 7-day periods, the other six daily extreme water conservation indicators exhibited non-significant increasing trends. The maximum water conservation values indicate that the peak reduction capacity increased, while the minimum water conservation values indicate that the capacity to replenish depletion decreased in 1- and 3-day periods and increased in 5- and 7-day periods. Spatially, the annual water conservation trend was low in the southeastern and northern parts of the basin, and high in the southwestern part of the basin. Annual, monthly, and daily water conservation levels in the Zengjiang River Basin from 1959 to 2018 embodied its supply, regulation, peak reduction, and replenishment of depletion functions, respectively. The correlation coefficients between water conservation and precipitation were significantly higher than those between evapotranspiration and surface runoff, thereby indicating that precipitation was the most important factor influencing water conservation. The findings of this study reveal multi-temporal evolutionary processes and functional differences in water conservation and provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and construction.

  • Yuling Huang, Ning An, Bo Zhang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(9): 1615-1624. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230439

    Microbes have consistently coexisted with humans and have profoundly influenced their daily practices. Accompanied by the new materialists' rethinking of the ontology and epistemology of nonhuman matter, and based on the 'Object Oriented Ontology' proposed by Harman, this paper attempt to reinterpret the dynamic relationship between viruses, human bodies, and cities in the process of movement. By reinterpreting the communication patterns between human bodies and viruses, as well as the topological networks between human bodies and cities, this study aimed to reveal the biosocial attributes of cities from the perspective of transcending anthropocentrism." The findings indicate that (1) symptoms and attitudes towards viruses are embodied communication processes between the human body and the virus and that the outcome of embodied communication is influenced by temporal and spatial dimensions. This finding contributes to the reshaping of the humanity-virus relationship, prompting humanity to value the agency of viruses and to confront how viruses coexist and cohabit in the human body and urban spaces; (2) The mobilities of viruses cross boundaries and scales between a human body and cities. By focusing on the mobilities of viruses between extended bodies to explore the interactions between bodies and cities, this study reveals the mobilities and biosocial properties of the city; that is, the city is viewed as a topological biosocial network that transcends boundaries. Using the mask as an example, this study reveals how the extended body affects and alters material connections–that is, how social, policy, and cultural meanings are embedded in the construction and reconstruction of urban topological networks–and how the network of relationships attached to the body creates connections to better cope with the impacts of viral mobilities. Overall, based on the concepts of embodied communication' and an extended body, the results of this study provide new perspectives on micro-mobilities in human geography, enriching the dynamics of the relationship between cities and bodies. First, it re-examines the dichotomy between health and disease as a dynamic relational process by understanding the relationship between humans and viruses from a geographic perspective so that health study pays attention to the dynamics of other elements in the relational network. Second, the findings also expand the connotation and application of the concept of the 'extended body,' enriching the understanding of the dynamic relationship between the body and the city, and revealing the interactions between macro-socio-cultural politics and micro-body behavioral practices in the context of viral pandemics. Viewing the relational nature and attributes of the city through the prism of microbial mobility, draws our attention towards how a city is formed through connections between human and nonhuman matter and exhibits that this relational space is constantly fluid. This turn of thinking, which reflects the connotations and extents of space in a network-nested manner, has inspired geographers to pay attention to the complex network of relationships between people and spaces, where humans, microbes, and cities are seen as a collection of complex relationships. Therefore, the object of urban governance is not limited to humanity but should also be concerned with other nonhuman matters, and the relationships generated between people and nonhuman matters.

  • Chuantang Ren, Tao Wang, Cong Xie, Luwei Wang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(9): 1636-1649. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230476

    In the era of the knowledge economy, the production, distribution, and application of knowledge play increasingly important roles in the production of regional innovations, and the phenomenon of networking of knowledge interactions is becoming increasingly obvious. Knowledge interactions are an important driving mechanism of urban innovation performance, and the effects of local and non-local knowledge interaction linkages on urban innovation performance need to be clarified. This paper explains urban innovation performance on the basis of the "Network Capital" theoretical framework and argues that it is a function of the stock of network capital in each region; that is, the stock of local and cross-border connected network capital and the interrelationships between the two (complementarity, balance and synergy, etc.) are the key mechanisms driving urban knowledge acquisition and innovation performance. Through the analysis of patent transfer data, this study investigated the classification of Chinese urban innovation network patterns from the perspective of the strength of local (intra-city) and cross-border (inter-city) innovation linkages and analyzed the impacts of local and cross-border knowledge interaction linkages on urban innovation performance. The empirical results for China's biomedical industry led to the following conclusions: (1) The activity of knowledge interactions in Chinese cities is increasing, with the proportion of cross-border linkages steadily rising and the gap between them and local linkages gradually widening. Knowledge interactions in Chinese cities exhibit a high degree of spatial imbalance, with knowledge interactions evolving from being sparse to dense while the imbalance intensifies, exhibiting characteristics such as hierarchy, gradient, and agglomeration. (2) The knowledge interaction portfolio model based on local and cross-border linkages categorizes cities into four types: Networked, Outward-oriented, Inward-oriented, and Isolated. The distribution of Networked-type cities is clearly concentrated in the central and eastern regions, and the spatial bias has been strengthened with the evolution of time. The distribution of Isolated-type cities is biased toward the inland regions, whereas Outward- and Inward-oriented cities are mainly interspersed in the central and western areas, among which Networked-type cities play an extremely important role in the innovation network system and are responsible for the main functions of innovation output. (3) Local and cross-border linkages and their degree of complementarity play a significant role in promoting urban innovation performance. Conversely, the degree of local and cross-border balance and their synergy are insignificant on urban innovation performance. The results show that for the innovative development of China's biomedical industry at the city level, the focus should be on increasing the strength of local and cross-border knowledge interaction linkages as well as the complementary roles of the two, and that it is not appropriate to pursue a balanced and synergistic development of the two at the current stage of development. This study has systematically investigated the roles of the complementary, balanced, and synergistic relationships between local and cross-border linkages in urban innovation performance, and its findings enrich the current literature on "Network Capital."

