Evaluation of rural vitality and development types in mountainous areas of southwestern China: A case study of Wuxi County, Chongqing

Abstract

Protecting and stimulating rural vitality is a critical step towards driving rural revitalization and development; This study outlined the application of a measurement system that indexes rural vitality levels at the township scale and evaluates rural vitality in terms of potential regeneration, survivability, and development. This study combined the CRITIC weighting method, the TOPSIS pros and cons solution–distance method, and a vertical–horizontal comparison method to evaluate the rural vitality of 30 townships in Wuxi County, Chongqing. Using these results, this study divided the townships according to their type of rural development. A natural breakpoint method was used to visualize the spatial pattern of rural development levels.The research showed that: (1) The average value of the composite score of rural vitality in Wuxi County is 0.342, and more than half of the townships' composite vitality values are lower than the average value of the overall vitality, which leads to the conclusion that the overall level of rural vitality is low; (2) the comprehensive level of rural vitality in Wuxi County decreased from southwest to northeast, and showed local variations; (3) the degree of development within the study area was categorized as either dominant, comprehensive, or polarized, developmental deficiency type. This research argued that promoting the development of rural vitality in different villages requires careful scientific planning, detailed knowledge of individual geographic characteristics, and a clear rural development path that spans a range of spatial scales. Specific and specialized rural development strategies are thus required for each type of development.

1. Introduction

The implementation of rural revitalization strategies is a well-established approach used to solve common rural problems, which include a lack of agricultural development and rural prosperity, and low income for farmers [1]. Nonetheless, the gap between urban and rural development has recently widened due to continued industrialization and urbanization, which has driven a large swath of the rural population – especially the young and middle-aged parts of the labor force – to move into the cities [2]. Rural development is often associated with unique problems, such as hollowing out [2,3] and empty homesteads [4], which reduce the effectiveness of rural revitalization strategies. As the basic driving force for rural revitalization, rural vitality has recently been recognized as an important starting point for solving rural development problems [5]. Therefore, when designing a universal practice and/or policy tool for the development of agriculture in rural areas, the effective stimulation of rural vitality is viewed as the most important challenge for future rural revitalization strategies that may be implemented at the national scale.

The term vitality has its origins in biological science, where it refers to the vigor or vividness of actions, thoughts, or expressions. In the context of rural revitalization, this term is commonly applied to describing the character of rural areas. The effective evaluation of rural vitality is thus helpful to analyze the characteristics and differences of rural development between regions, and to monitor the degree of rural development during revitalization. The theory of human-land relations holds that the evaluation of rural vitality needs to take into account the demographic, social, economic and natural environments of the rural areas [6], and that the production activities and living space generated in the process of human-land interaction are an important source of motivation for the study of rural vitality [7,8]. In addition, in the process of rural development, the theory of social exchange holds that individual elements and group elements will produce exchange relations, and in the process of exchange [9], other elements will be attracted to participate in it, which also prompts the countryside to gradually become a distinctive rural mechanism system [10]. In order to promote the benign sustainability of the countryside, the theory of sustainable development points out the need for long-term planning, rational planning, strengthening the level of rational utilization of resources, enhancing the speed of coordinated development of elements, and stimulating the vitality of all elements in the countryside [11,12]. The theory of comparative advantage points out that each region develops the production of specific products according to its own advantages, so that the regional resources, labor force and capital can be used most effectively, it can make the village realize the construction of characteristics and strategic location analysis [13,14]. Therefore, it is clear that the strengths and weaknesses of the village and determine the type of village development, which can promote the development of the village. The development of these theories has also laid an important research foundation for the exploration of rural vitality.

The exploration of rural vitality is gradually becoming one of the hotspots of rural geography. Countries other than China have historically given much attention to the development of rural economic vitality; this has been achieved by evaluating the structural characteristics and performance of rural economic vitality, planning a variety of rural economic development programs, revitalizing rural resources, and helping rural economies develop [15,16]. As research into these issues has continued, the scope of rural vitality has gradually changed from considering only economic factors to additionally including social aspects, with research into rural community vitality starting at the scale of individual villages [17]. Changes at this local level can be used to develop a database of rural vitality measures that can quantitatively assess improvements between communities [18,19]. This can provide clearer insight into how best to modify village space and highlight relevant obstacles that limit the sustainable development of rural areas [20,21]. The above-mentioned overseas rural vitality research has provided valuable insight into economic vitality indices and how to monitor rural vitality across China, as well as promoting further research into rural vitality revitalization strategies.

