Spatial Pattern and Regional Types of Rural Settlements in Xuzhou City,Jiangsu Province,China

This paper principally focuses on the morphological differences,spatial pattern and regional types of rural settlements in Xuzhou City of Jiangsu Province in China.Using satellite images of Xuzhou City taken in 2007 and 2008 and models of exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA) and spatial metrics,the paper conducts a quantitative analysis of the morphological pattern of rural settlements,and finds significant characteristics.First,rural settlements in Xuzhou City are significantly agglomerated in terms of their spatial distribution;meanwhile,there is significant variation in the geographical density distribution.Second,the scale of rural settlements in Xuzhou City is larger than the average in Jiangsu Province,and the histogram of the scale data is more even and more like a gamma distribution.There are a significant high-value cluster in the scale distribution,and local negative correlation between the scale and density distribution of rural settlements in Xuzhou City.Third,the morphology of rural settlements in Xuzhou City shows relative regularity with good connection and integrity,but the spatial variation of the morphology is anisotropic.Finally,according to the characteristics of density,scale,and form of rural settlements,the rural settlements of Xuzhou City are divided into three types:A high-density and point-scattered type,a low-density and cluster-like type and a mass-like and sparse type.The research findings could be used as the scientific foundation for rural planning and community rebuilding,particularly in less-developed areas.

Environmental Effects of Groundwater Development in Xuzhou City, China

Xuzhou City is located in the most northwestern portion of Jiangsu Province, P. R. China. Karst groundwater in the Ordovician and Cambrian Limestone aquifers is the main source of water supply. There are 527 wells in urban areas to exploit the karst groundwater, yielding up to 35 000 m^3 per day. After 1978, urbanization and industrialization of Xuzhou City have continued at a greatly accelerated pace; the population increased from 670 700 （1978） to 1 645 500 （2002）, its GDP from 0.71 × 10^9 $ to 42.7× 10^9 $ and the urban area from 184 km^2 to 1,038 km^2 （built-up city area from 41.3 km^2 to 81.9 km^2）. The volume of karst groundwater withdrawal increased yearly before the operation of a supply plant of surface water in 1992, from 3.85x 10^7 m^3（1978） to 1.34× 10^8 m^3 （1991） and now maintained at 0.1× 10^9 m^3 （2002）. Intensive overexploitation of karst groundwater has caused a continuous descending of the piezometric level and the area of the depression cone increases year after year. These changes have increased the vulnerability of the karst groundwater system and have induced environmental problems such as depletion of water resources, water quality deterioration, groundwater contamination and karst collapse. The largest buried depth of karst groundwater is up to 100 m in the dry season in some areas, while 66 exhausted wells have been abandoned. A change in the thickness of the unsaturated zone due to the drawdown of the piezometric level has caused a change of the chemical environment which has an impact on the physical state and major chemical compositions in groundwater. The contents of Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, NO3^-, SO4^2- and C1^- in karst groundwater has increased significantly, total hardness （CaCO3 content） rises annually in most pumping wells and exceeds the Standard of Drinking Water of P.R. China. Point source pollution and belt-like pollution along the rivers has caused water quality deterioration. The sudden loss of buoyant support due to rapid drawdown of the piezometric level has induced 7 karst collapses to form 17 pits and has caused an estimated US$ 10 million economic loss. These problems have influenced the quality of development in the city.

City Network Evolution Characteristics of Smart Industry: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta, China

The dual-path model of industrial evolution and spatial progression has been widely acknowledged and incorporated into the strategic planning to promote the development of urban industries and regional collaborations.However,current research on inter-enter-prise city networks mainly focuses on the single sector of flows on all enterprise branches,such as product value chains and production factors,but neglects that of particular industry department.Built upon the new economic geography and city networks theory,this paper develops a methodological framework that focuses on the analysis of city network evolution characteristics of smart industry.Particu-larly,a conceptual model of smart industry enterprise-industry-city is proposed and then applied to a case study of smart industry in the Yangtze River Delta Region,China.Using enterprise supplier-customer data,a city network of smart industry is constructed and sub-sequently analyzed with the proposed model.Findings indicate that the smart industry network in Yangtze River Delta Region exhibits a hierarchical structure and the expansion of the network presents a small-world network characteristic.The study not only makes a meth-odological contribution for revealing the industrial and spatial evolution path of the current smart industry,but also provides empirical support for the formulation of new economic development policies focused on smart industries,demonstrating the role of city clusters as carriers of regional synergistic development.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Heat Islands and Optimization of Spatial Network Construction in the Central Urban Area of Fuzhou City, China

