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.

Climate change has become a significant global issue, impacting various sectors, including ski tourism. In recent years, the intersection between climate change and ski tourism has gained considerable attention. To explore this topic, we reviewed recent research papers published in recent years on ski tourism, snow, and ice sports, and climate change and selected the three dimensions of ski resorts, ski tourists, and governments and communities where ski resorts are located to summarize and analyze the literature from the perspective of stakeholders. The results revealed the following perspectives. First, climate change has led to reduced natural snowfall at ski resorts, resulting in shorter ski seasons. This has caused operational challenges, particularly for smaller, lower-altitude resorts, and decreased tourist satisfaction and loyalty, leading to fewer ski trips, shorter stays, and a shift toward alternative destinations. Additionally, ski tourism's decline negatively affects the economies and environments of the regions dependent on this industry. Second, strategies to mitigate climate change's impact on ski tourism are essential. Ski resorts can utilize artificial snowmaking equipment and the extension of effective skiing time. Ski tourists, following the leisure substitution theory, may shift their destinations or adjust their skiing schedules. Governments can counter the effects of climate change by developing infrastructure, integrating regional resources, and enhancing overall competitiveness.

Promoting sustainable livelihoods for villagers is an essential strategy for rural revitalization in areas enriched with heritage sites. Northwest Yunnan, despite being one of China’s poorest regions, is globally renowned for the Three Parallel Rivers and its premier hiking destinations, so exploring sustainable income-increasing opportunities for its villagers is important for its rural revitalization. By using density analysis, logical matrix construction and cluster analysis with GPS data, this study explored the spatial distribution characteristics of hiking tourism in Northwest Yunnan and identified the hiking popular areas. A revenue generation framework, informed by Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) and customized to the unique hiking characteristics of such popular areas, was constructed to analyze income opportunities for villagers in these areas, so as to offer theoretical support for the hiking tourism development and rural revitalization in this region. The results showed that: (1) The distribution of hiking points of interest (POIs) in Northwest Yunnan was relatively centralized with three agglomeration areas from north to south, namely, the Deqin Agglomeration Area, the Lijiang-Shangri-La Agglomeration Area, and the Dali-Yangbi Agglomeration Area. (2) Northwest Yunnan mainly had three popular hiking areas and eight hiking sub-areas correspondingly. (3) The income-generating opportunities for villagers mainly included unique accommodation and food service, guide and gear transportation services, equipment supply, tourism product sales, and logistics support for hiking races. It indicated that due to the differing temporal-spatial characteristics, and themes of activities in each hiking sub-area, the approaches to revenue generation are uniquely distinctive for each sub-area. The diverse tourism-related livelihoods of villagers enrich tourists’ experiences while the nature of tourist activities guides the villagers’ livelihood choices. Hiking tourism serves as a vital avenue for economic growth in areas like Northwestern Yunnan, where villagers can significantly boost their income by offering a variety of tourism services.

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.

