As an emerging integrated economic system, the ice and snow economy holds significant importance for promoting high-quality regional economic development. This study first employs data visualization techniques to illustrate the current status of China's ice and snow economy. On this basis, it uses the LSTM neural network model to conduct a predictive analysis of its future development trends. Furthermore, by analyzing the industrial convergence mechanism and operational mechanisms of the ice and snow industry, the study explores the underlying logic driving the development of China's ice and snow economy. Finally, it identifies the challenges in its development and proposes relevant policy recommendations to promote the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy in the Chinese context. The findings show that since China was awarded the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015, its ice and snow economy has entered a period of rapid growth. The total market scale expanded from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to 980 billion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.4%. However, the ice and snow economy still faces challenges such as homogeneous consumption structures, incomplete industrial chains, unbalanced regional development, and constraints on sustainable development. It is therefore urgent to formulate targeted solutions based on China's actual conditions, gradually establishing a well-structured ice and snow industry system characterized by clear government-market collaboration, supply-demand alignment, dynamic cost-benefit equilibrium and balanced development and protection-ultimately propelling the high-quality development of China's ice and snow economy.

In 2022, Chinese policymakers emphasized the importance of leveraging the country’s domestic energy resource endowments and implementing a phased and well-planned carbon peaking strategy by following the principle of “establishing the new before phasing out the old”. To explore the carbon reduction potential and path optimization in resource-based regions undergoing energy structure adjustments, this study employed the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) to simulate and analyze both a baseline scenario and a comprehensive policy intervention scenario from 2021 to 2050. This study focused on the typical resource-based region of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and developed a customized “LEAP-Inner Mongolia” model. The findings reveal that: (1) Under the comprehensive scenario, energy demand is notably reduced by 2050, with total carbon emissions cut by 70.96% compared to the baseline scenario; (2) The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) analysis suggests a persistent rise in emissions under the baseline scenario, while a carbon peak is achieved as early as 2029 under the integrated scenario; and (3) There are limitations of isolated policy instruments so a synergistic approach that integrates power generation structure optimization with improvements in energy efficiency is necessary. Accordingly, we propose a multi-pronged policy portfolio that includes the synchronized development of clean energy and efficient end-use systems, industrial low-carbon transformation, accelerated adoption of new energy vehicles, and improved inter-regional coordination. These recommendations can offer systemic insights for guiding low-carbon transitions in resource-based areas.

Rural homestays are a vital component of rural tourism development. With the deep implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, rural homestays have increasingly become a focal point for young urban tourists. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this study systematically explores the impacts of the brand experience, information quality, and tourism atmosphere of rural homestays on the emotions and satisfaction of young urban tourists through an empirical analysis. The data for the study came from a questionnaire survey of various rural lodgings in the city of Beijing, resulting in 428 valid samples. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this study revealed that brand experience, information quality, and tourism atmosphere are external stimuli that significantly influence tourist emotions. Specifically, these three factors both enhance positive emotions and reduce or alleviate negative emotions. Furthermore, the positive emotions have a significant positive effect on tourist satisfaction, while negative emotions have a significant negative impact. Specific recommendations for rural homestay operations based on these findings are given. These recommendations will not only help to improve the market competitiveness of rural homestays but also provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for the sustainable development of rural tourism.

Rural tourism plays a crucial role in driving the sustainable development of rural economies. With the rise of the digital economy, user-generated content (UGC) videos on platforms such as TikTok have become a significant factor influencing consumer decision-making, creating new opportunities for the growth of rural tourism. Using the TikTok app as the research platform, this study examines the relationship between UGC short videos, tourists’ intentions to engage in rural tourism, and their perception of destination image. Specifically, it explores the impact of UGC short videos on tourists’ willingness to participate in rural tourism and the mediating role of destination image perception. The findings indicate that UGC short videos positively influence tourists’ willingness to engage in rural tourism. Destination image perception mediates this relationship, shaping tourists’ decisions through cognitive and emotional image perceptions. Based on these findings, this paper recommends rural tourism destination managers enhance promotional strategies and improve destination image perception through UGC short video content.