Although accelerated urbanization has led to economic prosperity,it has also resulted in urban heat island effects.Therefore,identifying methods of using limited urban spaces to alleviate heat islands has become an urgent issue.In this study,we assessed the spatiotemporal evolution of urban heat islands within the central urban area of Fuzhou City,China from 2010 to 2019.This assessment was based on a morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)model and an urban thermal environment spatial network constructed us-ing the minimum cumulative resistance(MCR)model.Optimization measures for the spatial network were proposed to provide a theor-etical basis for alleviating urban heat islands.The results show that the heat island area within the study area gradually increased while that of urban cold island area gradually decreased.The core area was the largest of the urban heat island patch landscape elements with a significant impact on other landscape elements,and represented an important factor underlying urban heat island network stability.The thermal environment network revealed a total of 197 thermal environment corridors and 93 heat island sources.These locations were then optimized according to the current land use,which maximized the potential of 1599.83 ha.Optimization based on current land use led to an increase in climate resilience,with effective measures showing reduction in thermal environment spatial network structure and function,contributing to the mitigation of urban heat island.These findings support the use of current land use patterns during urban heat island mitigation measure planning,thus providing an important reference basis for alleviating urban heat island effects.

Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

Spatio-temporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Forces of Winter Urban Heat Island:A Case Study of Rapid Urbanization Area of Fuzhou City,China

Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human settlements,it is significant for exploring the evolution characteristics of urban thermal environment and analyzing its driving forces.Taking the Landsat series images as the basic data sources,the winter land surface temperature(LST)of the rapid urbanization area of Fuzhou City in China was quantitatively retrieved from 2001 to 2021.Combing comprehensively the standard deviation ellipse model,profile analysis and GeoDetector model,the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the winter urban thermal environment were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the winter LST presented an increasing trend in the study area during 2001–2021,and the winter LST of the central urban regions was significantly higher than the suburbs.There was a strong UHI effect from 2001 to 2021with an expansion trend from the central urban regions to the suburbs and coastal areas in space scale.The LST of green lands and wetlands are significantly lower than croplands,artificial surface and unvegetated lands.Vegetation and water bodies had a significant mitigation effect on UHI,especially in the micro-scale.The winter UHI had been jointly driven by the underlying surface and socio-economic factors in a nonlinear or two-factor interactive enhancement mode,and socio-economic factors had played a leading role.This research could provide data support and decision-making references for rationally planning urban layout and promoting sustainable urban development.

Structural Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Carbon Emission Spatial Association Network:A Case Study of Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,China

City cluster is an effective platform for encouraging regionally coordinated development.Coordinated reduction of carbon emissions within city cluster via the spatial association network between cities can help coordinate the regional carbon emission management,realize sustainable development,and assist China in achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.This paper applies the improved gravity model and social network analysis(SNA)to the study of spatial correlation of carbon emissions in city clusters and analyzes the structural characteristics of the spatial correlation network of carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)city cluster in China and its influencing factors.The results demonstrate that:1)the spatial association of carbon emissions in the YRD city cluster exhibits a typical and complex multi-threaded network structure.The network association number and density show an upward trend,indicating closer spatial association between cities,but their values remain generally low.Meanwhile,the network hierarchy and network efficiency show a downward trend but remain high.2)The spatial association network of carbon emissions in the YRD city cluster shows an obvious‘core-edge’distribution pattern.The network is centered around Shanghai,Suzhou and Wuxi,all of which play the role of‘bridges’,while cities such as Zhoushan,Ma'anshan,Tongling and other cities characterized by the remote location,single transportation mode or lower economic level are positioned at the edge of the network.3)Geographic proximity,varying levels of economic development,different industrial structures,degrees of urbanization,levels of technological innovation,energy intensities and environmental regulation are important influencing factors on the spatial association of within the YRD city cluster.Finally,policy implications are provided from four aspects:government macro-control and market mechanism guidance,structural characteristics of the‘core-edge’network,reconfiguration and optimization of the spatial layout of the YRD city cluster,and the application of advanced technologies.