  • Cai Jin, Tan Li, Baohang Hui, Xin Lao, Tiyan Shen
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(9): 1667-1685. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230575

    The primary objective of a regional integration strategy is to foster talent agglomeration and knowledge spillover, thereby enhancing the high-quality development of the regional economy. Extant literature predominantly concentrates on talent distribution and the pattern of knowledge spillover under integration policy. However, scant attention has been paid to the causal inference of regional integration policy on talent aggregation and knowledge spillover. Under the new economic structure of establishing a unified national market and high-quality development, a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of integration policy in relation to talent aggregation and knowledge spillover is pivotal for shaping regional talent policies and refining theories of population mobility. To address this gap, this study employs time-varying Difference-In-Differences (DID) and spatial DID approaches to empirically assess the influence and underlying mechanisms of regional integration policy within the context of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration. The analysis reveals three key findings. First, the integration policy demonstrates a substantial facilitative impact on talent aggregation and knowledge diffusion within the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, bolstering these processes by 10.5% and 14.8%, respectively, and exhibiting significant spatial spillover effects. This indicates that the policy not only attracts talent to specific regions but also encourages the spread of knowledge beyond the immediate geographical boundaries of the targeted areas. Second, heterogeneity analysis shows that the policy effectively enhances talent aggregation and knowledge spillover in central cities, with no significant influence observed in peripheral cities. This disparity suggests that central cities, with their advanced infrastructure and economic opportunities, are better positioned to capitalize on the benefits of the integration policy. Furthermore, from a demographic perspective, the policy exhibits a more pronounced positive effect on talent aggregation and knowledge spillovers in medium- and large-scale cities. This trend underscores the importance of city size and demographic factors in the successful implementation of integration policies. Third, mechanistic analysis indicates that the beneficial impacts of the policy on talent concentration are more pronounced in cities characterized by higher levels of urbanization, investment, market integration, education, income level, public service provision, and transportation infrastructure. These factors collectively create an environment conducive to talent attraction and retention, amplifying the effects of the integration policy. Furthermore, the policy has significantly enhanced talent agglomeration by increasing the stock of human capital, highlighting the role of education and skill development in fostering regional economic growth. In conclusion, this study provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for urban agglomerations aiming to spearhead the high-quality advancement of regional economies. By revealing the intrinsic laws and influence mechanisms of regional integration policy, the findings offer valuable insights for policymakers seeking to optimize talent policies and promote sustainable economic development. The empirical evidence highlights the importance of targeted policy interventions that consider the unique characteristics of different urban areas, thereby ensuring a balanced and inclusive approach to regional development. Future research should continue to explore the long-term effects of integration policies and their potential to drive innovation and economic resilience in an increasingly interconnected world.

  • Hejian Zhu
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(8): 1341-1346. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003847

    In the present state of geography, this study proposes a deep integration of physical and human geography. It involves the integration of knowledge from these two sub-disciplines of geography. Notably, it extracts the integrated thinking of liberal arts and science from the deep integration of physical and human geography. This serves as the focal point of geographical innovation, demonstrating its distinctive allure through three key aspects: Geography is considered as a basic applied discipline with ontological cross connection of liberal arts and science. Establishing an ontological integration of liberal arts and scientific perspectives enhances academic literacy for geographers. The innovation in higher education of geography aims to nurture a new generation of geography talents by integrating liberal arts and scientific thinking. Geographical innovation is primarily rooted in the deep integration of physical and human geography. Thus, geography emerges as an irreplaceable discipline for addressing several issues involving the national economy and social development. With its distinctive allure, geography proudly takes its place among the sciences.

  • Wen Guo
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(8): 1347-1359. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003900

    Based on the analytical framework of geographical philosophy, this study investigated the production process at different stages, overall laws, ideological inspiration, and future issues of geographical knowledge production and practice in China. The main findings are as follows: First, philosophy is an important foundation supporting the production of geographical knowledge. The production of geographical knowledge should be seen as a process of content division and succession, in which new knowledge is gradually accumulated and there is movements towards wholeness. Second, in geographical knowledge production, geography reflects the actuality of knowledge through manifested features and reflects the reality of knowledge through unexpressed features. Geographical knowledge production exists dynamically in practice. Exploring the driving forces and processes of geographical knowledge production in practice can facilitate the comprehension of the existence and essence of geography. Only by coordinating stage differences in geography to achieve universal awareness can the effective function and ultimate pursuit of geographical philosophy be reflected. Third, in the future, China will inevitably enter a complex stage of development and practice, and "overlapping China" will require even more "overlapping geographical knowledge". Knowledge production and practice of geography require a comprehensive perspective that integrates wisdom from different temporal and spatial dimensions, establishment of clear philosophical ontology, epistemology, and methodology based on the changes and demands of the times, actively promoting the localization of geographical philosophy system construction to serve national strategic needs and high-quality socioeconomic development more effectively.

  • Jun Sun, Jialing Liu, Yujun Pan
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(8): 1360-1367. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003878

    A brief review of the development of ethnogeography over the past century and geography-oriented theories of minzu over the past 30 years shows that ethnogeography, which is a prominent subdiscipline of geography in the first half of the 20th century, is being eroded to an "important but not conspicuous" field in China. Geography-oriented theories of minzu highlight the significance of "geography" to the development, integration and identification of minzu, whereas the understanding of "geography" is complicated and diverse, and a direction for establishing ethnogeographical theory has not been proposed. Meanwhile, narrow ethnogeography as an independent research field or subdiscipline is devoid of a systematic theoretical system. Considering both modern and contemporary geographical perspectives as well as geography-oriented theories of minzu, three accessible approaches that can strengthen the integrity of ethnogeography and promote the integration of geographical disciplines are proposed. First, the theoretical system of broad ethnogeography could be integrated through a "state-region-place" framework. Second, the multidimensional interpretations of minzu could be bridged with disciplinary traditions of natural science, social science, and humanities to form a threefold "nature-society-humanities" interpretation system. Finally, geographical theories of minzu that emphasizes connection, mobility, and transformation could be developed from the perspective of geography as a discipline rather than a subject. The integrity of ethnogeography will be demonstrated through bridging the gaps among theories, interpretations, and knowledge, and the influence of geography will be extended. More importantly, minzu and nations are understood, not interpreted, geographically.