The spatial configuration of historical canal villages and towns is crucial to their overall structural framework. Moreover, it serves as a fundamental element in the manifestation of architectural style, the promotion of vitality, and the enhancement of environmental conditions. This study used Google Maps and field research to examine the spatial perception of Xiangxi Pushi Ancient Town by analyzing node space, street space components, and visual data. It investigates the spatial structure characteristics of ancient canal villages and towns at three levels: point-like space, line-like space, and point-line association. Furthermore, this study evaluates these characteristics based on three perspectives: macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic. The text subsequently elucidates its formation mechanism, along with the cultural aspects of watersheds following the construction of canals. The results showed that the point space of Pushi Ancient Town is relatively complete; however, the overall structure is loose, and the core is not strong. The linear space utilizes the main street as its framework, while certain internal and external streets and lanes have isolation and insufficient connectivity. Simultaneously, some important nodes are marginalized, and the connectivity and overall synergy between the point and line spaces require improvement. This study provides a theoretical foundation and practical reference for examining the sustainable development of villages and towns, as well as watershed culture in the post-canal era.

This study investigates the adaptation capability of local indigenous communities and the obstacles to adaptation based on the ecosystem in the Kaptai Lake area in Bangladesh. The study is based on a semi- structured questionnaire survey among the purposively selected 150 respondents from the indigenous communities in three villages in the study area. A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) has been facilitated among the community leaders. The study identifies that ecosystem services are assessed on the socio-cultural dimension, behavioral compliance with management and policies, benefits from ecosystem services, conservation approaches, and sustainability evaluation. The respondents feel they benefited from the ecosystem in agriculture, fishing, small businesses, and tourism activities. The respondents emphasize several initiatives such as forest conservation, reducing illegal housing and deforestation, community participation, indigenous knowledge, diversified agriculture, and business activities. The FGD suggests sustainable agriculture, medical plant cultivation, ecotourism development, freshwater management, and reduced emissions. Several initiatives, such as benefits, regulation, preservation and adaptation, decision-making, and Indigenous knowledge, are essential for the adaptation capabilities of Indigenous communities based on ecosystem services. The study recommends natural ecosystems, protection of livelihoods, community participation, and investment in sustainable ecosystem services for ensuring the economic, social, and environmental well-being of indigenous communities.

The complex types and regional differences in tourist attractions mean that the evaluation and quantification of spatial structures require inter- and trans-disciplinary methodologies. Previous studies on spatial structure have mostly focused on the law of tourist flow and the development trend of tourism, emphasising humanistic and economic methods. Currently, the main challenge of spatial structure research is the integration of natural, economic, and social factors and scientifically supporting tourism planning and management. From the perspective of geographical distance and geometric space, this study developed a quantitative method for the spatial structure of tourist attractions, which combines a grade classification index, spatial relationship function, and influence factor analysis and selects cases for implementation in a geographic information system, with the advantages of visualisation, timely data update, and convenient guidance for practice. It provided new insights for understanding the sustainable management of tourist attractions from the intersection of geography and tourism science. The research results indicate that China has the highest number of 4A and 3A level tourist attractions, accounting for 80.9% of the total. The nearest neighbor ratio of scenic areas is less than 1, showing a significant spatial distribution clustering pattern, with four major scenic area clusters located in eastern and southern China. The Natural environment determines the spatial layout of scenic areas, with 51.46% of scenic areas distributed in regions below 200 m in altitude, and 95.10% of scenic areas located in areas with a slope of less than 15 degrees. 1A and 2A level scenic areas are mainly distributed in cold and dry regions, while 5A, 4A, and 3A level scenic areas are relatively concentrated with similar climatic characteristics. 5A level scenic areas have higher GDP, population density, and growth rates. The spatial structure of scenic areas is closely related to population distribution and economic development; southeastern China accounts for more than 90% of the national population and GDP, and this region has over 60% of A-level and above scenic areas.