The integration and coordinated development of culture and tourism industry is essential for realizing high-quality development in China’s northeast border regions. To assess this integration and driving mechanism, an evaluation index system has been established to quantify the coupling and coordination degree of these sectors at the provincial level from 2013 to 2022. Meanwhile, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis can identify driving factors and its mechanism. The findings indicate that, despite fluctuation and uneven development, the integration of cultural and tourism industry has generally demonstrated a gradual upward trend, remaining predominantly in preliminary-stage development. The degree of coupling and coordination is influenced by four primary factors: economic development level, transportation infrastructure quality, industrial structure optimization and advancement in the digital economy. The outbreak of the global public health crisis has temporarily weakened the impacts of economic development, transportation infrastructure, and the digital economy on the integration process. However, as economic recovery continues to unfold, these factors have been anticipated to exert a sustained and significant influence on facilitating further integration and coordinated development within the cultural and tourism industry thereby accelerating high-quality development in the Northeast border regions. Based on these conclusions, this study proposes measures that focus on enhancing the integration and development of culture and tourism industry from three perspectives, namely integrated model innovation, transportation network enhancement, and industrial structure optimization.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) initiative in Maharashtra addresses the critical need to balance development with environmental conservation by ensuring compensatory afforestation for diverted forest lands. It manages funds collected from agencies using forest areas for non-forest purposes, ensuring their proper utilization for reforestation, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem restoration. This initiative is crucial for maintaining ecological balance, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting sustainable development in the state, while also providing transparency in the management of environmental compensation funds. This research examines the factors influencing the success of CAMPA plantations in western and central Maharashtra, India. We employed field surveys, SWOT analysis, and stakeholder interviews to assess plantation outcomes and challenges. Our analysis revealed strengths like natural forests, good rainfall, and suitable soil, alongside weaknesses such as challenging terrain, water scarcity, and wildlife interference. Opportunities for improvement include promoting natural regeneration, implementing water and soil conservation practices, and fostering local community involvement. Threats to success come from monsoon inaccessibility, inappropriate species selection, and wildlife disturbance. The study emphasizes a two-pronged approach for successful CAMPA initiatives. First, technical considerations like irrigation during initial years, planting mature saplings, and constructing large cattle-proof trenches are crucial for sapling survival, water conservation, and soil protection. Second, effective management practices are equally important. Timely access to funding ensures proper implementation, while engaging local communities through Gram Sabha (village assembly) fosters a sense of ownership and promotes plantation protection. Flexibility in planning allows for adaptation to diverse site conditions. Therefore, site observations, consultations with forest officials and key informants (to rank the crucial success factors) enabled this study to fetch dynamic results. In a nutshell, this research highlights the importance of combining scientific knowledge with community participation for building resilient and sustainable CAMPA initiatives. Stakeholders, despite minor variations in emphasis, agree on core success factors: community involvement, animal protection through large trenches, and securing funding.

China’s Convert Cultivated Land into Forest and Grassland policy has been gradually emphasized and promoted in the context of advancing China’s Western Development Program. Therefore, based on the perspective of localized practice in China, this study bridges the semantic level of information from the perspective of qualitative analysis and quantitative coding through the qualitative analysis of policy content and text similarity metrics. The study systematically reveals the diffusion characteristics of China’s Convert Cultivated Land into Forest and Grassland policy with respect to spatiotemporal evolution, thematic focus, and the degree of central policy diffusion. The goals are to clarify the mechanisms of policy evolution in a long time span, to analyze the implementation effects of the policy in accordance with local conditions, and thereby to make strong contributions to policy making. The results show five important aspects of the policy diffusion. (1) The policy followed a tendency characterized by “slow-rapid-stable” stages, and its diffusion process can be summarized into four phases. (2) By integrating thematic diffusion characteristics and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, this study reveals that the Grain for Green policy primarily exhibited a top-down “Hierarchical diffusion mode”. (3) By combining the national land cover change with the geographical distribution data of the Grain for Green policy, this study reveals that the policy has largely achieved its ecological goal of converting cultivated land. (4) Based on empirical research, this study illustrates the relationships between the number of policy issuances, the similarity between central and provincial policies, and the degree of policy diffusion, thereby enriching diffusion theory based on China's localized practical research. (5) This study suggests that national policies appear to reduce vertical pressure, thus inspiring the innovation of regional policy. Meanwhile, efforts should focus on developing distinctive industries to promote improvements in quality and efficiency.

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.

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.

Red tourism in China has expanded significantly since 2004, driven by government initiatives focused on economic development, cultural preservation, and Communist Party promotion. Despite this growth, red tourism often fails to engage tourists effectively due to a lack of focus on their experiences. This study employed the Q method with 31 samples to identify four key components of memorable red tourism experiences: identity experience, mixed emotional experience, cost-effective experience, and knowledge experience. Theoretically, this study underscores how red tourism can fulfill personal political goals and highlights the impact of affordability on creating memorable experiences. It also challenges the idea that hedonism is central to red tourism, while stressing the importance of cultural authenticity. The findings provide practical guidance for red tourism destination management to create more engaging and meaningful experiences. The recommendations include enhancing experiential atmospheres, incorporating red cultural elements, and balancing cultural authenticity with entertainment.

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.

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.