  • Yan Guo, Ruxu Du, Jing'nan Huang, Boran Wang, Jun Zhou
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(8): 1376-1386. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230868

    Ecological environmental protection is an important support for China to achieve ecological civilization, but it often encounters challenges in fairly distributing protection responsibilities and development rights between the wider society and local communities living in protected areas. Ecological protection planning is an instrument for reconstructing environmental protection responsibilities and development rights among different social groups: the communities within the protected areas bear the responsibility for ecological protection but may lose some development rights to some extent, whereas the communities outside the protected areas enjoy the benefits of environmental protection without having to fulfill related obligations. This asymmetry of rights and obligations triggers environmental injustice, and is a crucial factor in determining the effectiveness of policy implementation. The changing patterns of environmental (in)justice are shaped by negotiations between governments at different scales and local stakeholders, and involve complex political processes. Therefore, this study introduces a theoretical framework that integrates scale politics and environmental justice to explore the distinctive-scale political processes involved in achieving environmental justice in ecological protection areas under China's segmented and hierarchical political system. First, the pattern of environmental justice is shaped by the highest-scale actors among relevant stakeholders. Second, intermediate-scale actors tend to prioritize compliance with policy directives from higher scales and may use methods such as scale retention or devolution to limit the interest demands of lower scales. Finally, lower-scale actors may seek to enhance their political discourse power through scale escalation when faced with unjust situations created by a top-down decision-making system. Empirically, this research selected a village yet to be reconstructed in an ecological protection zone in the central provincial capital city of China as a case study and analyzed the environmental injustice faced by the villagers and pathways to change the injustice. The empirical findings suggest that, without prior consideration of the development rights of local residents, strict top-down ecological environmental protection methods often aggravate tense relationships among actors at different scales. Specifically, this leads to environmental injustice, in which the development rights of local residents at lower scales are overshadowed by the protection requirements enforced by higher-scale government entities. Environmental (in)justice includes the allocation, institutional, and recognition dimensions. In response, scale reconstruction emerges as an informal strategy for lower-scale residents to seek justice. Through this strategy, lower-scale residents appeal to higher-scale governments to intervene in the development issues of ecological protection areas, and thus strive to achieve equality in development rights and protective responsibilities. This process opens a way to achieve environmental justice. Additionally, the reliance on informal mechanisms underscores the lack of formal mechanisms in China to ensure that lower-scale groups have fair rights to urban ecological environmental protection. To address the challenges, this article integrates theoretical insights with empirical evidence to propose the following policy measures:(1) strengthening the top-down transmission of policies to implement the principle of balancing ecological protection by improving people's livelihoods, (2) establishing mechanisms for achieving environmental justice through the balanced allocation of rights and responsibilities, and (3) enhancing the democratic participation of relevant stakeholders in planning.

  • Yan Guo, Ruxu Du, Rui Ye, Qifeng Yuan, Zhenhai Xiang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(8): 1400-1409. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230845

    After decades of rapid urban expansion, China's urban development has transitioned to focus on the quality improvement of existing spaces. Urban renewal is now a strategic measure crucial for advancing high-level territorial spatial planning and intensive land use. In coastal regions that have experienced rapid urbanization, redeveloping underutilized collective construction land is essential for achieving high-quality urban development. China has experienced a path-dependent institutional change in collective land property rights, typically village-based institutions created by rural collectives. When the government aims to grant legal status to collective construction land by redefining property rights and promoting redevelopment, these informal institutions inevitably pose constraints. This study conducts a theoretical and empirical analysis of the roles, behaviors, and outcomes of local governments in constructing a collective land redevelopment market. First, it explores the relationship between the government and the market under gradual institutional change and how this relationship manifests in the redevelopment of collective construction land. Then, it empirically examines the case of Nanhai District in Foshan City, using data from the "Three Olds Reconstruction" database and a redevelopment project with which the authors are deeply involved. The study investigates the formation mechanisms of collective construction land, changes in land development institutions, constraints on redevelopment, and measures taken by local governments to construct the land redevelopment market. Despite the government's efforts to legitimize collective construction land through titling and market initiation, issues such as land fragmentation, involution of collective land management, and ambiguity in property rights persist, constraining further redevelopment. Local governments play an entrepreneurial role characterized by a negotiated relationship of both cooperation and competition with village collectives, the property rights holders. Cooperation involves the government acting as a 'transaction broker' between village collectives and investors, reducing institutional constraints and transaction costs. Competition arises as village collectives seek to capture land rents. The appreciation in land value, mainly generated by public investment, should benefit the general public. However, village collectives leverage their possession of land rights to "hold-up" the government, forcing compromises in profit-sharing. This capture of public value by village collectives jeopardizes social equity. To enhance collective land redevelopment and balance development efficiency with social justice, the following policy recommendations are proposed: 1) formalizing the government's informal role as a "transaction broker" to lower transaction costs and mitigate negative impacts; and 2) establishing clear standards for profit-sharing among stakeholders and a system for transferring land development rights to ensure equitable profit distribution.

  • Wei Hu, Xiangyun Fang, Chengpu Ye, Zhiding Hu, Cansong Li
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(7): 1161-1170. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230811

    In the era of globalized geo-economics, international big channel are changing the way geo-economic elements flow across borders, expanding cooperation spaces such as ports and border-free trade zones to more distant inland areas and shaping new ways of cross-border geo-economic cooperation. As an international land and sea channel connecting China and Myanmar, the China-Myanmar Indian Ocean New Channel (hereinafter "the Channel") is of great importance for promoting geo-economic cooperation between the two countries and the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. However, owing to various obstacles in geo-economic cooperation, the geo-economic effect of the Channel has not been effectively brought into play. In this study, the obstacles to geo-economic cooperation in the Channel and its collaborative mechanisms were analyzed to provide important scientific and technological support for enhancing its geo-economic effects and strengthening geo-economic cooperation between China and Myanmar. The natural geography of the region with its high mountains and deep valleys and the frequently occurring natural disasters are natural obstacles that limit the geo-economic effect of the Channel. Moreover, the difference in economic development between China and Myanmar is not conducive to the deepening of geo-economic cooperation in the Channel. Complex armed conflicts have disrupted the construction of the Channel and China's investment in its route, and the potential intervention of India and the United States will become an added constraint on its further development. Furthermore, the multiple stakeholders game in the construction of the Channel may bring geo-risks. Contrary to preconceived notions, geo-economic cooperation in the Channel is not a strategy for regional control, but rather to create an international trade corridor deeply related to transportation logistics, supply chains, industrial chains and value chains. To promote geo-economic cooperation in the Channel, its construction should be based on a multi-level collaborative mechanism for geo-economic cooperation. At the national level, the docking of development strategies between China and Myanmar should be strengthened by promoting integration of the Channel into the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening the docking of China-Myanmar policy communication mechanisms, and formulating a long-term development strategy plan for the Channel. At the channel level, the geo-economic effect of the Channel should be upgraded by promoting the linkage of internal and external infrastructures, strengthening geo-economic element cross-border flow and industrial cooperation, and deepening economic and trade cooperation with Myanmar and the Indian Ocean region. At the stakeholder level, a consultation mechanism involving multi-stakeholder participation should be established by strengthening the docking of multi-stakeholder interests, coordinating the mechanism of China-Myanmar port docking, and creating a three-dimensional risk prevention mechanism for the Channel.