Soundscape is critical in shaping tourists’ experiences and perceptions of the acoustic environment of a park. Creating a well-perceived soundscape is an important factor in enhancing the quality of scenic spots and improving visitor satisfaction in parks. This study selected Park 1903 and Xishan Forest Park as examples of urban parks and forest parks to analyze variations in sound levels and sound source types in two different types of parks. Then, a structural equation model was constructed to unveil the correlation between soundscape perception and visitor satisfaction. The results showed that sound source perception was relatively lower in Park 1903 than in Xishan Forest Park, where natural sounds were more popular among tourists. Further, the perceived occurrence of sounds was higher in Park 1903 than in Xishan Forest Park. The sound level in Park 1903 slightly exceeded the noise limit (55 dB(A)) for Class 1 acoustic environment functional areas, as per the Environmental Quality Standard for Noise (GB 3096-2008), while the sound level in Xishan Forest Park complied with this standard. In Park 1903, soundscape pleasantness improved with increasing degrees of dominance of artificial sounds. Moreover, soundscape pleasantness and richness in both parks had a positive effect on visitor soundscape satisfaction. Furthermore, gender and education level were the most influential factors for soundscape perception in Park 1903 and Xishan Forest Park, respectively. However, age and place of residence were not correlated with soundscape perception in Xishan Forest Park. In conclusion, the variations in sound sources and visitor characteristics remarkably affected visitor soundscape perception in different types of parks. The findings provide valuable insights and a theoretical basis for designing soundscapes and improving park visitor satisfaction.

Sport tourism is emerging as a key focus in China’s tourism development, supported by investments in infrastructure, sports events, and promotional efforts. Hainan, with its unique geographic advantages and abundant tourism resources, are prioritized by central and local governments, to establish Haikou, Sanya, and Wanning as key sport tourism hubs. However, research on evaluating regional sport tourism from an industrialist perspective remains limited. This study adopts a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews with middle and senior managers from sport tourism enterprises in Hainan. These interviews provide an in-depth evaluation of Hainan’s sport tourism industry from the perspective of industry stakeholders. Data coding through Nvivo software identifies twelve critical dimensions: Brand, culture, business ethics, infrastructure, location, market, natural resources, policy, product, tournaments, funding, and talent. By analyzing these dimensions both horizontally and vertically, the study assesses the industry’s current status and challenges, offering recommendations in three key areas: ① Government: Improve transportation infrastructure and establish dedicated management departments. ②Enterprises: Focus on strategic positioning, effective marketing, and sustainable development through collaboration. ③ Public-Private collaboration: Strengthen coordination between government and enterprises to promote integrated and coordinated sport tourism development across multiple cities.

The coordinated development of ecological security (ES) and high-quality economic development (HQED) is of great significance to the integrated sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration. In this study, the entropy weight-TOPSIS model and the improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model were used to analyze the coupling coordination mechanism of ES and HQED. The results indicate that the level of ES in the YRD showed a fluctuating upward trend from 0.475 in 2000 to 0.481 in 2020, while HQED continued to rise from 0.097 in 2000 to 0.232 in 2020, and the coordinated development index of ES and HQED increased from 0.293 in 2000 to 0.795 in 2020, highlighting an obvious trend of balanced development. Notably, the eastern coastal cities exhibited superior HQED and ES levels, with a better CCD, compared to the inland cities. The multi-scale geographically weighted regression model (MGWR) analysis shows that industrial structure, production efficiency and urbanization rate were key factors in the imbalanced development of the YRD. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed from the aspects of strengthening technological and industrial innovation and comprehensively promoting new urbanization.

Effectively enhancing the efficiency of the regional tourism economy is a key issue in advancing high-quality tourism development in Northeast China and implementing the Northeast China Revitalization Strategy. Based on a tourism efficiency indicator system, this study employed an SBM super-efficiency model to calculate the tourism efficiency in Northeast China from 2003 to 2022 and analyzed the characteristics of its spatiotemporal evolution. A Tobit model was subsequently used to investigate the influencing factors, which can inform targeted measures to promote the high-quality development of the tourism industry. The results reveal that the tourism efficiency is relatively low overall, and it has been shaped by many factors other than policies. (1) Tourism efficiency in Northeast China remains relatively low overall. Over time, it exhibited a spiralling upward trend that moved through three developmental stages: the stable stage, the stage of rapid growth, and the stage of fluctuations. Spatially, there are two high-efficiency clusters, the Changchun-Harbin urban agglomeration and the Southeast Liaoning urban agglomeration. However, the agglomeration effect waned accordingly as tourism efficiency gradually shifted from a polarized pattern toward a more balanced distribution. (2) While policy plays a role, tourism efficiency in Northeast China is also significantly shaped by factors such as resources, location, industry, science and technology, and education. Its correlation with the level of economic development has been comparatively minor, and there are marked differences in the factors influencing tourism efficiency across the region. According to the research conclusions, a joint development system for the regional tourism economy should be constructed at the macro level. At the micro level, efforts should focus on enhancing market competitiveness through “push-pull” strategies, while each province should pursue differentiated development models tailored to its unique characteristics.

