INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION IN THE LONGHAI-LANXIN ECONOMIC BELT OF CHINA ALONG NEW ASIAN-EUROPEAN CONTINENTAL BRIDGE

Infrastructure construction is the precondition for promoting regionaleconomy and intemational cooperation. In this sense, the Newlyopened AsianEuropean Continental Land Bridge (NOAECLB) will provide a great opportunityfor all the ropons along its sides to speed up their econondc growth. This paperfocuses on evaluatin the Changing pattem of economic growth in the repions alongNOAECLB within China's boundary in general and discusses the problems, majortasks and relative polides for infastructllre construction in this area in particLilar.

Lianyungang——Head on the New Eurasia Continental Bridge

Since the new Eurasia ContinentalBridge was formally opened in 1992,the East Bridge Tower-- Lianyungang-- has been attracting more and more attentionin the circles of transport and trade worldwide.In 1995, Lianyungang successfully organizedwhole line transport by rail for internationaltransit containers, and freight volume on theContinental Bridge is growing at an acceleratedspeed. At present, Lianyungang hasundertaken the task of transport for the totaltransit containers along the new EurasiaContinental Bridge. The countries and regionsthat make use of the Continental Bridge toconduct transport include the USA, SouthKorea, Japan, Kazakhstan and Hongkong.Between 1992 and 1995, a total of 8。

Eurasia Continental Bridge——An Important Link of the Coordinated Development between China's Eastern,Central and Western Regions

The new Eurasia Continental Bridgeruns from East China to Central andWest China, crossing 11 provincesand regions, namely Jiangsu, Shandong,Hubei, Anhui, Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi,Sichuan, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Ningxia.The total area is 3.6 million sq km and thepopulation is about 300 million, accountingfor a third and a quarter of the whole countryrespectively. The area is very rich in naturalresources, so it is called an "Economic goldbelt" and "Gold corridor". Aerial remote-control survey indicates that along thecontinental bridge from Lianyungang to theAla Mountains within China’s boundary,

Explicating the mechanisms of land cover change in the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor region in the 21st century

Land cover change has presented clear spatial differences in the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor(NECBEC)region in the 21 st century.A spatiotemporal dynamic probability model and a driving force analysis model of land cover change were developed to analyze explicitly the dynamics and driving forces of land cover change in the NECBEC region.The results show that the areas of grassland,cropland and built-up land increased by 114.57 million ha,8.41 million ha and 3.96 million ha,and the areas of woodland,other land,and water bodies and wetlands decreased by 74.09 million ha,6.26 million ha,and 46.59 million ha in the NECBEC region between 2001 and 2017,respectively.Woodland and other land were mainly transformed to grassland,and grassland was mainly transformed to woodland and cropland.Built-up land had the largest annual rate of increase and 50%of this originated from cropland.Moreover,since the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)commenced in 2013,there has been a greater change in the dynamics of land cover change,and the gaps in the socio-economic development level have gradually decreased.The index of socio-economic development was the highest in western Europe,and the lowest in northern Central Asia.The impacts of socio-economic development on cropland and built-up land were greater than those for other land cover types.In general,in the context of rapid socio-economic development,the rate of land cover change in the NECBEC has clearly shown an accelerating trend since 2001,especially after the launch of the BRI in 2013.

THE ROLE OF PORTCITIES OF THE WESTERN YELLOW SEA IN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF RELEVANT REGIONS

Portcities of the westem Yellow Sea in recent years have made a rapid growth in terms of annual throughput of major ports and GDP of cities concemed.Owing to the great demands of the Yellow River Basin for convenient gateway to the outside world, urgent need for further co-operation among Northeast Asian countries and opportunities brought by the formation of a new Euro-Asia Continental Bridge, it is predicted that an urban belt including five major municipalities could be formed in the next century This paper made an overall analysis on geographical backgrounds and influencing factors.