  • Yongzhen Shao, Hanlu Zhang, Yelin Si, Jingjuan Jiao
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(7): 1196-1209. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240092

    Infrastructure and economic networks can be used to describe different dimensions of urban systems, and a close relationship exists between them. Therefore, it is important to study the dynamic coupling relationship between them to promote the formation and development of urban networks. Relevant studies have compared and analyzed the evolution characteristics of urban network structures from different dimensions; however, relatively few studies have focused on the dynamic coupling relationship between high-speed rail and remote investment networks. The formation and development of high-speed rail networks has become a key factor affecting remote investment networks, and the layout of a remote investment network also affects the development of a high-speed rail network. To this end, we used high-speed railway operation service data and related transaction data of listed companies from 2008 to 2023 to construct high-speed railway and remote investment networks reflecting intercity high-speed railway and enterprise remote investment connections, respectively. QAP correlation analysis was used to explore the overall correlation between the two networks. Using the quadrantal diagram method and the coupling coordination degree model, we discuss the spatiotemporal coupling coordination of the two networks, identify the types of cities and urban connections, and propose operational planning suggestions for cities and high-speed railways. The results indicate the following: 1) Both the scale and density of the high-speed rail network and the off-site investment network show a rapid growth trend, and the expansion of the high-speed rail network is significantly faster than that of the off-site investment network. There is a significant positive correlation between high-speed rail and the remote investment network as a whole, and the degree of correlation first increases and then decreases. 2) In terms of space, cities with the simultaneous development of high-speed rail and remote investment networks are primarily concentrated in the administrative and economic centers of the eastern region. However, cities with lagging high-speed rail networks are mainly located in non-transportation hub cities in the economically developed areas of the Pearl River Delta, Dalian, and Urumqi. Moreover, cities with advanced high-speed rail networks are mainly centered in the central and eastern regions around the main high-speed rail lines. 3) Cities with synchronous development of high-speed rail and remote investment networks are mainly located in developed cities within the five major urban agglomerations. The pairs of cities with lagging high-speed rail networks are mainly located between the core cities of different urban agglomerations. Pairs of cities with advanced high-speed rail networks are typically positioned between cities that are closer together and contain at least one city with a less developed economy. The relevant research results can provide policy support for China's high-speed rail operation planning and urban system construction.

  • Zhouping Li, Chun Fu, Yuangang Li, Xiaoyu Liu
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(7): 1236-1248. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230815

    Off-site investment relations among enterprises often bring the flow of capital, logistics, talent, information, and technology across cities, representing a new avenue for studying the urban network. Therefore, an increasing number of studies are investigating urban networks from the perspective of firm relations. Most of these studies mainly use data from intra-firm branches or mega firms' investment to quantify the linkages among cities. However, these studies have neglected the linkages among small-sized enterprises that are often located in small and medium-sized cities, resulting in the lack of authenticity in establishing urban networks. Recently, a small amount of research has begun to use wholesale enterprises' off-site investment data to construct urban networks. However, such research has neglected the indirect linkages and transit effects on enterprise investment routes. Therefore, this study uses investment data of all-industry enterprises from the Industrial and Commercial Enterprise Registration Database to propose a new method for establishing a directed weighted urban network by identifying off-site investment routes among enterprises, which could fill the gap in constructing urban networks from the perspective of micro capital flow. To verify the evolutionary characteristics of urban network structure before and after the implementation of major policies, this study considers the Yangtze River Delta as the empirical study area. Wholesale enterprise investment data from 2006 to 2020 in the Yangtze River Delta are used to construct three urban networks in three time stages. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The growth model of the urban network scale shows that the growth of off-site investment routes drives the growth of off-site investment scale. The scale of enterprise nodes linked by off-site investment relations significantly increased from 2011 to 2015. However, after 2016, the proportion of off-site investment in the total investment of the Yangtze River Delta increased accordingly. (2) From the perspective of spatial patterns, the urban network of the study area has shifted from a polygonal network structure of interconnected core cities to a V-shaped structure centered around Shanghai, and then to a Z-shaped structure centered around Shanghai and Hangzhou. (3) In terms of network centrality, the cities exhibit a clear hierarchical structure. Although the network is evolving, the hierarchical structure has not changed significantly. However, the linkages between cities show a trend of clustering from low- to high-level cities. (4) In terms of network betweenness, the betweenness of most cities matches their centrality. Notably, the betweenness of Hefei and Wuhu is significantly stronger than their centrality. At different stages of the urban network evolution, cities with high betweenness, such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Hefei, play different intermediary roles in the network. This study constructs urban networks from a micro scale perspective of capital flow, thereby filling the gap in existing research. Additionally, unlike previous studies on urban networks that focus on static network structures, this study analyzes the structural evolution of urban networks based on long-term comprehensive data and verifies the characteristics of changes in the network structure, which has certain theoretical value and practical significance.

  • Jianjun Wang, Zuoren Chen, Xiaotian Zhou, Meixu Zhan
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(7): 1249-1262. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230388

    In China, public houses are properties that belong to the local government and are usually managed by the local Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. During the 1970s and the 1980s, these houses were used to provide shelters for incoming rural surplus laborers and low-income families who moved into the cities. Over time, problems with public houses, such as unclear property rights, the absence of management regulations, and long-term disrepair, have become increasingly serious. Managing public houses is a challenge faced by Guangzhou in the process of urban renewal. This study first reviews domestic and foreign examples of revitalizing public houses and research on the theory of "Urban Acupuncture," and then carries out further fieldwork and interviews on public houses in six typical districts of Guangzhou's old city zone. These results indicate that public houses play an important role in providing housing security to tenants. Tenants of such houses have a strong sense of belonging and trust in their communities and neighborhoods. This study summarizes three revitalization modes for public houses: selling public houses after renovation, transforming the use of public houses, and using public houses as affordable housing. It also proposes a strategy that uses public houses first as affordable houses, then for functional transformation, and selling public houses as the last choice for Guangzhou. Based on empirical researches and the methods of "Urban Acupuncture," the study further proposes an analysis model of stock public houses, and four steps of the revitalization path of public houses: (1) Find the problems of public houses through urban physical examination index analysis, big data analysis, residents satisfaction analysis, and so on, and analyze their modes of revitalization based on the analysis model of stock public houses; (2) conduct a house-to-house survey on tenants of these public houses, and select public houses with good reconstruction foundations whose tenants have strong willingness to revitalize and high degrees of cooperation as "acupuncture points"; (3) take continuous, gradual measures to stimulate these "acupuncture points" and influence other tenants of public houses with the same activation modes through social networks; (4) collect feedback from tenants, adjust strategies dynamically, enhance tenants' sense of identity and community belonging to treatment results, and form a positive interaction. It has three major innovations: (1) systematically summarizing domestic and foreign public housing disposal ways and " Urban Acupuncture " theory research progress, and providing a geographic analysis perspective for the theory of "Urban Acupuncture"; (2) providing empirical supports for the three activation modes,and a Guangzhou's strategy for to revitalize public houses; (3) summarizing an analysis framework of the activation mode mechanism of stock public houses from the perspective of humanism, an analysis model of stock public houses, and four steps of the revitalization path of public houses, which are highly enforceable. It is beneficial to the theory and practice on revitalization of public houses, which can also make public houses playing their parts as catalysts in domestic urban renewal process, stimulating motivation of community revitalization, solving housing problem of the minority, and implementing the idea that "we are the cities we make."