Ice-snow tourism is emerging as a vital sector for economic growth. As the climate crisis affects traditional ice-snow tourism destinations, southern China has built a significant ice-snow tourism sector. This expansion is fueled by significant tourist demand, a robust economy, and a high population density, which together lead to different development opportunities for ice-snow tourism in mid- and low-latitude areas. This study examines cities in southern provinces and assesses the resource endowment of ice-snow tourism resources from 2018 to 2023 in five categories: ice-snow events, ice-snow festivals, ice-snow venues, ice-snow parks, and ice-snow attractions. By utilizing Baidu Index data, the research looks at the gap between resource endowment and internet attention in winter tourism using a spatial mismatch model. The findings indicate that: (1) Ice-snow tourism endowment in South China is currently limited but experiencing rapid growth. (2) Internet attention in winter tourism within these cities varies, following an “up-down-up” trend. (3) There is a mismatch between resource endowment and internet attention. Over time, the development paths of ice-snow tourism in southern cities can be classified into three types: priority development, active development, and inertial development, influenced by factors such as policy changes, urban economic conditions, overall tourism development, and natural geography.

The Yellow River Basin acts as both a national ecological barrier and a core area for high-quality development strategies. It encompasses nine provincial-level administrative regions and serves as an exemplary case for studying the cross-scale co-evolution of human-land systems. This study centers on the dual driving forces of new urbanization and tourism economy, aiming to address the critical question of “how can these two systems achieve mutual promotion and coordination?”, which has significant practical implications for optimizing the human-land relationship in the basin. Drawing on panel data from 2011 to 2022, this study applied a coupling coordination model and spatial convergence econometric methods to uncover the spatio-temporal patterns of coupling coordination between the two systems across the nine provinces and autonomous regions along the Yellow River. The key findings are threefold. (1) New urbanization demonstrated a steady yet gradual upward trend, whereas the tourism economy exhibited a “growth-decline” fluctuation pattern, revealing a notable temporal mismatch between the two systems. (2) Although the coupling coordination degree of the two systems is progressing toward an orderly structure, the overall level remains relatively low, with the new urbanization system being the primary constraint on overall coupling coordination due to significant impediments in the economic, spatial, social, and ecological dimensions of urbanization. (3) Significant convergence in the coupling coordination degree of the two systems was observed at the basin-wide level and in the upper reaches, although the influencing factors differ. In contrast, no convergence trend was evident in the middle and lower reaches, reflecting the path-dependent characteristics of the basin’s gradient development pattern. This study elucidates the coupling and coordination relationship between the two systems, thereby providing a robust scientific foundation for the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Ethnic villages have become an integral part of rural tourism, celebrated for their folk culture and landscapes. With a case study of the Guilin Longji Rice Terrace Scenic Spot, this paper examines the impact of internal and external driving forces on tourism development in ethnic villages. It presents a dynamic mechanism model that elucidates the interplay between these factors and their impact on tourism growth. The findings indicate that tourism development in ethnic villages depends on seven main driving factors: the endowment of tourism resources, the aspirations and demands of villagers, the management and operation of enterprises, government support, market demands, competitive dynamics, and media exposure. Particularly, the driving factors of tourism development in ethnic villages present mutual influence, interpenetration, and interdependence characteristics. In light of these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations aimed at promoting the development of ethnic village tourism and contributing to rural revitalization.

Tracking and investigating tourist satisfaction and accurately identifying the key factors that affect tourist satisfaction have always been among the top priorities for academia and tourist attraction operators. With the rise of online travel, analysis based on online comments has become an important method for tracking and surveying tourist satisfaction. This article examined the online comments of tourists for the Panjin Red Beach Scenic Corridor Scenic Area (hereinafter referred to as Red Beach) on Ctrip as an example. Using natural language processing to classify the tourist evaluations into topics, the main topics of concern were identified as tourism services, tourism attractions, scenic area management, and tourism experience. Through the 5-level rating of Ctrip’s online gaming customer satisfaction, an analysis was conducted on tourist satisfaction and the topics of greatest concern to the tourists were ranked. The results showed that the satisfaction levels from high to low are: tourism experience, tourism attractions, scenic area management, and tourism services. Therefore, satisfaction with related content under the service topic was the lowest so this aspect urgently needs to be improved and enhanced.