Agricultural Vulnerability to Drought in China's Agro-pastoral Ecotone:A Case Study of Yulin City,Shaanxi Province

Agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China is the prominent area for agricultural production,but it is also the most typical ecological fragile area with frequent drought disasters.Taking Yulin City at Shaanxi Province in China as the case area,the paper aims to investigate the spatio-temporal changes of agricultural vulnerability to drought in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the period 2000 to2020.The results show that:1)the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City has shifted from high vulnerability in the period2000–2010 to low vulnerability in the period 2011–2020.2)There exist obvious spatio-temporal differences of the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City during the research period.3)Four sensitive events and 14 resilient events were identified in the research and the crops of Yulin had become more resilient to drought.Finally,the paper put forward with policy implications to make adaptive strategies of agriculture to climate change in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the future,e.g.,carrying out agricultural zoning based on agricultural production conditions,intensifying the construction of disaster prevention and relief system,and integrating with modern agricultural technology to develop new type agriculture.

Which Neighborhoods Have Easier Access to Online Home Delivery Services?A Spatiotemporal Accessibility Analysis in Nanjing,China

The rise in online home delivery services(OHDS)has had a significant impact on how urban services are supplied and used in recent years.Studies on the spatial accessibility of OHDS are emerging,but few is known about the temporal dimension of OHDS accessibility as well as the geographic and socioeconomic differences in the spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS.This study measures the spatiotemporal accessibility of four types of OHDS,namely leisure,fresh and convenient,medical,and catering services.The geographic and socioeconomic disparities in the spatiotemporal accessibility of these four types of OHDS are then identified using spatial statistical methods and the Kruskal-Wallis test(K-W test).The case study in Nanjing,China,suggests that:1)spatiotemporal accessibility better reflects the temporal variation of OHDS accessibility and avoids overestimation of OHDS accessibility when only considering its spatial dimension.2)The spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS varies geographically and socioeconomically.Neighborhoods located in the main city or neighborhoods with higher housing prices,higher population density,and higher point of interest(POI)mix have better OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility.Our study contributes to the understanding of OHDS accessibility from a spatiotemporal perspective,and the empirical insights can assist policymakers in creating intervention plans that take into account variations in OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility.

对外传播中的福州城市形象话语建构——以“十三五”期间China Daily报道为例

以“十三五”期间China Daily有关福州的报道为语料,以文化话语研究为理论框架,从话语主体、话语主题和话语形式三个方面探讨福州城市形象的话语建构。研究发现,总体上China Daily对外塑造了一个积极的福州城市形象,其中以文化形象最受关注。此外,与以往同类研究相比,样本媒体进一步传递了普通民众的声音,更多使用人物通讯的报道形式,从而更有效地对外讲述了福州故事、中国故事。本研究对城市形象的话语建构与国际传播具有现实意义。

PRINT CHINA 2007——No.1 printing exhibition in China in 2007 meets you at Dongguan city in spring time

The first International Printing Technology Exhibition of China（Guangdong）is held from 10th-14thApril 2007.The abbreviation of the name of this exhibition is PRINT CHINA. The first PRINT CHINA attracts not only large quantity of printing and packaging equipment and material suppliers home and abroad to participate in the show,but also enormous num- bers of domestic and overseas visitors to attend the show.