  • Taiwen Wang, Zuyun Liu, Zhizhong Xu
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(7): 1263-1278. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230318

    As a widely discussed topic in Western academic circles, post-productionism has become an important background for studying China's three agricultural problems. By carefully analyzing the origin, development, and practice of post-productionism, this study reveals the conceptual connotations and research status of post-productionism, which has theoretical value and practical significance for the study of China's three agricultural problems. The research through the research method of philology and the analysis of CiteSpace, the representative foreign core journals in Wed of Science with the theme of "post-productionism" were selected and summarized on the basis of data analysis.The research draws the following results: 1) This paper introduces the origin of post-productionism and summarizes the existing problems of agricultural production, rural ecology, and farmers' survival during the crisis, as well as the social expectation of the linear transformation of productionism to post-productionism. 2) On the basis of comprehensive research on the concept of "post-productionism," the conceptual domain of post-productionism is constructed from the four aspects of farmer's role, agricultural policy, farming technology and environmental impact, and three stages of conceptual research are proposed: the opposite stage, the coexistence stage and the subjective perspective stage, and compares it with the concept of "multifunctional agriculture," and points out the value of "paradigm shift" represented by post-productionism. 3) Comparing the post-productive rural practices of developed and developing countries, analyzing the common factors and regional differences between the post-productive rural practices of developed countries, sorting out the "post-productive phenomenon" of developing countries, and explaining the research objectives and necessity. On this basis, The paper further responds to the key question whether there is consistency between the "de-agriculturalization" in developing countries and the "post-productionism" in developed countries, and points out that there are some differences between the two in development stage, concept difference, connotation extension, expression form and fundamental value orientation. The conclusions are as following: 1) The development concept of Post-productionism is a positive response to productionism crises. Under the integration of common concepts, its global development path reflects the characteristics of "time-space difference" and "nonlinear transformation." Productionism and post-productionism are not "opposites," but will coexist and influence each other as two types of agricultural and rural management systems for a long time. Attention should also be paid to the fundamental role of change at the microactor level. 2) In relation to specific national conditions, the enlightenment of post-productionism in China's three rural problems is that we should pay attention to the research and judgment and grasp the opportunity of rural development, combine the overall promotion with key breakthroughs, continue to adhere to industrial revitalization as the goal, build a solid foundation for agricultural development, focus on promoting the development of secondary and tertiary industries, and focus on industrial integration. It is also necessary to deeply explore the multidimensional value of rural space, enrich the spatial attributes of rural areas, and promote rural development and urban-rural integration.

  • Zheng Li, Lanlan Qiu, Wei Wang, Bin He, Shaohong Wu, Shanfeng He
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 973-986. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230936

    Social and economic losses from typhoons are increasing owing to climate change. It is of practical significance to correctly understand new characteristics and trends in typhoon activity. Based on the best track dataset of tropical cyclones from the China Meteorological Administration, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics and evolution law of northward-moving typhoons from 1949 to 2022 were analyzed using the linear trend, Mann-Kendall test, and wavelet analysis method, and the impacts of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on typhoon activities were also discussed. The results showed that: (1) 275 northward-moving typhoons occurred during the past 74 years, with an average of 3.7 per year. The interannual fluctuation in typhoon frequency was large, and the upward trend was not significant. The proportion of northward-moving typhoons to the total number of generated typhoons in the Northwest Pacific was between 2% and 30%, showing a significant upward trend. (2) Northward-moving typhoons were mainly generated from July to September, accounting for approximately 88.4% of the total typhoons. The highest number of typhoons entering the defined area was 114 in August. The life-cycle intensity of northward-moving typhoons is dominated by high-intensity grades, such as super typhoons and typhoons. Among them, super-typhoons accounted for 30.5% of the total number of northward-moving typhoons, and the intensity of typhoons and above grades exceeded 70% of the total amount. In recent years, the probability of high-intensity northward-moving typhoons has increased. (3) A total of 159 northward-moving typhoons landed in China over 74 years. Most of the turning-track typhoons made landfall in Taiwan, Fujian, and Zhejiang, whereas the landing locations of landed disappearing-track typhoons made landfall more northerly. Most unlanded turning-track typhoons turned eastward near 30°N and 125–130°E, showing a significant upward trend. The generating positions of the northward-moving typhoons were mainly concentrated in the ranges of 10—20°N and 130—150°E, with a density of 4.65/10,000 km2. The central generation position of the landed northward-moving typhoons was 4.2° more westward than that of the unlanded typhoons. The latitude of the central generating position of the disappearing typhoons was 2.1° northward compared to that of the turning typhoons. (4) The Niño3.4 index had significant negative and positive correlations with the frequency and life-cycle intensity of northward-moving typhoons, respectively, and it also had an obvious effect on their generating positions. There were 4.5 northward-moving typhoons in the La Niña year, which was 1.67 times the El Niño year. However, the intensity of northward-moving typhoons generated during El Niño years was significantly higher than that generated during La Niña years, and the intensity of northward-moving typhoons increased with the Niño3.4 index. The central generating position of northward-moving typhoons during La Niña years was 5.8° northward and 12.4° westward compared to that during El Niño years, which was closer to China. This study provides a basis and reference for strengthening the risk management of typhoons and improving the efficiency of disaster prevention and reduction.