Regional clustering has become a distinctive feature of the homestay industry in terms of spatial distribution in many countries. However, identifying and quantifying the advantageous locations suitable for the agglomeration of the homestay industry at the micro-scale is still in the exploratory stage. Therefore, with the support of multi-source data and the spatial entropy weight superposition method, drawing on concepts from physics such as gravitational and magnetic fields, and based on relevant location theories, the environmental field strength and its quantitative model are proposed to evaluate micro-locations suitable for homestay development. Finally, a case study was conducted in Wuyuan, China. The results show that the homestay industry is mainly distributed along traffic lines and rivers, which is greatly affected by tourism resources and rural settlements, and the degree of agglomeration is gradually increasing; The environmental field strength is closely related to the accessibility of infrastructure and the development of tourism resources, and the overall structure tends to be networked, polycentric and “core-periphery”; there is a positive linear correlation between the distribution of homestay industry and environmental field strength. This study provides a basis for optimising decision-making related to the sustainable planning and site-selection of tourism destinations and the homestay industry.

As rural B&Bs gain popularity amid growing demand for personalized tourism experiences, understanding the multifaceted drivers of customer decision-making is becoming critical. Existing research often examines individual factors, leaving a gap in comprehending complex causal pathways. This study used online travelogue data, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) to examine the factors and combination pathways influencing customer behavioral intentions in rural B&Bs. The results indicate that customer behavioral intentions in rural B&Bs are influenced by multiple factors including the natural environment, material space, cultural space, quality of service, experience of home, entertainment education, culinary delights, surrounding environment, and value-added services. In addition, four main types of customer behavioral intentions in rural B&Bs were identified: Environmental immersion, Educative entertainment, Service experience, and Comprehensive perception. This study contributes to our understanding of customer behavioral intentions in rural tourism settings both practically, by offering actionable strategies for B&B operators, and theoretically, by enhancing the existing framework for studying them.

This study incorporates both positive and negative tourism network attention into a comprehensive framework to examine their distinct effects on tourism development in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). In particular, this study uses a spatial econometric model to accurately examine the relationship between positive and negative tourism network attention and regional tourism development, including the impact of tourism network attention on local and neighboring areas. In addition, the framework also uses fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the path combination of network attention and other factors that affect varied stages of tourism development in each city of the YRD, and expounds its driving mechanism. Research findings reveal: (1) Positive tourism network attention has a “U-shaped” influence on regional tourism development. (2) Positive tourism network attention significantly promotes tourism development of both local and neighboring areas, while negative tourism network attention both hinders local tourism development and adversely affects neighboring areas via spillover effects. (3) Multiple paths for tourism development exist in the region, including four modes: Demand-facility driven, demand-resource-facility-transportation driven, word of mouth-transportation driven, and traffic-resource driven. Using the YRD as a case study, this research offers empirical evidence and theoretical insights into how positive and negative tourism network attention influence tourism development in the region.

The rationality of the spatial configuration of public charging stations is the key to alleviating “range anxiety” of car owners and improving urban infrastructure services. This paper introduces OpenStreetMapnx (OSMnx) and takes Shanghai, the city with the highest number of new energy vehicles, as the research area. By considering the travel chain process of new energy vehicle owners, the study calculates the accessibility from vehicles to charging and from charging stations to service facilities, and identifies its spatial pattern and influencing factors. Research shows that: (1) During the travel period from residence to charging (R2C), the number of public charging stations in Shanghai increases as the time range expands, showing a spatial distribution pattern of gradually decreasing from the central urban area to the suburbs and a centripetal clustering trend; (2) The travel section from charging to service facilities (C2S), accessibility from charging stations to recreational facilities is the highest, followed by medical facilities, while accessibility to educational facilities is the lowest, showing a positive clustering distribution feature in space; (3) The impact of population distribution, economic foundation, and government role on the accessibility of different travel segments are different, but regional population distribution and social fixed assets investment have significant impacts on the accessibility of the whole travel chain of Shanghai public charging stations.

This study takes the children’s animation IP “Brave Brother Ah Niu” as a case study, where the animation IP refers not merely to a single work, but rather to a core content asset capable of multi-dimensional development and possessing long-term commercial value, such as a well-known character, story, or worldview. This case is used to explore the path for children’s animation IP to empower the deep integration of cultural tourism based on Bourdieu’s field theory. In response to the current challenges of fragmentation, superficial symbolization, and capital feedback disruption in development, a three-field transformation framework of “cultural production-media practice- industrial consumption” is constructed, and an integration mechanism of “empowerment-translation-feedback” is proposed. This study provides a replicable theoretical model and practical path for the Ah Niu IP and similar regional children’s animation IPs to overcome the bottleneck of cultural tourism integration, achieve cultural inheritance, and enhance the industrial value.