The abundance of research performed into rural vitality outside of China has driven domestic scholars to pay close attention to this issue [22]. Various theoretical approaches have focused on the meaning of rural vitality [23], the methods of evaluation, and the principles of constructing an evaluation index system. Such studies have proposed that rural vitality is a theory that treats the countryside as a living organism, and thus it should be analyzed in terms of its own survivability, development, and relationship with the external environment, including the richness of local habitats. These studies also provide theoretical and methodological support for implementing rural vitality enhancement measures, and have bolstered the definition of rural vitality. Based on these findings, empirical studies of rural vitality have been performed, focusing on rural community vitality [[24], [25], [26]] and public space vitality [27]. Other studies have used the county as the basic unit to analyze the factors that control rural vitality [28], and have considered both economic and social metrics at the scale of individual villages. Such studies have provided great insight into our understanding of rural vitality [29].

Much previous research has focused on studying and quantifying rural vitality, although several key issues related to the topic still remain unravelled: (1) individual quantitative research projects examining rural vitality have mostly focused on specific aspects of a rural area, without considering additional factors; (2) most research has discussed rural vitality at the county and city levels, as opposed to the township level, which is critical to allow a full understanding of spatial patterns within a region and effectively implement rural revitalization strategies; and (3) most research has considered rural areas with high levels of urbanization, whereas fewer studies have investigated the development of rural vitality in mountainous areas of southwestern China. (4) Scholars have used quantitative methods such as entropy method [29], principal component analysis [24], ArcGIS, Arcmap, etc. to evaluate rural vitality and make spatial expression, focusing on rural community vitality and public space vitality. As a key gateway into western China, research into rural development in southwestern China is of great significance for promoting the development of rural areas across the country as a whole. As such, this study investigated rural vitality in Wuxi County of Chongqing City, Southwest China, in order to develop a new scientific index and evaluation system. The combination of CRITIC method and TOPSIS theory has been analyzed and researched in city and township scale research units, such as in the evaluation of construction safety of subway stations, as well as in the spatial and temporal variability assessment of land ecological safety and other assessment fields. In this paper, CRITIC-TOPSIS method is used to measure the level of rural vitality from the township scale, in order to more accurately identify the level of rural vitality; the vertical and horizontal comparison method is used to classify the type of rural development, and the vertical and horizontal comparison method compares the value of a certain evaluation result with the mean and standard deviation of all the samples, and then classifies the dominant function and the short-board function of the countryside accordingly. Based on the combination of the two, the dominant functions and short-board functions of the countryside are identified and categorized. This will provide a scientific basis and decision-making support for upgrading the comprehensive development level of mountainous villages and promoting the process of rural revitalization.

2. Research areas and methods

2.1. Study area

Wuxi County is located in northeast Chongqing and is situated along the southern margin of the eastern Daba Mountain(Fig. 1). The terrain is mainly mountainous, with a range of altitudes from 139 masl to 2796 masl, and the county contains more than 40020 hm² of cultivated land. In 2021, the county generated $1.06 billion, with its primary industry comprising $0.4 billion. The county has a total population of 604,000, with 412,000 residents living in rural areas. Wuxi County was delisted from the register of counties requiring national poverty alleviation and development measures on February 22, 2020. Subsequently, on August 27, 2021, Wuxi County was identified as a key supporting county for rural revitalization by the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and the National Rural Revitalization Bureau. Nonetheless, it is limited in its growth by natural geographical, environmental, and economic factors, such that it faces greater challenges when implementing rural revitalization strategies than other counties across China. As such, this research used Wuxi County as a research case study in order to evaluate rural vitality at the township scale, and analyze the characteristics and differences of rural development in mountainous regions. These results can be applied to other mountainous regions across China.

Fig. 1.

Topography of the study area.