  • Dong Wang, Xiaoxia Hu, Hui Wang, Ai'mei Wang, Jingxin Luo, Yuxi Jiang, Mengyuan Quan
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 987-1000. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230912

    Rainfall and sea surface temperature grid data, as well as rainfall data from coastal stations in China, were used to obtain the spatiotemporal response characteristics of summer rainfall along the Chinese coast to ENSO and analyzed interdecadal changes in summer rainfall. The results show that: (1) Summer rainfall along the coast of China was significantly affected by ENSO and can be divided into three regions, with Lianyungang and Yunao as the boundaries. The Niño3.4 index was negatively correlated with summer rainfall along the Bohai and Yellow Sea coasts, positively correlated with that of the East China Sea coast, and not significantly correlated with that of the South China Sea coast. (2) On an interdecadal timescale, the relationship between summer rainfall along the coast of China and the Niño3.4 index was unstable. The negative correlation between summer rainfall along the Bohai and Yellow Sea coasts and the Niño3.4 index was significant before and after 1980 and 2010, respectively. The positive correlation along the East China Sea coast became insignificant after the 1980s, whereas the correlation along the South China Sea coast remained insignificant. (3) On the interdecadal timescale, the summer Niño3.4 index, winter Arctic Oscillation (AO) index in the previous year, and spring Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) index in current year were significantly negatively correlated with summer interdecadal rainfall along the Bohai and Yellow Sea coasts and positively correlated with summer interdecadal rainfall along the East China Sea coast. Summer interdecadal rainfall along the coast of the South China Sea was significantly negatively correlated with the spring Arctic Sea ice index in the current year. Regarding the Niño3.4 index, the high sea surface temperature in the Central and Eastern Pacific triggered a negative Pacific-Japan-type interconnection wave train in the 500 hPa geopotential height field, resulting in a decrease in interdecadal rainfall along the Bohai and Yellow Sea coast and an increase in interdecadal rainfall along the East China Sea coast. When the winter AO in the last year and spring AAO in the current year were in a positive phase, the abnormal anticyclone in the southern part of Baikal Lake at 850 hPa wind field guided the airflow in the mid to high latitudes southward, causing a weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon and a decrease in interdecadal summer rainfall along the Bohai and Yellow Sea. In addition, the strong, westward position of the subtropical high pressure in the northwest Pacific increases the upward movement, increasing interdecadal summer rainfall along the East China Sea coast. The interdecadal variation of spring Arctic Sea ice stimulates the opposite atmospheric circulation pattern that induced interdecadal variation of summer rainfall along the South China Sea coast in the 850 hPa wind and 500 hPa geopotential height fields.

  • Xiao Hu, Weihua Fang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1001-1015. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20231003

    China has numerous islands and reefs with complex terrain that are heavily impacted by tropical cyclone disasters. High-resolution tropical cyclone wind-field simulations are beneficial for representing the spatial variations in wind speeds. It is important to conduct high-resolution simulations on relatively small islands and reef areas. To explore the differences in tropical cyclone wind field simulations at various spatial resolutions in the island and reef areas of China, this study compared the modeled wind fields of historical tropical cyclones in China's island and reef areas, which have complex terrains, including plains, peaks, valleys, and cliffs, at three spatial resolutions of 1,000 m, 90 m, and 30 m. The wind fields were modeled using land cover and elevation data of the three spatial resolutions as inputs and validated against observed winds at eight stations. Comparisons were made regarding the differences in wind speeds of tropical cyclones with a 100-year return period at three spatial resolutions. The results showed that: (1) the 30 m resolution achieves the best accuracy, with a root mean square error of 4.28 m/s, lower than those of 90 m and 1 km by 0.08 m/s and 1.04 m/s, respectively. (2) Different spatial resolution simulations showed that wind speed errors were related to terrain types. For example, on Zhujiajian Island, located in Zhoushan City, the 30 m resolution captured the spatial heterogeneity of winds better than the other resolutions, especially for mountainous, valley, and cliff terrains. Comparisons between the simulated wind speeds at 90 m and 1,000 m resolutions versus those at 30 m resolution indicate that the differences in the simulation percentages are as follows: 6.57% and 7.61% for peak terrain, 21.28% and 17.35% for valley terrain, and 22.85% and 23.37% for cliff terrain, respectively. Additionally, the 30 m simulation was more sensitive to transitions between windward and leeward slope terrains. (3) For the 100-year return-period wind speeds, the 30 m resolution produced the highest values and largest spatial variations. On Zhujiajian Island, the maximum wind speeds at 1,000 m, 90 m, and 30 m resolutions were 71.13, 73.18, and 79.97 m/s, respectively, and standard deviations of 3.88, 3.72, and 7.18 m/s. This study demonstrates the importance of using high-resolution data to simulate tropical cyclone winds in complex terrain. However, this study had some limitations. First, the terrain correction factors need to be optimized further. The assessment method provided by the building codes tended to overestimate the impact of the terrain correction factors. In the future, more accurate terrain correction factors could be obtained using computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel tests. Second, because of the limited types of land cover data used in the calculations, the subdivision of certain land types when calculating the surface roughness is not sufficiently detailed. Additionally, different years of land cover data were not incorporated, making it challenging to reflect the variations in surface roughness. Remote sensing can be used in the future to determine the high-resolution spatial distributions of surface roughness.

  • Guozhen Wei, Minglei Ren, Lin Sun, Zhichang Xia, Zhiyang Chen, Zaijin You
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1016-1024. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230994

    Against the backdrop of rapid global climate change, the frequency and severity of storm surges in coastal areas are increasing, particularly in tidal river segments that are affected by storm surges and upstream river flooding. Although existing storm surge models have introduced a variety of different boundary settings, the boundary conditions provided are limited and cannot meet the current generalization needs of complex hydraulic engineering projects in China. This study considered the Feiyun River Basin as the research subject and coupled the upstream hydrodynamic model IFMS with the oceanic storm surge model ADCIRC. By utilizing the strengths of both models, a flood evolution model for the estuarine tidal river segment was established, enabling the spatiotemporal simulation of tidal levels in the Feiyun River tidal segment. The model not only effectively considers the impact of storm surge propagation at the estuary on flood evolution in the tidal river segment, but also the effect of upstream river flooding on the area. The study first validated the model with Typhoon Meranti in 2016, where the simulation results showed a high degree of agreement with the observed data series and errors were within acceptable limits. Flood processes at the Ruian, Mayu, Bishan Liqiao, and Dongtou tidal stations during Typhoons Doksuri and Khanun were simulated. The results show that the peak flood errors at all four stations were below 0.30 m, with Nash coefficients >0.80, indicating the model's capability to accurately reflect tidal level fluctuations and effectively contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation efforts in estuarine tidal segments. Finally, the study analyzed the impact of the driving forces of the upstream and downstream boundaries on tidal level predictions at three stations (Ruian, Mayu, and Bishan Liqiao). It was concluded that, compared to Mayu and Bishan Liqiao stations, the influence of the upstream boundary on Ruian can essentially be ignored, suggesting that the error from the upstream boundary under the influence of Typhoon Khanun is negligible for predicting errors at Ruian. The degree of the impact of the downstream boundary fluctuations on the three stations, from largest to smallest, was Ruian, Bishan Liqiao, and Mayu. Compared to the changes in the upstream boundary, the downstream boundary had a greater overall impact on all three stations. Additionally, when the downstream boundary changed by the same magnitude, the variation in low tide levels showed a decreasing trend from downstream to upstream, whereas the variation in high tide levels, although following the same trend, did not show a significant difference between the three. In summary, compared to the upstream boundary, the downstream boundary had a greater impact on tidal-level predictions at the three stations. The result shows that the lower boundary has a greater impact on the tidal level forecasts at three stations compared to the upper boundary. The study not only provides a new method for tidal river flood simulation in coastal urbanized areas but also offers directions for improving model simulation accuracy through analysis.