Rice is not only the most basic staple crop, but also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Negative emission options that can guarantee food security are urgently needed. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial dynamics of GHGs from four types of rice in China, namely early indica rice, mid-season indica rice, late indica rice, and japonica rice, and estimated their mitigation potentials. The main results are fourfold. (1) The annual average GHGs per hectare was 4513.5 kg CO₂-eq ha^-1, increasing gradually from 2005 to 2020, while there was an opposite trend in annual average GHGs efficiency (0.4 kg CO₂-eq yuan^-1). The GHGs intensity was 0.9 kg CO₂-eq kg^-1 and remained constant in the same period. (2) The GHGs per unit (sowing area, output or output value) in central and southeastern China were higher than those in the north and west. (3) The GHGs per unit (area, yield or output value) of late indica rice were the highest while the corresponding values for japonica rice were the lowest. (4) The GHGs per hectare might be able to achieve a 20% reduction from the 2020 level, providing that cropland redistribution and mitigation measures are adopted. Finally, we put forward policy proposals and available measures for emission reduction to promote the sustainable development of agricultural systems.

In the context of dual-cycle development, improving the supply and demand capacity of ecosystem services is foundational to promoting high-quality economic development. Based on accounting for the supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2000 to 2020, we analyze the characteristics of their temporal and spatial evolution and classify the ecological types of 41 cities in the YRD in 2020. The findings are as follows: (1) During the 20 years, the supply value of ecosystem services in the YRD has decreased, but the overall value is high. Moreover, the spatial distribution of ecosystem services shows a notable distribution pattern of “high in the south and low in the north.” Furthermore, the demand for ecological value has increased significantly, and the demand of the northeastern plains region is much higher than that of the southwestern mountainous region. (2) The spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem service supply-demand balance in the YRD region is pronounced, with a notable distribution pattern, mainly dominated by cities with balanced supply-demand that forms a high-value area centered on Shanghai-Suzhou and a low-value area dominated by Chizhou-Huangshan and Huabei-Bozhou, which have strong ecological and economic synergies. (3) By 2020, there were 2 ecological conservation cities, 3 ecological restoration cities, 29 ecological remodeling cities, and 7 ecological development cities in the YRD, indicating overall coordinated ecological and economic development.

The cultural elements are the core of theme parks, which gradually interact with people as unique cultural space landscapes. The expression of culture is pivotal in determining the quality of a theme park and significantly affects the tourist experience. From the perspective of the production of culture on display, this paper explores the cultural practices of theme parks and tourists’ appeal through field research, content analysis, and grounded theory. The research findings indicate that theme parks are characterized by authenticity, interaction, participation, and readability. They rely on scene restoration, story narration, service facilities, cultural characteristics and tourist interaction to facilitate cultural engagement. Content analysis shows that tourists prioritize amusement attractions, performances, and the overall tourism experience. When theme parks serve as venues for leisure and entertainment, tourist appeal reflect in five aspects: Theme park products, tourism services, storytelling, social interaction, and immersive experiences. Meanwhile, these appeals drive the cultural reproduction within theme parks. This study expands the application scope of cultural engagement in theme parks, elucidates the evolving demands of visitors, and provides insights for theme parks to enhance their storytelling capabilities and improve tourist experiences.

The tourist’s sense of place plays a pivotal role in the protection and renovation of historical districts, and it is an important driving force for the development, evolution and spatial reconstruction of historic districts. This study examines the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of tourists through the framework of sense of place (SoP), using Yongqingfang—a representative historical district in Guangdong—as a case study. Additionally, it proposes a model to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the generation of sense of place. The findings indicate that perception of place activities and the perception of place environment positively influence tourists’ positive emotional responses and their behavioral intentions. Based on the analysis of the results of hypothesis testing, the study also tested the mediating effects of positive and negative place emotions. It was determined that tourists generate place emotions in their cognition and experience of a place, and these emotions subsequently influence their behavior intentions. The study provides theoretical guidance for the choice of development pathways, renovation and reconstruction of historical districts from the perspective of the generation mechanism of tourists’ sense of place.