2.2. Data sources

The research object of this study is the rural areas of townships in Wuxi County in 2021, and the data used are mainly divided into two main categories: one category includes statistical data on the state of rural industrial development, the level of rural economic development, the rural ecological environment, the degree of rural civilization, grassroots governance, and the living standard of peasants, all of which are derived from the statistical data of the township database established by the Chongqing Geographic Information and Remote Sensing Application Center. The other type of geospatial data, such as DEM, roads, cultivated land, etc., at the township level, are derived from the database of the Third National Land Survey established by the Chongqing Geographic Information and Remote Sensing Application Center, and the spatial data-related processing is pre-processed by the researchers of the Chongqing Geographic Information and Remote Sensing Application Center.

2.3. Methodology

2.3.1. Weighting method

Here, this study used the CRITIC–TOPSIS method. This research method is an evaluation method that objectively assesses evaluation indicators, and compares the advantages and disadvantages of various analysis schemes according to the distance between each scheme and an ideal solution [[30], [31], [32]].Specifically, the CRITIC–TOPSIS method uses the objectivity of weightings calculated by CRITIC (i.e. based on an evaluation matrix that considers the original data) to avoid the possibility that the index weight is inaccurate due to subjective weightings applied by the TOPSIS method. This composite method improves the objectivity and scientific rigor of the evaluation results. The CRITIC–TOPSIS method was also used to determine the weight of each index, including the distance between the evaluation object, a positive ideal solution, and a negative ideal solution, which allowed quantitative ranking of evaluation objects.

The CRITIC method determines the objective weight of an index based on the strength of contrast and conflict between evaluation indexes, with the contrast strength given in the form of a standard deviation ($\sigma$) [32]. $r_{ij}$ is the correlation coefficient between $i^{th}$ index and $j^{th}$ index. ${\sigma }_j$ is the standard deviation of $j^{th}$ index. $C_j$ is the amount of information contained in the $j^{th}$ index, $W_j$ is the objective weight of the $j^{th}$ index, and $W_j$ can be calculated as follows [31]:

$$C_j=\sigma j\sum _{i=1}^m\left(1-r_{ij}\right),j=1,2,3\cdots m$$ (1)

$$W_j=C_j/{\sum }_j^m{C}_j$$ (2)

$$D_i=S_i^{-}/\left(S_i^{+}+S_i^{-}\right)$$ (3)

Here, $S_i^{-}$ is a negative ideal solution, $S_i^{+}$ is a positive ideal solution, and the degree of fit ($D_i$) comprehensively evaluates the score of each evaluation object. Larger values of $D_i$ indicate higher rankings of evaluation objects, implying a greater correspondence to vitality (and vice versa) [33]. By determining the index weights through the objective assignment method mentioned above and applying the weighted TOPSIS to calculate the Wuxi Rural Vitality Index, the natural breakpoint method in ArcGIS 10.8 was used to classify the rural vitality value grade of Wuxi County into five grades, namely, low, lower, General, higher and high [34].

2.3.2. Method of identification for leading functions and short-board functions

The division of rural development types creates an objective description of the differences in natural, economic, and social development in rural areas. This allows identification of the internal and external conditions that favor rural development, thus establishing a management plan to promote rural development and revitalization [35]. In a study of rural development types in eastern China coastal areas, Longhualou et al. [33]. compared evaluation results with the sum of mean and standard deviations of all samples using a vertical and horizontal comparison method. Subsequent studies have made corrections to their method by discriminating the dominant function and short-board function of villages, and then classifying rural in terms of a Comprehensive function value [36]. This study refers to a vertical and horizontal comparison method to determine the type of rural vitality development in the study area. The method is formulated as follows:

$$Z^p/\left(M^p+S^p\right)\ge 0.75$$ (4)

$$0.5\le Z^p/\left(M^p+S^p\right)<0.75$$ (5)

$$Z^p/\left(M^p+S^p\right)<0.5$$ (6)

In equations (4), (5), (6)), above, $Z_p$ is the pth function value of the village domain, $M_p$ is the mean value of the pth function of all village domains, and $S_p$ is the standard deviation of the pth function of all village domains. According to the rules of division outlined in Table 1, the types of village development were classified in order to judge their dominant function and short-board function. If there were multiple dominant functions, the research selected the strongest function; conversely, if there were multiple short-board functions, the research selected the weaker function.

Table 1.

Rules for classifying types of rural development.

