Local Responses to Macro Development Policies and Their Effects on Rural System in China's Mountainous Regions:The Case of Shuanghe Village in Sichuan Province

China has promulgated a series of policies including the Western Development Program, the Grain for Green Project, agricultural support policies and building a new countryside strategy to eliminate east-west differences and urban-rural disparities since the late 1990s. This paper gives a holistic examination on local responses to the four typical macro socio-economic development policies and their effects on rural system based on a case study of a mountainous village in southern Sichuan Province. The results showed that the policies have not moved the case study village from its historically marginal status. To some extent, its socio-economic situation might have been worsened by accelerated out- migration of the youth, loss of agricultural land due to afforestation and industrial plants, increased fire hazard due to afforestation and reforestation, increased environmental pollution due to industrial enterprises attracted to the village and a steep decline in agricultural production due to loss of and inefficient use of cultivated land. Factors causing local villages' dilemmas include the nonuniformity of actors' objectives, finiteness of villagers' abilities, and the imperfect incentive and restraint mechanism for local government's activities under existing policy framework composed of uncoordinated one-size-fits- all policies. We suggest that China's rural policy in the new period should gradually shift from a sectoral to a place-based one, from top-down incentives to the development of bottom-up projects, and fully recognize the diversity of rural space, so as to lift localcapacities and make good use of the knowledge shared by different actors. Moreover, it is also necessary to integrate the various sectoral policies, and improve the interministerial and interdepartmental coordination of rural policies at regional and local levels.

Tourism resource assessment and spatial analysis of wine tourism development： a case study of the eastern foothills of China＇s Helan Mountains

The reasonable development and utilization of mountainous regions closely relates to local economic development and ecological security. The wine production region in the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains in Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with its excellent terroir, is emerging as one of China's three major geographical attractions. Based on surveys of tourism resources and spatial analysis for this wine producing region, we propose a highly representative and practicable path for wine tourism development. Based on China's national standard in Classification, Investigation and Evaluation of Tourism Resources(GB/T 18972-2003), which recommended the types and grades of tourism resources in one area, we conduct an analysis of resource characteristics and the current state of development. Using Arc GIS software, spatialautocorrelation analysis, average nearest neighbor analysis, as well as clustering and outlier analysis, we are able to derive the spatial distribution characteristics of tourism resources. Our survey showed that tourism resources in this area are relatively abundant and have good quality and clear combination advantages. Nonetheless, there are resources shortage for wine tourism and poor integration of wine production with the tourism industry. Regarding the spatial distribution of resources, we revealed the current states of and issues surrounding regions with concentrated resources, as well as characteristics of this clustering. Finally, we proposed a development path for wine tourism in this region based on the five dimensions of management mode, industrial path, product development, spatial optimization, and market development.

Sensitivity of Chinese Industrial Wastewater Discharge Reduction to Direct Input Coefficients in an Input-output Context

Industrial wastewater discharge in China is increasing with the country′s economic development and it is worthy of concern. The discharge is primarily relevant to the direct discharge coefficient of each sector of the economy, its direct input coefficient and the final demand in input-output models. In this study, we calculated the sensitivity of the reduction in the Chinese industrial wastewater discharge using the direct input coefficients based on the theory of error-transmission in an input-output framework. Using input-output models, we calculated the direct and total industrial wastewater discharge coefficients. Analysis of 2007 input-output data of 30 sectors of the Chinese economy and of 30 provincial regions of China indicates that by lowering their direct input coefficients, the manufacturers of textiles, paper and paper products, chemical products, smelting and metal pressing, telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment will significantly reduce their amounts of industrial wastewater discharge. By lowering intra-provincial direct input coefficients to industrial sectors themselves of Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang, there will be a significant reduction in industrial wastewater discharge for the country as a whole. Investment in production technology and improvement in organizational efficiency in these sectors and in these provinces can help lessen the direct input coefficients, thereby effectively achieving a reduction in industrial wastewater discharge in China via industrial restructuring.

A preliminary study on the theory and method of comprehensiveregionalization of cryospheric services

As one of the five most important spheres affecting climate systems globally, the cryosphere not only exerts crucial impacts on natural environment, but also plays a key role in guaranteeing the goods and services provision of the oasis in the cold and arid regions. However, there is a lack of synthesized knowledge about the contributions and profitability on socio-economic aspects of the cryospheric services (CSs). To cope with this key and urgent sustainable development issues, this study constructs a comprehensive regionalization research system that integrates the natural and socio-economic aspects for cryospheric characteristics with emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. Guided by the supply- demand equilibrium model and the service maximization model, the research system consists of establishing a classification system for CSs, identifying the spatial distribution pattern of CSs, and constructing the comprehensive regionalization of CSs, which finally divides the research area into relatively independent, complete, and organically linked CS units of multiple spatial levels. By setting up a bridge between the CSs with socio-economic needs, it has profound and practical significance and implications for implementing the sustainable utilization strategies and macroeconomic policymaking for global environmental protection.