Exploring the changes in food consumption and dietary nutrient intake of Chinese urban and rural residents is of great significance. This study constructed a Chinese food nutrient model using data from “China Statistical Yearbook”, “China Rural Statistical Yearbook”, “China Yearbook of Household Survey”, and “China Yearbook of Rural Household Survey”. The structure and changes in food consumption and nutrient intake among urban and rural residents in China from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed using dietary balance indices and comparisons with dietary recommendations. The results show that higher consumption of cereals and lower consumption of dairy products remained the main problems in food consumption by both urban and rural residents from 2000 to 2020. The dietary nutrient structure of urban and rural residents developed a dual calorie structure dominated by grain and supplemented by vegetable oil, a dual protein structure dominated by grain and supplemented by pork, and a triple fat structure dominated by vegetable oil and supplemented by both pork and grain. Rural plant-based and animal-based dietary nutrition lagged behind that of urban areas, with a difference of roughly 20 years. The results of this study clarified the food consumption and dietary nutritional structures and changes of urban and rural residents. We found the deficiencies in the current dietary structure and made recommendations for improving the nutritional health of urban and rural residents.

Unreasonable land use practices have led to the imbalance of ecosystem functions and a continuous decline in the supply capacity of ecological products. Ecological restoration zoning serves as an effective spatial solution. Traditional approaches to delineating ecological restoration zones often rely on a single perspective, such as ecological security or risk assessment, while neglecting the interrelationships between ecological security elements and risk-inducing activities, as well as the adaptive capacity of ecosystems themselves. This study focused on the Guangzhou Metropolitan Area, and integrated multidimensional ecosystem services (water, soil, air, biodiversity, carbon) with circuit theory to construct an ecological security pattern featuring optimal corridor widths. Meanwhile, ecological resilience and the intensity of human disturbances were quantified and overlaid to jointly determine the priority order of ecological restoration zones. The results revealed three key aspects of this system. (1) A total of 55 ecological source patches were identified under this framework, covering a total area of 9062.0 km². This study detected 130 ecological corridors with a total length of 653.6 km, and they were classified into 18 high-resistance, 70 medium-resistance, and 42 low-resistance corridors, primarily distributed in the central region. In addition, eight ecological pinch points were identified as critical nodes for restoration. (2) Ecological resilience in the Guangzhou Metropolitan Area shows a spatial pattern of “high in the east and west, low in the south”, although it generally remains at a moderately low level. In contrast, the impact of human disturbances displays a pattern of “high in the central and southern regions, low in the northeast and west”, with a moderately high intensity overall. (3) The Guangzhou Metropolitan Area was zoned into five categories: priority restoration areas, key restoration areas, general restoration areas, secondary restoration areas, and routine restoration areas. The total area of the priority restoration zones is 1051.80 km², and these zones are mainly distributed across districts and counties such as Duanzhou, Gaoyao, Gaoming, Dinghu, Fogang, Conghua, and Zengcheng. By establishing a technical framework of “ecological security pattern-ecological risk assessment-ecological restoration zoning”, this study rationally prioritized restoration efforts, thereby providing actionable insights for advancing ecological civilization and guiding ecological conservation management in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Residents constitute the core stakeholders in tourist destinations such as traditional villages, with their subjective well-being serving as a pivotal determinant for the sustainable development of tourist destinations and the enhancement of tourism quality and efficiency. Wulong Village of Langzhong City is chosen as a case site, and an index system through literature analysis is constructed, anchored in social exchange theory. Some mathematical methods are utilized for a comprehensive analysis of residents’ subjective well-being level, influence factors and the relation between subjective well-being and pro-tourism behavior. The findings reveal that: (1) Both the explicit driving factors and the recessive association factors demonstrate positive correlations with residents’ subjective well-being and pro-tourism behavior. Residents exhibit a pronounced focus on future-oriented dimensions, with the spiritual facets of these dimensions directly shaping their pro-tourism behavioral tendencies; (2) The weight values of explicit driving factors correspond to the ranking of measurement index values, whereas coefficient of variation values show significant fluctuations, exerting a substantial moderating effect on pro-tourism behaviors; (3) Recessive associative factors exert both significant positive and negative impacts on residents’ subjective well-being and pro-tourism behaviors, while educational attainment functions as an explicit or implicit transmission mechanism, influencing the emotional cohesion underlying residents’ pro-tourism behaviors; (4) Residents’ subjective well-being and pro-tourism behaviors across four explicit driving dimensions (material well-being, livelihood security, self-worth, and future expectations) significantly and positively influence pro-tourism behaviors. Additionally, senses of gain act as intermediary drivers for pro-tourism behaviors, generating positive supportive effects that facilitate local tourism development.