Distribution and Accumulation Characteristics of Heavy Metals in Sediments in Southern Sea Area of Huludao City, China

The southern sea area of the Huludao City, Liaoning Province might be polluted by heavy metals because it is close to the Jinzhou Bay, one of the heaviest sea area polluted by heavy metals in China. The undisturbed modem sediment core can be used to analyze the accumulation and source of the pollutants using 137Cs and 21pbex. Thirty-five samples of surface sediment and two core sedi- ments were collected from the southern sea area of Huludao City. The concentrations of copper （Cu）, lead （Pb）, chrome （Cr）, zinc （Zn）, arsenic （As） and mercury （Hg） in the surface sediments as well as Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, 137Cs and 2~~pbex in the core sediments were deter- mined to research the spatial distribution and accumulation characteristics, and to analyze the sources and the potential risks of heavy metals. The results show that the pollution levels of Zn and Hg are serious, and 26 stations are at moderate or heavy ecological risks. The concentrations of the heavy metals increase from east to west, as well as from open sea to offshore marine area. The concentrations of heavy metals are not high in the sediments adjacent to the Jinzhou Bay, and the influence caused by the seawater exchange with the Jinzhou Bay is little. The concentrations of the heavy metals in the core sediments show low-high-low characteristic, and it coincides with the pollution history of Huludao City. The atmospheric deposition of heavy metals from the Huludao Zinc Plant is likely to be the main source of pollution without direct discharge of wastewater. The high concentrations of heavy metals appear on the upper sediment of 20 cm. The shallow sediment with high heavy metal contents might be exposed to surface when it was disturbed by the ocean engineering and big storm surge, then cause risk to the safety of aouaculture and human honlthy.

Analysis of Urban Expansion and Driving Forces in Xuzhou City Based on Remote Sensing

Based on satellite remote sensing TM/ETM+ images of Xuzhou city,land use forms of the city in 1987,1994 and 2000 were extracted by using a neural network classification method. The expansion contribution rate and annual expansion intensity index of each administrative district have been calculated and the contribution rate matrices and spatial distribution maps of land use changes were obtained. Based on the above analysis,the characteristics of urban expansion from 1987 to 2000 have been explored. From 1987 to 1994,the expansion contribution rate of Quanshan dis-trict reached 46.80%,the highest in all administrative districts of Xuzhou city; Tongshan town was in a high-speed ex-pansion period; both Quanshan and Yunlong districts were experiencing fast-speed expansion periods while the entire city was expanding at a medium-speed with an annual expansion intensity index of 0.98; the city spread eastwards and southwards. From 1994 to 2000,the expansion contribution rate of Quanshan district reached 43.67%,the highest in Xuzhou; the entire city was in a medium-speed expansion period with an annual expansion intensity index of 1.04; the city has rapidly been extended towards the southeast. According to the contribution rate matrices of land use changes,urban expansion mainly usurps cropland and woodland. A quantitative analysis found that population growth,indus-trialization and economic development are the primary driving forces behind urban expansion.

Characteristics and Mechanism of Agricultural Transformation in Typical Rural Areas of Eastern China:A Case Study of Yucheng City,Shandong Province

Rural off-farm employment,rapid loss of agricultural land,and advanced technology popularization had led agricultural production in Chinese typical rural areas come at a critical transformation and upgrade stage.Based on sample survey data gathered from 401 households in Yucheng City,Shandong Province,this paper focuses on the characteristics and mechanism of agricultural transformation in typical rural areas of the eastern China.It was found that 74.3% of households surveyed kept at least one member engaging in off-farm employment,and 57.1% looked forward to expanding the operational scale of arable land,while just 13.7% had actually transferred their agricultural land.Since growing off-farm employment does not result in the collapse of traditional subsistence agriculture,therefore,agricultural production in Yucheng City is at an incomplete transformation phase from traditional small-holder farming to modern scale economy.It is caused by both macro environments and family characteristics,while urban-rural dual structure,imperfect rural development policy and agricultural technology popularization make peasant economy strengthen upon maintenance,and small-holder farming becomes peasant's natural response owing to pluriactivity,local off-farm employment,reverse elimination,etc.In order to achieve smooth agricultural transformation of typical rural areas in the eastern China,it needs to promote professional differentiation among peasants,under clear policies adopted by central government.Providing comprehensive services for agricultural production and improving production skills and knowledge of farmers who are still living in the countryside will effectively stimulate the process of agricultural transformation.