  • Guofeng Wu, Qing Liu, Hanqing Xu, Xuchen Wei, Jun Wang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1025-1035. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230854

    In the context of climate change, the escalating frequency of extreme weather phenomena has exacerbated the severity of compound floods in the southeastern coastal regions of China. Rising sea levels significantly contribute to the inundation of low-lying coastal urban areas. The quantitative assessment of compound flood risk offers scientific support for disaster prevention and reduction in coastal cities and for coastal management initiatives. Using Haikou City as a case study, the daily precipitation and maximum storm surge tide data from 66 typhoons that affected Haikou between 1960 and 2017 were utilized to construct compound flood combination scenarios. Based on the quantitative method of D-Flow FM (Delft3D-FLOW Flexible Mesh) numerical simulation, the potential risks of extreme rainfall and storm surge compound flood disasters under sea level rise scenarios were thoroughly investigated by integrating various scenarios. The findings revealed the following: 1) Storm surge was the primary factor contributing to compound flooding during typhoons, with the estuary of the Nandu River and the northern coast being the most affected. 2) In the scenario of maximum rainfall and storm surge combination, the inundation area of Haikou is about 148 km2, which is approximately 15 times larger than the minimum rainfall and storm surge combination scenario. Moreover, in more than half of the inundated areas, the water depth exceeds 1 meter. 3) Under extreme rainfall and storm surge compound scenarios, the areas encompassing Haidian Island, Xinbu Island, and Jiangdong New Area were significantly affected by sea level rise. By 2100, the total flooding area is projected to reach about 203 km2 under the RCP8.5 scenario. Sea level rise significantly amplifies urban flood risks, implying that coastal cities are poised to encounter heightened threats and manage future challenges. Through comprehensive comparisons of multiple rainfall and storm surge compound flooding scenarios under sea level rise, the temporal and spatial characteristics of the compound flooding risk were systematically evaluated. The results provide an important scientific basis for sustainable regional development, effective management, and prevention.

  • Ziying Zhou, Saini Yang, Xiaoyan Liu, Jiting Tang, Yongguo Shi
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1036-1046. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230928

    Typhoons and their associated disaster chains pose serious threats to the lives and property of coastal residents, and they remain a focal point for research and response. Previous studies on typhoon disaster chains often employed high-dimensional symmetric Copula models to establish the joint distribution of multiple hazard factors, however they failed to explore the complex nonlinear and asymmetric dependencies among them. This study aimed to depict these complex relationships more comprehensively and efficiently to provide a more accurate typhoon hazard assessment. Focusing on Zhoushan, a city comprising numerous islands in Zhejiang Province that faces multiple typhoon threats, this study employed the C-Vine Copula function to model the complex dependencies among "strong wind-rainstorm-storm surge" in the typhoon disaster chain. Utilizing observational data from 1979 to 2018, this study involves three main steps: first, fitting the marginal distribution of each hazard factor and identifying the best one from Lognormal, Gamma, GEV (Generalized Extreme Value), and Burr functions based on the K-S test; second, fitting the bivariate joint distributions of wind speed-rainfall and wind speed-storm surge using Gaussian, Clayton, Gumbel, Frank, and Joe Copula functions, and determining the best fit based on the AIC (Akaike Information Criterion); and finally, estimating the trivariate joint probability distribution and corresponding return periods for wind speed-rainfall-storm surge using the C-Vine Copula function. This revealed (1) a strong correlation between wind speed and rainfall observed within regular value ranges (non-extreme conditions), were best represented by the Frank Copula, In addition, wind speed and storm surge exhibit an upper-tail dependence, best captured by the Gumbel Copula. (2) The rainfall distribution under certain wind speed conditions revealed dual peaks, whereas the storm surge distribution maintained a uniform pattern, with the best joint distribution fitting the Gumbel Copula. (3) Considering a 100-year return period for individual variables, the bivariate return periods for wind speed-rainfall and wind speed-storm surge events were significantly reduced to 29 and 30 years, respectively, while the trivariate return period for the wind speed-rainfall-storm surge combination was further reduced to 17 years. Overall, the C-Vine Copula function effectively characterizes the complex nonlinear and asymmetric dependencies among the typhoon disaster chain "strong wind-rainstorm-storm surge", reducing high-dimensional parameter estimation complexity. This method provides new insights for constructing joint probability and return period models for multiple hazard factors and offers a scientific basis for disaster risk assessment and management strategies. Therefore, this enhances the accuracy of disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. Additionally, the application of the C-Vine Copula assists to deeply understand the mechanisms and development processes of natural disasters, providing new tools for on-site emergency response and decision-making.

  • Peng Zhang, Yunxia Zhang, Yang Wang, Yi Ding, Yizhou Yin, Zhen Dong, Xihong Wu
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1047-1063. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230961

    Typhoons are among the most significant natural disasters affecting the eastern and southern coastal regions of China, inflicting substantial annual damage on both coastal and inland areas. Since the initiation of the reform and opening-up policy, the socioeconomic development of the coastal regions of China has been swift, leading to increased exposure to typhoons. In the context of global climate change, typhoons are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in China. Therefore, researching on the spatiotemporal pattern characteristics of typhoons impacting China is of critical importance for understanding the impact patterns and risk changes of typhoon disasters, as well as for formulating policies on disaster response, prevention, and mitigation. This study aims to provide valuable insights into the formulation of such policies. Based on these objectives, this study utilized a comprehensive dataset, including county-level socioeconomic and disaster statistics, historical typhoon wind and rainfall data, and high-precision topographic data. Using county-level administrative regions as spatial units, this study employed various methods, such as time-series statistical analysis, gravity model, geographical detector, spatial correlation analysis, and geographically weighted regression, to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution patterns and influencing factors of typhoon disaster conditions in China from 1978 to 2020. The findings of this study are as follows: (1) The number of deaths and missing persons, quantity of damaged housing, death, and missing rate per million people, and proportion of direct economic loss to GDP caused by typhoon disasters have all shown a declining trend, indicating significant achievements in disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. (2) The center of gravity of typhoon disaster-related losses has shifted southward, corresponding with the economic development of coastal regions, demonstrating a reduced disaster impact in coastal areas and an increased impact in inland areas. (3) Wind and rain induced by typhoons are the primary driving factors of disaster conditions, and topographical factors are also drivers of casualties and crop loss. (4) The two major regions, Zhejiang-Northern Fujian and Western Guangdong-Eastern Guangxi, exhibit significant characteristics of disaster condition agglomeration, closely related to typhoon activity patterns and levels of economic development. (5) There is a negative correlation between the gross local product and disaster conditions in some areas, reflecting the role of socioeconomic development in enhancing the capacity for disaster prevention and mitigation.

