Spatio-temporal changes and triggering conditions of county to county-level city conversion in China since the reform and opening-up

doi:10.7523/j.ucas.2026.016

Abstract

Abstract: County to county-level city conversion is an important means to improve the regional urban system and optimize the spatial layout of cities, and a system analysis and summary of the spatial and temporal changes and influence mechanisms of county to county-level city conversion in China is a practical need to optimize the administrative division of China, support the construction of new urbanization, and push forward the modernization of the national governance system and the ability to govern. This paper systematically organizes the case base of county to county-level city conversion in China since the reform and opening-up, and divides its development process into six stages according to the relevant policy changes. And a comprehensive analysis was conducted from the three dimensions of quantitative changes, spatial distribution and triggering conditions. The study found that: (1)The number of county to county-level city conversion fluctuates greatly in different periods, first fluctuating upward, and slowly increasing after freezing for a period of time. (2)In terms of spatial distribution, county to county-level city conversion at the beginning of the reform is mainly concentrated in the more economically developed eastern region, to promote the process of our country's industrialized urbanization with the transformation of the county economy to the urban economy. After the freezing period, the focus of the policy has gradually tilted to the central and western regions where the layout of the county-level cities is more sparse to address the problem of imbalance in the regional layout of China's urban system. (3) The number, spatial distribution, and temporal changes in county to county-level city conversion exhibit distinct regional variations and phased characteristics, significantly influenced by national and regional development strategies.

Key words: administrative division adjustment, county to county-level city conversion, triggering conditions, spatial and temporal changes, new urbanization

CLC Number:

F299.2
D630

XU Jinghan, WANG Kaiyong. Spatio-temporal changes and triggering conditions of county to county-level city conversion in China since the reform and opening-up[J]. Journal of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.7523/j.ucas.2026.016.

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