Observations on the development of townships around mega-tourist attraction caused by land use change—the case of Zhangjiajie, China

Abstract

ABSTRACT The dynamic change in land use can reflect the change in the ecological environment and social economy. Zhangjiajie is the famous mountain tourist city in China having a dual core central structure constituting the urban central area and Wulingyuan Scenic Area (referred to as DCC). This study is based on the land use data of Zhangjiajie in 2000, 2010, and 2020. It analyzed the dynamic change in the pattern of land use, its cause and effects using the method of human-computer interaction for remote sensing image interpretation. The study revealed: (1) the growth of construction land is the maximum, while cultivated land and grassland are mostly transformed into construction and forest land. (2) The reasons why Zhangjiajie with limited cultivated, and idle industrial land was mainly transformed into tourism construction land, especially the townships around DCC. (3) The development of townships around DCC should build industrial belts for coordinated development. This study attempts to analyze the development dilemma and outlet of Zhangjiajie’s DCC on its surrounding 12 townships using the results of land use change aiming to realize the integrated development of DCC and township area, to provide practical experience for green development of township industry around mega-tourist attraction.