Investigating the tourism image of mountain scenic spots in China through the lens of tourist perception

A favorable tourism image of high-quality mountain scenic spots(HQMSS)is crucial for tourism prosperity and sustainability.This paper establishes a framework for investigating the tourism image based on cognitive-emotion theory and uses natural language processing(NLP)tools to clarify the cognition,emotion,and overall tourist image of the HQMSS in China from the perspective of tourist perception.This paper examines the multi-dimensional spatial differentiation of China's overall image,including province,scenic spot scales,as well as the spatial pattern of the overall comprehensive tourism image.Strategies for comprehensively improving HQMSS's tourism image are also formulated.The results show that:(1)The cognitive image of Chinese HQMSS is categorized into core and marginal images,and the core images such as scenery and cable car are the expression of the uniqueness of mountainous scenic spots.Additionally,the cognitive image is classified into six dimensions:tourism environment,tourism supporting facilities,tourism experience,tourism price,tourism service,and tourism safety.(2)Positive emotions are the dominant mood type of HQMSS in China,followed by neutral emotions,with negative emotions being the least frequent.Emotional images vary across dimensions,with tourism environment and tourism experience evoking relatively higher emotion.(3)The spatial pattern of HQMSS for each dimension at the national,provincial,and scenic scales is diversifying.This article provides a multidimensional perspective for investigating the tourism image of mountainous scenic spots,proposes targeted recommendations to improve the overall image of HQMSS in China,and can greatly contribute to the sustainable development of mountain tourism.

Effects of altitude on county economic development in China

Mountain regions play an increasingly essential role in global sustainable development, and the related sustainable development issues have attracted increasing attention. There are obvious vertical spatial differentiation phenomena in both natural and socio-economic fields with altitude being a key factor affecting the economic development of mountain regions. However, the exact influence of altitude is still unknown. Based on the county scale, this paper used the gravitational potential energy model to evaluate the effects of altitude on economic development in China. The results indicate that the high-altitude areas were the depression areas of county economic development, and county economic density showed a decreasing trend with the increase of altitude. County economic density respectively decreased by 0.10%, 0.04% and 0.02% with every 1% increase in altitude in 2000, 2005 and 2010. Here we demonstrate that high altitude has negative effect on county economy, although the negative effect presented a downward trend. The results also showed that increasing capital and labor investments could reduce the negative effect of high altitude on county economy. In 2010, with every 1% increase in capital and labor density, county economic density increased by 0.62% and 0.83%, respectively. The effects of altitude were the results of multidimensional factors. The fundamental approach to reduce the negative effects of high altitude is to combine the ecological environment and resources to develop characteristic industries. The construction of infrastructure should be strengthened, which can promote the occurrence of the contra-flow of people, logistics and capital, and promote the balanced development of county economy.

Hollow Villages and Rural Restructuring in Major Rural Regions of China: A Case Study of Yucheng City, Shandong Province

The agricultural land resources of China are relatively limited because of its large population.Therefore,balancing the land use for industrialization,urbanization,and food security is a big challenge.In recent years,rural hollowing in China has resulted in numerous of abandoned rural houses,and the areas with abandoned houses need to be restored into agricultural land with effective land consolidation techniques.This study used the method of benefit-cost analysis and the data collected through field surveys conducted in Yucheng City in the northwest of Shandong Province in March 2009,to examine how hollow villages (HVs) to be created and how to solve the problem.The qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate following results.1) The situation of HVs is becoming increasingly severe under rapid industrialization and urbanization in Yucheng City.2) Poor infrastructure in rural areas and incomplete urbanization are the main factors that have led to the rural hollowing in many major rural regions of China.3) In order to resolve the problem caused by HVs and increase agricultural land,reconstructing rural communities in the countryside is necessary.4) A new mechanism in the provision of compensation funds by developed regions to the villages in less-developed regions must be established.

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.

