Regional density functions and growth patterns in major plains of China, 1982–1990**I would like to thank Jean†Claude Thill and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments and Lenny Walther for his cartographic assistance. An earlier version of this note was presented at GeoInformatics 2000 (The Association of Chinese Professionals in Geographic Information Systems Annual Conference), June 21†23, 2000, Monterey Bay, California

This research analyzes the spatial patterns of regional development in China through the change of population density functions from 1982 to 1990, using several online digital data sets. To minimize the influence of physical environment on population densities, the study areas are limited to four major plains of China: the Northeast (Dongbei), North China (Huabei) and Hubei†Hunan (Lianghu) Plains, and the Sichuan Basin. A gravity†based delineation approach is used to delineate the influence regions of 17 cities. Regional densities in China decline with distance from a city, similar to western countries. In addition, areas close to central cities grew faster than remote areas, described as a trend of centralization. However, regions with strong core growth are generally associated with stagnant hinterlands ('core growth†hinterland stagnation'); and regions with moderate core growth are usually matched by similar growth rates in the hinterlands ('spread through growth').