Presence or absence of dominant function	Presence of short-board functions	Type of development	Development of subtype naming rules
Yes	Yes	Polarization development type	Leading function–short-board function
	No	Leading development type	Subdivided by dominant function type
No	Yes	Lack of development type	Subdivision by short board function type
	No	Comprehensive development type	No longer subdivided

2.4. Construction of an evaluation index system

There is currently no unified definition of the concept of rural vitality in the scientific community. Historically, Dutch scholar Laura Tukanu noted that rural vitality can refer to specific measures of economic performance, as well as the age structure and skill level of the population [37]. The term vigor was originally developed in the field of biology to refer to exuberant vitality. It was primarily used to describe the comprehensive function of organisms to maintain their own existence, and influence their local environment under the constraints of internal and external factors. In the field of sociology, vitality is used to express the activity and ability of various political, economic, and social organizations to effect change. Social organizations are regarded as living bodies, with vitality referring to ways that they change over time, such as in terms of their viability, self-development, and regeneration [23]. Thus, rural vitality regards the countryside as an organism that must survive, develop, and regenerate over time (Fig. 2). Rural vitality reflects the activity, openness, and rationality of various elements and resources in the countryside that can affect the efficiency of rural operations and development, alongside a rural region's economy, society, ecology, culture, and governance.

Fig. 2.

Explanation of the concept of rural vitality.

This research combined measurements of rural vitality with the regional characteristics of rural mountainous areas in Chongqing to develop a systematic evaluation system that focused on three key aspects: regeneration, survivability, and resilience. Indicators for each parameter were divided into social, economic, and ecological and environmental categories according to the five objectives and tasks of rural revitalization, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2.

Rural vitality evaluation indicator system.

	Key elements	Category	Indicators	Description and definition of indicators	Characteri-stic	Frequency	Weight
Rural vitality	Regener-ative power	Ecology and environ-ment	Stone desertifica-tion	Area of stone desertification (hm2)	–	4	0.030
			Green cover	Woodland, grassland area as a ratio of total area (%)	＋	4	0.058
			Slope	Average slope (°)	–	3	0.038
			Terrain undulation	Difference between maximum elevation and minimum elevation (°)	–	3	0.040
			Soil erosion	Soil erosion class	–	3	0.034
			Fertilizer application	Total amount of pesticide and chemical fertilizer application (ton)	–	3	0.040
		Economi-c industries	Gross agricultural product per capita	Ratio of total value of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries to total population ($1371/person)	＋	2	0.025
		Social resources	Population density	Number of people per square kilometer (persons/km2)	–	7	0.044
			Workforce	Ratio of population aged 18–59 to total population (%)	＋	7	0.035
			Population migration	Number of people working outside the country (persons)	–	7	0.036
	Survival	Ecology and environ-ment	Public toilets	No. of rural public toilets (number)	＋	8	0.039
		Economi-c industries	Income per capita	Gross population product to total population ratio ($1371/person)	＋	9	0.022
			Tourism income	Income from rural tourism ($1371/person)	＋	4	0.029
			Production of special agricultural products	Production of fruits, medicinal herbs and other local specialties in agriculture (tons)	＋	0	0.029
			Food production per capita	Total food to total population ratio (tons/person)	＋	2	0.046
			Agricultur-al land	Agricultural land area (hm2)	＋	4	0.023
		Social resources	Level of healthcare	Number of rural health care beds (units)	＋	8	0.027
			Village education levels	Number of primary, middle and high school schools (kindergarten 0.25, primary 0.5, middle 0.75, high 1)	＋	9	0.037
			Resident rural population	Number of permanent rural population (persons)	＋	4	0.029
			Heritage point	Cultural heritage conservation sites (pieces)	＋	4	0.034
	Capacity for develop-ent	Ecology and environ-ment	Service facilities	Number of farmhouses (pieces)	＋	3	0.023
			Permanent basic agricultural land	Area of permanent basic farmland (km2)	＋	2	0.028
		Economi-c industries	Change in food production per capita	Rate of change in food production in the last five years (%)	＋	1	0.028
			Change in per capita income	Rate of change in per capita income in the last five years (%)	＋	1	0.026
			Land transfer area	Area of agricultural land converted to economic class (km2)	＋	2	0.030
		Social resources	Number of famous products	Number of village names (pieces)	＋	3	0.045
			House vacant	Area of rural homestead per capita (m2/person)	–	7	0.037
			Demograp-hic change	Change in number of population (%)	＋	3	0.033
			Health care changes	Change in the number of medical beds (%)	＋	1	0.018
			Road network density	Ratio of rural roads to total rural area (km/hm2)	＋	7	0.037