Evaluation and Analysis of Provincial Differences in Resources and Environment Carrying Capacity in China

Resources and environment carrying capacity is central to not only regional sustainable development but also major function-oriented zoning. This paper presents an evaluation index system for resources and environment carrying capacity based on four aspects of carrying capacity(i.e., water resources, land resources, the environment, and ecosystems) by using a square deviation decision-making method, and on the basis of above effort evaluates the resources and environment carrying capacity across 31 provincial regions in China(not including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions of China). In addition, this paper evaluates the current state of socio-economic development, and analyzes the spatial distribution of resources and environment pressure. The results showed that distinct spatial differences in resources and environment carrying capacity and pressure across provincial regions. Resources and environment pressure is affected by both comprehensive resources and environment carrying capacity and socio-economic development. Regions subjected to lower degrees of resources and environment pressure will be restricted by resources and environmental problems through future courses of development owing to excessively low carrying capacities. By contrast, regions with higher comprehensive resources and environment carrying capacity will be subjected to excessively high levels of resources and environment pressure because of rapid socio-economic development. Both of resources and environment carrying capacity and pressure must therefore be considered in the allocation of country-binding targets to provincial regions.

Relationships and Evolving Networks of Rural Manufacturing Clusters: A Case Study in Yucheng County, Henan Province of China

The evolution of networks in rural industrial clusters,in particular in the context of China has been paid more attention to in the world.Applying the theory and techniques of social network analysis (SNA),this study is with particular regard to the business network relationships and their evolutionary dynamics of steel measuring tape manufacturing clustered in Nanzhuang Village,Yucheng County of Henan Province,China,which is important for better understanding the industrial and regional development in less developed rural areas.From data collected by comprehensive questionnaire survey in 2002 and mass interviews with 60 enterprises and assembling families and several government authorities in 2002,2003,2004,2005 and 2008,four types of networks are identified: spin-off,consulting,communication and cooperative.The characteristic of these networks is outlined in detail.Compared with the high-tech clusters of typical developed areas,the networks that have evolved in traditional manufacturing clusters are more affected by emotive linkages.The cluster networks are shown to exhibit a polycentric hierarchical structure.The family relationships are the dominate spin-off channels of enterprises,while the supply and demand relationships and the mobility of the skilled workers are also important paths of network learning,and the cooperation relationships are comparatively stable.Besides the root enterprises,the middle-sized enterprises are comparatively more active than small-sized enterprises,and the intermediary agencies and the service institutions act as bridges of the inter-enterprises cooperation.By analysis of the structure of networks and the interactions between the networks,the four stages of network evolution are also identified.The four stages are dominated by the family networks,the internal division production networks,the local innovation networks and the global supply networks respectively,and they play different roles in cluster development.

Spatial Structure,Hierarchy and Formation Mechanisms of Scientific Collaboration Networks:Evidence of the Belt and Road Regions

Scientific collaboration has become an important part of the people-to-people exchanges in the Belt and Road initiative,and remarkable progress has been made since 2013.Taking the 65 countries along the Belt and Road(BRI countries)as the research areas and using collaborated Web of Science(WOS)core collection papers to construct an international scientific collaboration matrix,the paper explores the spatial structure,hierarchy and formation mechanisms of scientific collaboration networks of 65 countries along the Belt and Road.The results show that:1)Beyond the Belt and Road regions(BRI regions),Central&Eastern Europe,China and West Asia&North Africa have formed a situation in which they all have the most external links with other countries beyond BRI regions.China has the dominant role over other BRI countries in generating scientific links.The overall spatial structure has changed to a skeleton structure consisting of many dense regions,such as Europe,North America,East Asia and Oceania.2)Within the Belt and Road regions,Central&Eastern Europe has become the largest collaboration partner with other sub-regions in BRI countries.The spatial structure of scientific collaboration networks has transformed from the‘dual core’composed of China and the Central&Eastern Europe region,to the‘multi-polarization’composed of‘one zone and multi-points’.3)The hierarchical structure of scientific collaboration networks presents a typical‘core-periphery’structure,and changes from‘single core’to‘double cores’.4)Among the formation mechanisms of scientific collaboration networks,scientific research strength and social proximity play the most important roles,while geographical distance gradually weakens the hindrance to scientific collaboration.