Comprehensive Measurement for Carrying Capacity of Resources and Environment of City Clusters in Central China

Studying the carrying capacity of resources and environment of city clusters in the central China has important practical guidance significance for promoting the healthy, sustainable and stable development of this region. According to their influencing factors and reciprocity mechanism, using system dynamics approaches, this paper built a SD model for measuring the carrying capacity of resources and environment of the city clusters in the central China, and through setting different development models, the comprehensive measurement analysis on the carrying capacity was carried out. The results show that the model of promoting socio-economic development under the protection of resources and environment is the optimal model for promoting the harmony development of resources, environment, society and economy in the city clusters. According to this model, the optimum population scale of the city clusters in 2020 is 42.80×106 persons, and the moderate economic development scale is 22.055×1012 yuan (RMB). In 1996-2020, the carrying capacity of resources and environment in the city clusters took on obvious phase-change characteristics. During the studied period, it is basically at the initial development stage, and will come through the development process from slow development to speedup development.

Regional Sustainable Assessment at City Level Based on CSDIS(China Sustainable Development Indicator System)Concept in the New Era,China

The core issue of sustainable development refers to the coordinated development of economic-social-environmental issues.In the present study,by complying with the China Sustainable Development Indicator System(CSDIS)concept,a comprehensive index system was built;besides,Natural Breaks(Jenks)Classification Method,Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis and Geographic Detector Analysis were conducted to delve into the sustainability and coordinated degree at city level in China from 2007 to 2017.The achieved results are presented as follows.First,for spatial differentiation,the overall spatial distribution pattern was characterized by the high-value units in eastern China and the low-value units in western China from 2007 to 2017.To be specific,the high-value units were radiated along the Beijing-Guangdong Axis(Jing-Guang Axis)centered on the core of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region,the middle-value units were distributed in strips along the coast,and the low-value units were vastly gathered in western China and gradually break via the Hu Huanyong line(Hu Line)in south China from 2007 to 2017.More specifically,based on the five subsystems,the pattern of each system was consistent with the whole,whereas the degree of concentration was different.Second,for spatial correlation,the significant High-High(HH)areas were primarily distributed in the core of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta Regions.The significant Low-Low(LL)areas were continuously distributed in the southwest China and broke through the Hu Line from 2007 to 2017.There were insufficient number of significant High-Low(HL)and significant Low-High(LH)areas,whereas the spatial agglomeration of them was less obvious.Third,for internal coupling coordination,the spatial differentiation between the coupling degree and the coupling coordinated degree was significantly consistent in 2007 and 2017.The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta Regions have demonstrated a high level of coordinated evolution,and the pattern of western mountainous areas exhibited a low degree of coordinated growth.Lastly,based on the combination of quantitative and qualitative,its factors were underpinned by robust economic strength,the vitality support of the information level and the basic support function of the topography,active guidance of national policies and path dependence and industrial transfer.

Molecular Characterization and Drug-resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains in Xuzhou, China

To understand the genetic diversity and drug resistance status of Mycobocterium tuberculosis （M. tuberculosis） circulating in Xuzhou of China, the spacer-oligonucleotide typing （Spoligotyping） and multi-loci VNTRs （variable number tandem repeats） analysis （MLVA） were utilized for the genotyping of the isolates. Drug susceptibility test （DST） was performed by the proportion method on the Lowenstein-Jensen （L-J） medium using isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and streptomycin. By Spoligotyping, 287 M. tuberculosis isolates were differentiated into 14 clusters. Then with 15-1oci MLVA, these strains could be divided into 32 clusters, 228 genotypes. Of 15 VNTRs, 6 loci had the highly discriminatory powers, 6 loci presented moderate discrimination and 3 loci demonstrated less polymorphism. The DST results showed that 46 strains were resistant to at least one first-line anti-tuberculosis agent. There was a difference in the isoniazid resistance between Beijing and non-Beijing genotype strains. We concluded that the combination of Spoligotyping and 15 VNTR loci as the genotyping in our study was applicable for this region, the drug resistant isolates were identified, and the Beijing family was the most prevalent genotype in the rural counties of Xuzhou.