3. Results

3.1. Rural vitality level

Equations (1), (2), (3)) were used to calculate rural comprehensive vitality values (Fig. 3) for townships within Wuxi County, which ranged between 0.251 and 0.566, and had an average score of 0.342. In total, 46.7% of the townships had a comprehensive vitality value greater than the overall comprehensive vitality average, and more than half of the townships had a comprehensive vitality value that was lower than the overall vitality average. In general, the overall rural vitality level for Wuxi County is low. In order to further analyze differences of rural vitality among regions, this study considered a natural breakpoint method to divide the rural vitality scores across Wuxi County into five areas based on having relatively higher, high, general, low, and lower levels. Similarly, the social, economic, and ecological and environmental vitality of each township was also divided into five levels (Fig. 4 b–d). ArcGIS10.8 was used to spatially visualize and express patterns in the rural vitality index across this mountainous region. The rural vitality for Wuxi County generally showed high values in the southwest and low values in the northeast, although there were local variations (Fig. 4 a). Fig. 5 also shows that the relationship scores between the rural vitality indicators of each township were significantly different.

Fig. 3.

Distribution of rural vitality scores across the study area.

Fig. 4.

Spatial distribution of calculated values for vitality in terms of (a) integrated vitality levels, (b) social resources, (c) economic industries, and (d) ecology.

Fig. 5.

Distribution of scores for rural vitality indicators.

Regions with vitality scores of 0.444–0.566 were classified as high-level areas. The highest value in this range (0.566) was documented in Wenfeng Town, which was 0.224 points greater than the regional average (0.342). Wenfeng Town had eight index levels higher than other townships in Wuxi County, including total agricultural production value, per capita income, agricultural land area, medical and health facilities, village education level, tourism service facilities, permanent basic farmland, and the rate of change of medical and health facilities. Vegetation coverage, health facilities, tourism income, output of characteristic agricultural products, per capita grain output, the size of the rural resident population, land circulation area, population change rate, and number of cultural relics points were also higher than the average of all indicators in Wuxi County. Compared with other townships in Wuxi County, Wenfeng Town has a relatively flat terrain, low soil pollution intensity, a healthy natural ecological environment, and a small migrant population. It contains an economic development zone in the jurisdiction and hosts the Hongchiba scenic area, which indicates that tourism is flourishing. As such, local residents are provided with a steady income from employment, which stimulates economic development of the area and increases the income of residents in rural regions. Wenfeng Town also has medical, health, and education facilities. In all aspects, Wenfeng Town scored highly for vitality level and was ranked first out of all considered townships in the county.

Higher-level zones with vitality scores of 0.372–0.444 were mainly located in seven townships, including Jianshan and Chaoyang in the southwestern part of Wuxi County, and Lingjiao, Shanghuang, and Gulu in the south. The average score for rural vitality in this region was 0.401, which was higher than the county average for rural vitality, and about 1.16 points higher than the county average for overall vitality. A number of economic and agricultural indicators (agricultural output value per capita, number of special agricultural products, area of agricultural land, permanent basic farmland, area of land transfer, etc.), infrastructure (road network density, village education, medical and health facilities) and natural environmental conditions (Flat terrain) in the Lingjiao, Shang Juan, and Jianshan townships were all higher than the county average, with these localities ranking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in terms of overall vitality across Wuxi County. This type of township was also located close to the Wuxi Industrial Park, which relies on capital investment, technology, and innovation within the park to actively cultivate new industries and new business models in the nearby villages and towns. Developments in the industrial park also optimize and strengthen infrastructure in the local areas, including education and transport. In addition, the topography of the region is relatively flat, making public transportation more convenient, such that the basic public services and infrastructure in the townships are more reliable and widespread. Thus, this type of township has a highly ranked level of village vitality compared to Wuxi County as a whole.