Geographical Differences and Influencing Factors of Rural Energy Consumption in Southwest Mountain Areas in China:A Case Study of Zhaotong City

China is a mountainous country,and Southwest mountain areas cover the most mountain areas in China and have the most serious problems.Taking Zhaotong city as the study area,based on 902 rural household questionnaires of 11 villages in 2 counties and Tobit model,this paper analyzes the geographical differences and influencing factors of energy consumption for non-production purposes of rural households living in different terrain conditions.This research finds that:(1) Coal takes up the main part of energy consumption in valley areas and coal consumption is mainly affected by per capita cultivated land area,household income,proportion of rural household energy expenditure in total expenditure,coal price,and family population size.Firewood takes up the main part of energy consumption in high mountain areas and firewood consumption is mainly affected by per capita firewood forest area,distance to purchase coal,household income,electricity price,and coal price.(2) Only when the distance is greater than 20 kilometers,that is the average distance of rural households living in middle mountain areas(1,600m^1,800m) to purchase coal,the transportation condition has a significant impact on coal consumption.(3) In high mountain areas,prices of coal and electricity are the main factors influencing energy consumption choice of rural households.Too high prices of coal and electricity would to some extent lead rural households to choose firewood as the main energy consumption type.Compared to coal,rural households prefer to choose electricity.

Eco-compensation and Harmonious Regional Development in China

Harmonious regional development poses difficult problems, especially in so far as the harmonious regional development of ecological resources is concerned. China has explored several eco-compensation models, and in each province eco-compensation has different characteristics. These methods have had significant impacts. The aim of this paper is first to examine the meaning of ecocompensation and to present a framework for analyzing it. Next the development of eco-compensation in China is examined. Finally, four typical models of eco-compensation are compared: the government financial transfer payment compensation model; the ecological resource exploiters′ payment compensation model; the ecological destruction compensation model; and the ecological resource tax collection compensation model. Each model has its own unique feature and potential to contribute to harmonious regional development.

Quantitative evaluation of Tibet’s resource and environmental carrying capacity

This study identifies the carrying state and value of Tibet’s resource and environmental carrying capacity.A new theoretical framework is proposed for exploring the resource and environmental carrying capacity based on two perspectives of“growth limit”and“stability of Human-Earth relationship system”.On this basis,an ideal growth model that accords with the“short board”effect is established to predict the population limitation.Analytical results show that the holistic state of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet is in jeopardy.From 2010 to 2016,Tibet’s carrying state continued to decline,moreover,the negative forces still overwhelm the positive forces.Although the resource reserves still have room for more population,the environmental capacity and ecological capacity have been overloaded.Meanwhile,the Human-Earth relationship system is in an unstable stage.Three scenarios that respond to different socioeconomic developments are implemented to predict the population limitation of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet;thus,authors argue that Tibet should keep its population size within 4 million around 2025.This research will provide reference for sustainable development and resources and environmental conservation in Tibet.

Urban Metabolism Based on Emergy and Slack Based Model: A Case Study of Beijing, China

The key to studying urban sustainable development depends on quantifying stores, efficiencies of urban metabolisms and capturing urban metabolisms′ mechanisms. This paper builds up the metabolic emergy account and quantifies some important concepts of emergy stores. Emphasis is placed on the urban metabolic model based on the slack based model(SBM) method to measure urban metabolic efficiencies. Urban metabolic mechanisms are discussed by using the regression method. By integrating these models, this paper analyzes the urban metabolic development in Beijing from 2001 to 2010. We conclude that the metabolic emergy stores of Beijing increased significantly from 2001 to 2010, with the emergy imported accounting for most of the increase. The metabolic efficiencies in Beijing have improved since the 2008 Olympic Games. The population, economic growth, industrial structures, and environmental governance positively affect the overall urban metabolism, while the land expansion, urbanization and environmentally technical levels hinder the improving of urban metabolic efficiencies. The SBM metabolic method and the regression model based on the emergy analysis provide insights into the urban metabolic efficiencies and the mechanism. They can promote to integrate such concepts into their sustainability analyses and policy decisions.

Spatial Disparity and Efficiency of Science and Technology Resources in China

In the knowledge economy era,science and technology(S&T) resources are getting more and more important in shaping regional competiveness and building regional innovation capacity.As such,the spatial distribution of S&T resources is a key to understanding regional development and disparities.By designing an input-output indicator system,this paper develops an evaluation model to examine the spatial distribution of S&T resources in China and assess their spatial efficiency.Moreover,the paper tries to explain spatial differences in the efficiency of S&T resources in China.Major findings are:1) the input and output of S&T resources in China shows a clear T-shaped spatial structure,i.e.,concentrated mainly in the coastal region and along the Changjiang(Yangtze) River;2) the efficiency of S&T resources in China displays strong spatial disparities,with the level of efficiency descending from the east to the west while high efficiency appearing in only several clusters;3) the utilization rates of S&T resources in most provinces are quite low,resulting in low efficiency of S&T resources allocation.The paper suggests that the utilization rate of S&T resources should be raised and the commercialization of S&T outputs should be enhanced to improve the efficiency of S&T resources in China.

