Abstract: Reviewing the evolution of the field of human-economic geography and regional development studies in the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, this paper clarifies the history of the discipline construction. In the second half of the 20th century, first of all, the nature of the discipline was determined as interdisciplinary, and its development orientation as serving national economy and social development demands. The research methods of techno-economic analysis were also explored. Secondly, great achievements have been made in the study of territorial differentiation pattern of human-economic geography, especially in the study of territorial differentiation system, represented by agricultural regional planning and land use research, and in the study of spatial structure organization, such as the location theory and pole-axis theory. In the first decade of this century, on the one hand, following the history line of territorial differentiation and spatial structure research, influential achievements were also made in the area of spatial organization, such as in the formation and evolution of territorial functional zones, interactions between spaces, and coordinated development of urban and rural areas. On the other hand, due to the humanity tendency arisen from the study of new territorial spaces and new factors and the emerging of new fields, including the research on responses to informationization and globalization, tourism geography, and financial geography, etc., more vitality and diversity were brought into human-economic geography. Thanks to the establishment of earth system science and the lead of solving important realistic problems in regional sustainable development, great importance has been attached to resource and environment carrying capacity and resource-environment effect research. The research direction characterized by socio-economic development and resource environment interaction research centered on regional sustainable development was established in the Institute. At present, the Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling of CAS and the Regional Sustainable Development Modeling and Decision-Making Support System are in construction based on database, supported by model base, and reflected through visual expression of geographical processes and realization of human-computer interaction-aid decision-making process. Efforts are made in promoting a remarkable enhancement in the ability construction of the discipline through improvement of techniques and methods. The focus of future discipline construction will be on innovation and application of the theoretical system of man-land relationship territorial system.

Key words: urbanization, agricultural regionalization, human-economic geography, land use, man-land relationship territorial system, pole-axis theory, regional development, resource and environment carrying capacity, resource-environment effect, spatial structure, sustainability, territorial function