Rapid urbanization significantly influences urban renewal and the construction of new spaces in metropolises within developing countries, particularly affecting the ecological patterns and security of urban landscapes. This study conducts an in-depth analysis of landscape ecological change indicators in Hangzhou from 1990 to 2020, summarizing typical driving models and formation mechanisms behind these changes while proposing optimization strategies. The findings indicate that since 1990, driven by urban expansion, Hangzhou’s landscape ecological pattern has experienced overall stability alongside localized drastic transformations, revealing three distinctly different stages around West Lake, along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and across the Qiantang River. This evolution is primarily propelled by public service facilities, tourism development, industrial parks, landscape ecological corridors, and other forms of spatial expansion. Such processes reflect a comprehensive interplay among population urbanization dynamics, land use policies for urban areas, adjustments in administrative divisions, as well as the snowball effect stemming from capital-driven growth and wealth accumulation associated with new urban space development. The results presented herein serve as a representative case for understanding both the characteristics and driving forces behind changes in China’s urban landscape ecological patterns; they also hold significant implications for predicting and optimizing regulatory frameworks concerning spatial expansion policies in other nations and regions.

Understanding and managing the changing landscape of our planet requires analyzing land use and land cover (LULC) transitions. This study combines remote sensing data and GIS analysis to uncover the intricate patterns and drivers behind these transitions. By integrating GIS analysis, we identify factors such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, deforestation, and natural resource management contributing to these changes. Accurate data preprocessing and calibration are emphasized to reduce errors and uncertainties in LULC maps. The study covers the period from 2017 to 2022, utilizing digitized LULC maps created with GIS tools and satellite data interpretation, specifically Sentinel-2 images. The landscape was classified into seven land cover types: agricultural land, built-up areas, barren or degraded land, flooded vegetation areas, forests, vegetation or shrub-covered areas, and waterbodies. Findings revealed a decrease of 1063.73 km² in barren land between 2017 and 2022. Agricultural land expanded by 228.93 km², forest land increased by 632.90 km², and waterbodies grew by 33.05 km². These changes suggest a conversion of areas likely influenced by the high intensity of rainfall between 2017 and 2022, leading to notable ecological consequences such as reduced soil erosion and improved biodiversity protection. The study's results have significant implications for land management, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The extensive analysis of spatial and temporal data equips policymakers, urban planners, and researchers with crucial knowledge to make well-informed decisions. This research provides a solid basis for monitoring and managing LULC transitions, offering valuable methodologies and insights to promote a resilient and harmonious coexistence between human activities and the environment.

With the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization in China, the expansion of construction land and irrational utilization of cultivated land have led to issues such as cultivated land marginalization, extensive use, non-grain conversion, and non-agriculturalization. These issues are a major threat to sustainable agricultural development, but existing research suffers from limitations including failure to assess the multifunctionality of cultivated land (MCL) from the perspective of sustainable agricultural development. This study constructed an agricultural production function (APF)-social security function (SSF)-ecological maintenance function (EMF)-landscape aesthetic function (LAF) classification system. Using this comprehensive evaluation model, the MCL values for typical provinces in southwestern mountainous areas of China (Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan) were calculated in detail, and their spatiotemporal evolutionary characteristics were explored. Concurrently, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient, geographically weighted regression (GWR) and redundancy model were used to deeply explore the relationships among cultivated land functions and their influencing factors. The results showed three important points. (1) Over the past two decades, the comprehensive values and four sub-functional values of cultivated land in southwestern mountainous areas have shown increasing trends in the order of SSF > EMF > LAF > APF. The values and rates of change of each sub-functional value show obvious spatial variation. However, the spatial gap in cultivated land functions has adverse effects on sustainable agricultural development. (2) There are clear correlations between each pair of the four major functions of cultivated land during the study period, and the number of results reaching significance among the six correlations between the four main cultivated land functions increased significantly from 2000 to 2020. Simultaneously, there are noticeable spatiotemporal differences in the trade-offs and synergies among the MCLs. (3) The development of MCL is most significantly influenced by socioeconomic factors such as the per capita net income of rural residents. Therefore, formulating reasonable land protection policies is imperative for promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. The results of this study can provide guidance for the rational layout and coordinated development of MCL space, for promoting sustainable agricultural development and ensuring food security.

The Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is evolving into a modern green development demonstration zone, where river basin water quality is improving, rural industries are being transformed, and ecological value is being converted into economic value. Academic research has gradually expanded with the opening of construction practices. Against the backdrop of the main functional zoning, the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is guiding the differentiated development of Beijing's mountainous areas, while accounting for the developmental constraints of higher-level planning and the requirements for regional economic growth and providing decision-making references for policy formulation and engineering construction. This study outlines the overarching characteristics of theoretical research on the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area by synthesizing two decades of academic progress through four key themes: (1) Cultivation and realization mechanisms for ecological product value; (2) Rural socio-economic development and functional evolution; (3) Watershed water conservation and ecological barrier construction; and (4) The equilibrium between ecological preservation and industrial development. Finally, by analyzing the inherent constraints and balance between ecological protection and economic development, the modern developmental logic of the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is elucidated. Building on this analysis, future research directions are proposed across three dimensions: technical methodologies, paradigm establishment for research topics, and the optimization of research perspectives and objectives.

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.

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.

The Loess Plateau is a densely populated, important ecological security frontier and a major grain- producing region in China. Conversely, it is highly susceptible to soil erosion. In response to soil erosion, a series of restoration technologies were launched, including afforestation, check dams, terraces and so on. Research on the restoration of the soil erosion is a key to regional sustainable development, and ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. In this research, we analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of soil erosion and compared the changes in runoff and sediment transportation in the whole watershed using spatial data, statistical data and GIS spatial analysis tools and RUSLE models. The main results include: (1) from 1990 to 2015, the soil erosion modulus in the Luoyugou Watershed dropped from 3706.2 t km^-2 yr^-1 to 2176.5 t km^-2 yr^-1, among which, the decline from 1990 to 1995 and 2000 to 2005 was the largest, with decrease of 827.8 t km^-2 yr^-1 and 480.7 t km^-2 yr^-1, respectively. (2) From 1988 to 2018, the M-K test of runoff and sediment transportation in the Luoyugou Watershed showed a downward trend. In the early period (1988-1998), the average annual runoff, annual sediment transportation, and sediment transportation per runoff were 2.23 million m³, 351000 t, and 182.2 kg m^-3, respectively. In the later period (2008-2018), these values dropped to 852000 m³, 114000 t and 115.2 kg m^-3, showing the decreases of 61.8%, 67.5% and 36.7%, respectively. (3) From 1988 to 2018, the runoff and sediment transportation showed a significant correlation with the annual rainfall in the Luoyugou Watershed. With the increase in rainfall, the runoff of Luoyugou increased rapidly in the early period (1988-1998) and the sediment transportation increased rapidly in the later period (2008-2018). The findings of this research provide reference for understanding the ecological and environmental effects of restoration technology and scientifically guiding ecological restoration practices.

Developing sports tourism to attract more visitors and bring more employment opportunities to residents has become an important means of promoting rural revitalization in China. However, its impact on the well-being of rural residents has not been explored. Based on first-hand questionnaire data collected from Huangsha Village in China and the methods of factor analysis and multiple regression analysis, this study investigates the influence of perceived impacts of sports tourism on the subjective well-being of rural residents. The results indicate that the more positive the rural residents’ perception of sports tourism impacts, the better their subjective well-being. The participation of residents in sports tourism was confirmed to be a mediator. This study provides a theoretical foundation and practical guide for the sustainable development of rural sports tourism destinations from the residents’ perspective, which may also contribute meaningfully to our understanding of tourism development from a resource management perspective.