The development of rural tourism not only plays a crucial role in driving the high-quality growth of destination economies but also significantly affects the livelihoods and well-being of residents in these areas. The objective of this study is to evaluate the well-being of residents in rural tourism destinations. With the Rice Dream Space in Shenyang as a case study, this study selects the residents from 18 administrative villages in the street where the scenic area is located as the research subjects. By conducting field surveys, 204 valid questionnaires were collected. Then, the SPSS 26.0 was employed to analyze these questionnaires, aiming to provide an in-depth understanding of the residents’ well-being in the context of rural tourism development. It establishes an indicator system based on four dimensions: Economy, politics, culture, and environment, and employs factor analysis to evaluate the livelihood well-being of residents comprehensively. The findings indicate that the level of livelihood and well-being among residents in rural tourism destinations is relatively high. Among the four dimensions, the cultural aspect received the highest average evaluation, while the economic component had the lowest. Based on the specific context of the research area, this study also offers countermeasures and suggestions aimed at enhancing the livelihood and well-being of residents in rural tourism destinations.

Food security has always been the cornerstone of national stability and a critical pillar of sustainable development. Exploring the laws of food supply, utilization, and structural evolution is of great significance for ensuring people's well-being and promoting socio-economic stability. However, as an agriculturally dominated and less-developed economy, the food supply has long been both a core concern and a developmental challenge for Nepal. This study employed the emergy analysis method to systematically examine the changing characteristics and structures of food supply and consumption in Nepal from 1990 to 2023, based on statistical data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Nepal's Central Bureau of Statistics, and Nepal Customs. Two main conclusions were drawn. (1) Between 1990 and 2023, the total emergy of Nepal's food supply increased by over threefold (from 2.46×10²² sej to 8.27×10²² sej), and per capita emergy doubled. However, driven by shifts in dietary preferences, rising demands for dietary balance, and insufficient domestic agricultural production, the food independence ratio (FIR) exhibited a sustained decline and bottomed out in 2021. Concurrently, self-sufficiency rates plummeted for key commodities: cereals (-9%), fruits (-46%), and vegetable oils (-46%) compared to baseline levels. This highlights inadequate supply chain stability and a high reliance on global markets. (2) In terms of consumption structure, both the total and per capita emergy of food consumption fluctuated upward with convergent trends. The proportion of animal-based consumption decreased from 43.00% to 34.97%, while plant-based consumption increased by over 8%. However, there were no fundamental changes in the internal supply structures of either category, with vegetable oils and dairy products remaining dominant, respectively. The results of this study indicate that Nepal's food system faces contradictions between yield growth and the demand for dietary diversification. Strengthening the resilience of local supply chains, formulating comprehensive policies, and enhancing international cooperation are essential for addressing these food security challenges.

The A-level tourist attractions are an important carrier for the development of the tourism industry. As the most fundamental tourism supply, studying their spatial distribution pattern and driving forces is of great significance for promoting the process of regional tourism industrialization. This study used the tourism resource abundance index, nearest neighbor distance index, and geographic detector model to study the spatial characteristics and driving forces of A-level tourist attractions in China. The results showed that the A-level tourist attractions in China exhibit significant spatial clustering, but there are significant regional differences. They are mainly distributed on the southeastern side of the Hu Huanyong Line. Overall, the average of tourism resource abundance index is 71.74. The proportion of cities above that average is relatively low, and they form local high-value clustering areas mainly in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing regions. The spatial distribution patterns of various types of scenic spots also exhibit agglomeration characteristics, but their agglomeration scales and spatial patterns exhibit obvious regional differences. The spatial distribution pattern of A-level tourist attractions in China is a result of the combined effect of regional socio-economic factors and scenic environmental factors. Among them, the explanatory power of regional socio-economic factors is stronger than that of scenic environmental factors. Among the scenic environmental factors, resource endowment has the strongest explanatory power, and there are significant differences in the dominant factors influencing the distributions of different types of A-level tourist attractions.