The Differences between County,County-level City and Municipal District in the System of Administrative Divisions in China

Administrative division is an important means of political power reorganization and management,resource integration and optimal allocation,which profoundly shapes the spatial layout of urban development in China.To clarify and compare differences between counties,county-level cities and municipal districts is the primary premise for the study of administrative division and urban development.This paper analyzes the institutional differences between counties and county-level cities,as well as counties,county-level cities and municipal districts,from the aspects of organizational structure,urban construction planning,land management,finance,taxation and public services.The research shows that the establishment of counties,county-level cities and municipal districts adapt to different levels and stages of economic and social development,and the conversion from county to county-level city and the conversion from county(or county-level city)to municipal district are both important transformation ways to change their administrative systems,which has different management system and operation pattern.At the same time,the transformation of county-level administrative region is also a“double-edged sword”,we should think about the administrative system as a whole to decide whether it should be adjusted,and effectively respond to the actual needs of local economic and social development.

人文地理学学科体系与发展战略要点

Human geography is a discipline that studies the formation and evolution of the geographical distribution pattern of human activities.The main research objects of human geography focus on human activities and human-environment relationship.The scientific questions to be answered by human geography cover both natural science and social science,and thus it has distinctive interdisciplinary features.In China,human activities’economic and social processes play an essential role in explaining the law in human geography discipline as human society development is approaching or has entered the post-industrialization stage.The logic and methods of social science have become important tools through which human geography’s changes in processes and patterns of human geography can be reasonably discussed and adequately understood.The research methodology of human geography shows integration characteristics between natural sciences and social sciences.The outcomes of human geography research reveal scientific laws in geographical distribution patterns and the evolution of human activities.It becomes one of the primary disciplines for both the national and local governments to manage and optimize spatial development and protection patterns.It has wide applications in spatial planning,regional strategy and policy-making,and the modernization of spatial governance.The unique feature in integrating academic research and policy-making applications provides human geography discipline in China a superiority of leading the world in the discipline.Besides integrated human geography,human geography in China has five subdisciplines:economic geography,urban geography,rural geography,socio-cultural geography and political geography.Each subdiscipline has priority and critical research fields and coordinates with the rest of the subdisciplines.