China’s rapid economic growth since 2000 has been closely linked to an increase in environmental pollution, and industrial wastewater discharge during the industrialization process has significantly impacted the country’s ecological environment. While early industrialization was strongly associated with environmental degradation, the situation has improved over time, largely due to the implementation of environmental protection policies and technological innovations. However, the long-term effects of industrialization on the environment remain, with significant regional disparities. Through Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), this study examines the spatial and temporal trends of industrial pollution discharges in China from 2000 to 2021 and their drivers. The results show a sharp rise in discharges during the early stages of that period, peaking around 2011. Since then, the discharges have declined steadily following the adoption of environmental policies and technological advances, supporting the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Spatially, discharges from developed regions in the east and south were markedly higher than those from other areas, reflecting significant regional imbalances. Moran’s I analysis further demonstrated a spatial clustering effect, with high discharges concentrated in a small number of provinces. Considering these findings, this study recommends further reductions in industrial pollutant discharges and fostering sustainable economic and environmental development through the enhancement of environmental technologies, the optimization of industrial structures, and the promotion of coordinated regional governance.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Objectives: To investigate the diversity and community composition of endophytes in Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Royle) Ying. Methods: S. hexandrum samples (n=15) were collected at five sites on the Tibetan Plateau. High quality sequences from high-throughput sequencing were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) by Clustering and Classification Inference with U-Statistics, and the OTUs were further divided into different genera according to Ribosomal Database Project classification. Alpha and beta diversity analyses were conducted to explore community diversity and composition. Results: A total of 1221 OTUs were obtained, representing 133 genera (with 98 specific to genus). The QJ and XH sampling sites had the most (n=67) and fewest (n=36) genera, respectively. The dominant fungi at the DT, LD, QJ and XH sites were Ascomycota, while the dominant fungi at the BX site were Basidiomycota. Tetracladium, Exophiala and Pseudogymnoascus showed obvious host preference in all samples. The dominant fungi in the three provinces were Tetracladium, Penicillium, and Cantharellales, respectively. The Shannon-Weiner diversity indices of the 15 samples ranged from 0.48 to 3.10. Endophytic fungi were clustered into three branches based on geographical location. Conclusion: Our findings provide a research basis for the exploitation and utilization of national medicinal plants with abundant microbial resources.

In response to the demand for grassland vegetation monitoring, this study proposes a method based on the vegetation index and an automatic identification method of grassland vegetation coverage and height in the HSV color space. Hikvision smart ball machines and smartphones were used as fixed and mobile monitoring tools to conduct the experiments at the Sanqingyuan Nursery, Beijing Forestry University. Aiming at the time-series images from April to September 2021, five visible light vegetation indices, EXG, EXGR, NGRDI, GLI, and RGBVI, were comparatively analyzed in terms of vegetation coverage recognition. The experimental results show that the EXG index combined with the OTSU automatic threshold method has the best performance in extracting vegetation coverage, with an accuracy of 90% and an absolute error controlled within 3%; therefore, it was selected as the optimal algorithm. Second, this study converts the RGB color space into the HSV color space, realizes the accurate extraction of red color rings, and calculates the grass layer height accordingly. The experimental results show that the average error of this method is 2.3 cm, the maximum error is 6 cm, and the relative error is generally lower than 30%, indicating high reliability and accuracy. The results of this study provide an efficient and accurate automatic identification method for grassland vegetation monitoring and are expected to be widely used in grassland ecological protection and management.

Minority characteristic villages are an important carrier of Chinese cultural heritage and key locations for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. This study takes 683 villages with national minority characteristics in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin as the research object. It uses spatial analysis and geographic exploration technology to explore the spatial distribution characteristics of minority characteristic villages in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, the formation mechanism, and potential for rural revitalization. The results show that: (1) The spatial distribution of ethnic minority villages in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin is not balanced, with an overall distribution pattern of “dense in the south and sparse in the north”. (2) The spatial distribution of ethnic villages is of the aggregation type, and the overall spatial distribution is characterized by “one nucleus with multiple points” and “cold in the north and hot in the east”. (3) The main factors affecting the spatial distribution of ethnic villages are the economy, population, ecology, transportation, and natural environment. (4) The spatial differentiation of ethnic villages in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin is the result of a combination of factors. In the context of future rural revitalization, we should anchor the revitalization and protection of ethnic villages, focus on the construction of inter-regional cooperation mechanisms, refine the spatial layout and optimal integration, and sincerely devote ourselves to the excavation and inheritance of the unique culture of ethnic groups to comprehensively, profoundly, and systematically promote the efficient practice of the rural revitalization strategy.