Magnetic Properties of Tree Leaves and Their Significance in Atmospheric Particle Pollution in Linfen City,China

Fifty-one tree leaves were sampled in the industrial area,residential area,and Fenhe River ecological zone,for the purpose of a magnetic study on atmospheric pollution in Linfen City,Shanxi Province,China.Measurements of mass-specific magnetic susceptibility(χ) show a significant variation range(from 11.6 × 10-8 m3/kg to 129.7 × 10-8 m3/kg).Overall values of magnetic susceptibility decline in the following sequence:industrial area > residential area > Fenhe River ecological zone.The relatively elevated concentration-related magnetic parameters(saturation isothermal remanent magnetization,anhysteretic remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility) appear in the industrial area,with their highest values in the vicinity of Linfen Steel Mill.Magnetic particles are dominated by multidomain,magnetite-like minerals.Magnetic particle concentration and grain size both decrease with the increasing distance from industrial area,indicating the industrial area,especially Linfen Steel Mill,is the main source of atmospheric particle pollution.Residential area and Fenhe River ecological zone are also affected by industrial emission to a certain extent.The results of this study indicate that magnetic measurements of tree leaves are practicable for monitoring and determination of atmospheric pollution in Linfen City.

A GIS-based Spatial Analysis of Housing Price and Road Density in Proximity to Urban Lakes in Wuhan City, China

As one of the essential urban open spaces, lakes usually contribute immensely to the quality of residents′ daily lives. Different from hedonic approach employed in existing researches on urban open spaces in China, this paper integrates housing price surface with road density to analyze the spatial characteristics in proximity to urban lakes in Wuhan City, China. With the expansion of Wuhan City, urban lakes became polluted, they shrunk or even disappeared, leading to unfavorable conditions for sustainable development of the city. To better understand the spatial relationship between the city and lakes, we classify the urban lakes in Wuhan central area into ′lakes in the urban center′ and ′lakes in urban fringe′. Based on housing price surface we explore the spatial characteristics in proximity to different lakes and differences between the lakes. We also use Geographic Information System(GIS) tool to calculate road density as a supplementary indicator to reflect the accessibility in proximity to urban lakes. The results indicate that relative independence exists between different towns, and the spatial characteristics are different depending on scales and locations. In most of cases, the road density is lower where closer to the lakeshore while the housing price exhibits an opposite pattern. We conclude that city governments and urban planners should give more considerations to these spatial differences, somewhere should be better planned and protected as an important waterfront and somewhere the control of unreasonable real estate development nearby should be strengthened.

Empirical Analysis of City Contact in Zhujiang(Pearl) River Delta, China

In traditional urban geography, city contact research is a classic study element in city research. In general, researchers use the traditional gravity model to characterize the contacts that exist between two cities. The traditional gravity model assumes ideal conditions, but these preconditions and their results often do not exist in realistic conditions. Thus, we used a modified gravity model to characterize the city contacts within a specific region. This model considers factors such as intercity complementarities, government intervention, and the diversity of the transportation infrastructure which is characterized as the transportation distance instead of the traditional Euclidean distance. We applied this model to an empirical study of city contact in the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Delta(PRD) of China. The regression results indicated that the modified gravity model could measure city contact more accurately and comprehensively than the traditional gravity model, i.e., it yielded a higher adjusted R2 value(0.379) than the traditional gravity model result(0.259). Our study also suggests that, in addition to urban-regional and metropolitan development, the complementarities of the basic functions of cities at the administrative and market levels, as well as the corporeal and immaterial levels, play very significant roles in the characterization of city contact. Given the complexity of city contact, it will be necessary to consider more relevant influential factors in the modified gravity model to characterize the features of city contact in the future.