  • Jingyan Shao, Weihua Fang
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1064-1078. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20230962

    China is frequently affected by tropical cyclones, which can lead to severe economic losses. Rapid disaster loss assessment is crucial for effective emergency response. A variety of factors affect tropical cyclone disaster losses, which can be roughly categorized into hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. In the past, traditional statistical methods were used as the main tools for disaster loss assessment. To explore the potential of machine learning models, we explored five algorithms: the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM), Random Forest (RF), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Back-Propagation Neural Network (BP). The maximum gust wind and rainfall of tropical cyclones were selected to represent hazards, fixed capital stock data were used for the valuation of exposure, and the GDP of each county was collected to reflect capacity or vulnerability. In addition, river network density data were used as a simple proxy to demonstrate the contribution of flood-induced tropical cyclone rainfall. The relationship between these input variables and disaster loss at the county level was developed based on the data of 81 tropical cyclone events from 2009 to 2020 in Fujian Province. The performance of these models was compared using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores. The accuracies of the LightGBM, RF, XGBoost, SVM, and BP models were 0.794 6, 0.772 6, 0.762 8, 0.251 8, and 0.268 1, respectively. The main findings are as follows: (1) The performance of the ensemble learning algorithms (RF, XGBoost, and LightGBM) was higher than that of the individual classifiers (BP and SVM). The LightGBM model exhibited the best performance, with accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores >79%. (2) Maximum hourly rainfall and maximum wind gust are two of the most important loss-inducing factors, and fixed capital stock is a better proxy for disaster exposure than GDP. (3) The modeled losses are consistent with the actual losses under different but typical tropical cyclone events, indicating that the models can be applied to future tropical cyclone events impacting Fujian Province. However, this study had some limitations. First, some natural hazards, such as floods, storm surges, and waves, were not fully considered, which introduced uncertainty into the model results. Second, the emergency response capacity and actual actions taken among counties may have varied dramatically and were neglected due to data unavailability. In the future, hazard and vulnerability variables should be obtained to extend the model inputs. In addition, whether the model parameters trained with data from Fujian Province can be applied to other provinces remains unaddressed. In the future, to develop an operational model for the whole of coastal China, county-level data of all typhoon-prone areas in China with long-term time series are needed.

  • Liwei Zou, Zhi He, Chengle Zhou
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1079-1089. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003882

    Typhoons are extreme weather phenomena that seriously affect the daily lives of residents and regular functioning of society. As one of the most typhoon-prone countries in the world, China is constantly affected by typhoons and their secondary disasters, which can cause significant casualties and economic losses. The extent of damage caused by typhoons is inversely proportional to the effectiveness of the emergency response. Therefore, accurate and comprehensive access to damage information is critical for rescue and recovery. Social media, which is characterized by low collection costs and rich content, is an important means of collecting disaster information. With the development of social media, it has become increasingly important to accurately and comprehensively identify social media texts related to typhoons. In this study, by combining typhoon attribute data and a multi-label classification method with Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) models, a typhoon damage identification method based on Weibo texts and deep learning is proposed to identify the damage caused by severe and super typhoons that made landfall in Guangdong Province from 2010 to 2019. First, texts related to typhoon damage were identified from the massive Weibo texts and further classified into five damage categories: transportation, public, electricity, forestry, and waterlogging. The typhoon damage characteristics were comparatively analyzed using spatial distribution, time curves, and quantity curves. The results showed that the accuracy of typhoon damage classification was high, with an F1 score of 0.907 for identifying typhoon damage-related texts and 0.814 for further classifying them into five damage categories. Typhoon attribute data and multi-label classification methods have improved the accuracy and comprehensiveness of typhoon damage identification. Compared to the use of Weibo texts only and the single-label classification method, typhoon attribute data provide information on the geographic context of the typhoon at the time of the texts' release, and the multi-label classification method allows the texts to belong to more than one damage category. This study shows that there are differences in the proportion of damage caused by different typhoons, which are related to the intensity and track of the typhoon, as well as the development level of the affected areas. In addition, before the typhoon makes landfall, precautions lead to transportation and public-related damage. After the typhoon makes landfall, the typhoon damage shows single and double-peak characteristics, and the different characteristics reflect the changing trends and features of typhoon damage. This study provides a scientific basis for typhoon damage identification and disaster relief in Guangdong Province.

  • Xuemiao Xie, Yiwen Shao
    Tropical Geography. 2024, 44(6): 1090-1101. https://doi.org/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003880

    The rapid growth of social media has introduced new concepts and technical approaches for disaster management. This paper reviews the characteristics of social media data and its application potential in disaster management research, providing a new research perspective for the field of disaster management. Taking the impact of Typhoon Doksuri in Fujian Province in 2023 as a case study, this research employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling to analyze the practical application effectiveness of social media data at different stages of disaster management from three perspectives: the spatiotemporal distribution of posts, trend analysis of different types of entities, and evolution of topic content. These findings indicate that the synchronous relationship between the popularity of related topics on Weibo and the impact of a disaster event confirms the effective application of social media data in disaster management. By monitoring the dynamics of information dissemination on social media, we can determine the occurrence status and impact scope of disasters in real time. During disasters, different user types have different foci. Individual users tend to focus more on the restoration of living facilities and the supply of relief materials, whereas organizational users concentrate on disseminating information about disasters and emergency response measures. The information provided by different types of users can provide a more comprehensive and diversified perspective on disaster perceptions for disaster management. Analysis of the evolution of topic content can reflect the evolution of emergency response dynamics and public attention needs in different cities at different stages of disaster management, thereby developing more practical emergency response strategies. Through the mining and analysis of social media data, this study recognizes the entire process of disaster occurrence from the perspective of social media data, thereby enriching the relevant theoretical and empirical research. Future research could be conducted from perspectives such as utilizing other multisource data, integrating machine learning and deep learning technologies to enhance the accuracy of topic information extraction, and exploring the application of social media data to post-disaster emergency rescue and infrastructure support.