Distribution Orientation and Driving Mechanism of Geographical Pattern Change of China′s Banking Industry

By analyzing the relationship among government, market driving forces, distribution orientation of banking industry, service opportunity equality and spatial patterns, this paper proposes that it is distribution orientation that lead to the formation and evolution of spatial pattern of banking industry. The difference of the distribution orientation leads to the separation of the spatial pattern of banking industry, and the change of the distribution orientation leads to the change of spatial pattern. The degree of spatial pattern change is subject to the degree of change of distribution orientation, and the scale of bank resources in the regions, which supports the distribution orientation variation. Based on these theoretical frameworks, some indicators were designed to analyze the pattern change of China′s banking industry and its effects since 1995 under the change of the distribution orientation. This paper finds that the orientation of economic benefit maximization driven by market causes the banking industry to concentrate in economically developed regions.The government, which does not follow the orientation of economic benefit maximization, plays a role of stabilizer. Since the bank branches in the regions with the greatest change in bank branch distribution are too few, and regions with the greatest change in bank loan allocation are the regions with lots of loans, the pattern change of the banking industry in physical form is not as notable as that in economic form.

Spatial Differentiation Characteristics of Human Settlements and Their Responses to Natural and Socioeconomic Conditions in the Marginal Zone of an Uninhabited Area,Changtang Plateau,China

The Changtang Plateau(CTP)in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China is one of the top-10 uninhabited areas with the most important ecological value in the world.It is of great academic and practical significance to carry out research on human settlements in the marginal zones of the uninhabited areas to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature on the CTP.Using high-definition remote-sensing images to visually interpret and identify settlement-patch data,combined with field investigations,this study explores the spatial characteristics of human settlements in Shuanghu and Nyima counties and their responses to natural and socioeconomic conditions in the hinterland of the CTP.Findings reveal that the scale of human settlements on the CTP is extremely small,and density is very sparse.Settlements on the CTP primarily consist of several households,with some containing more than a dozen households,or are sub-village scale.Socioeconomic development is low and socioeconomic factors have a weak influence on the settlement layout on the CTP.Natural factors are the core elements affecting the layout of human settlements on the CTP.Settlements tend to occur on low mountains,gentle slopes,and areas with high average annual temperatures.Careful settlement site selection can help to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.To meet the needs of grazing,settlement layouts must typically have a high-quality grassland orientation.Riverbanks are key settlement areas,and settlement sites are often far away from alpine salt lakes.The characteristics of settlements on the CTP and their responses to environmental conditions significantly differ from those of human settlements in low-altitude inland areas.

Impact of Climatic Change on Agricultural Production and Response Strategies in China

A number of studies indicate that global climate warming has been increasing,especially in recent decades.Climate warming greatly affects global agro-production and food security-becoming a hotspot of global environmental change.This paper proposes a structural and orientational framework for scientifically addressing climatic change impact on agro-production.Through literature reviews and comparative studies,the paper systematically summarizes influencing mechanisms and impact of climate warming on such agro-production factors as light,temperature,soil quality and water environment.The impact of climate warming on cultivation regions,cropping systems,crop pests,agroproduction capacity,agro-economy and farm management is analyzed.Then,suitable climate-adapting agro-development strategies are put forward for different regions in China.The strategies are carefully selected from a repository of international tested climatic change countermeasures in agriculture at national or district level.

An ecosystem services zoning framework for the permafrost regions of China

The degradation of the permafrost regions, resulting from intensive anthropogenic activities and global warming, has led to the loss of ecosystem services and is threating human well-being. Nevertheless, the real ecosystem service values and their complete zoning system in the permafrost regions have received insufficient attention. Research gaps between the identification of permafrost-based ecosystem services and ecosystem management are seriously constraining the development of cryospheric science. Thus, an ecosystem service zoning framework that links ecosystem services with human welfares is proposed to solve the abovementioned challenges in the permafrost regions of China. The three tiered zoning framework for ecosystem services, consisting of zoning goals, principles, hierarchy, methodology, and nomenclature, is proposed for the permafrost regions of China. A combined method, i.e., GIS spatial tools, the location entropy analysis model, and ecosystem services assessment, was employed to distinguish ecosystem conditions, ecosystem service supply, and beneficiaries into these three-grade ecosystem service zones. Hierarchical and dynamic zoning could clarify protection priorities of ecosystems and ecosystem services in terms of regions, grades, and types. The framework could contribute to sustainable management of ecosystem services in the cryosphere.