General-level areas recorded scores of 0.320–0.372, with this type of township mainly situated in the southwest, south, and northeast regions of Wuxi County. Specifically Hongchiaba Township, Shengli Township, Fenghuang Township, Chengxiang Township, Fengling Township, Huatai Township, Xujia Township, and Bailu Township recorded an average regional rural vitality score of 0.351, which was higher than the county average. These regions typically had more topographic relief and steeper slopes than average values across Wuxi County. This steep and fragmented topography is related to precipices and cliffs that provide cascades of rainwater to wash away the ground, resulting in continuous erosion of the soil and stone desertification throughout the year. These natural geographical features cause most of the arable land in the region to have slopes, making agricultural activities difficult. This impedes agricultural industrialization, and generates relatively low gross agricultural product (per capita) and low agricultural production efficiency. In addition, the region suffers from low per capita income and poorly supported basic services, such as medical and educational facilities. When these factors are combined, this leads to a moderate/average rural vitality in the region.

Lower-level zones with scores of 0.293–0.320 were mainly located in Tianyuan Township, Yulin Township, Xiabao Township, Tianxing Township, and Pulian Township. Their average regional rural vitality score was 0.311, which is notably lower than the county average. The topography is comprised of steep regional slopes with fragmented surfaces, and effective use of land is difficult. Several indicators in these regions (public toilets, village education level, and agricultural land area) ranked among the lowest of all studied townships. The low density of regional road networks lead to inconvenient traffic access and a low level of economic development. Soil in these regions is polluted by pesticides and chemical fertilizers all year round, and severe stone desertification occurs. Finally, there is limited construction and maintenance of public service facilities, such as education and medical care, which together caused the level of rural vitality in the region to be notably below the county average.

Low-level zones had an overall rural vitality score of 0.251–0.293. These values mainly occurred in nine townships, including Tianba Township, Tucheng Township, Wulong Township, Zhongliang Township, and Changgui Township. All analyzed rural elements in this area, such as industrial development, ecological environment, population, public services, and infrastructure, lag far behind overall development processes within Wuxi County. These severe developmental shortcomings generated a low level of rural vitality in the region.

3.2. Rural type identification

The above-described method used to identify dominant functions and shortcomings was used to calculate the function values of each township in Wuxi County (Fig. 6). By identifying the dominant functions and shortcomings of each township, the development types of each township were determined according to the rules outlined in Table 1. This allowed classification into four types: a dominant development type, a comprehensive development type, a polarized development type, and areas that had a lack of development. Further classification was made into a socially dominant subtype(Fig. 8 a), an economically dominant subtype(Fig. 8 b), an ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype(Fig. 8 c), a comprehensive development type(Fig. 8 d), an economically dominant-socially lagging type(Fig. 8 e), and a socially underdeveloped type (Fig. 8 f). The spatial distribution of development type is shown in Fig. 7. Most of the study area is comprised of development-type villages, which are mainly located in the eastern, central, and western mountainous regions. Most comprehensive development villages are located in Tianba Township in the western part of the study area and in Tucheng Township in the north. Villages lacking development are located in Zhongliang Township in the central part of Wuxi County, and villages that showed polarized development were located in Wulong Township in the northern part of the study area.

Fig. 6.

Distribution of scores for rural vitality indicators.

Fig. 8.

Distribution of functional values according to the type of rural development: (a) socially dominant subtypes; (b) economy-led subtype; (c) ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype; (d) integrated development; (e) economy-led–socially lagging; and (f) social manpower deficit.

Fig. 7.

Map showing variation in the type of rural development across the study area.

3.2.1. Dominant development type

• (1)Social dominant subtype

Social dominant subtypes were mainly located in the middle of the study area, which contained large populations of laborers. These regions had an average of 40.73 township beds (cf. average of 31.03 across the study area), relatively superior medical and health conditions, and an education level index of 2.83 (cf. average of 2.09 across the study area). The road network density was 1.95 km/hm² higher than the average of the study area and was well-supported by public transportation. This type of village was situated at a moderate distance from county streets, had high external traffic accessibility to urban areas, strong support for commuting outside of the city, and a high level of social infrastructure and public services.

• (2)Economy-led subtype

Economy-led subtypes were concentrated in the western part of the study area, with rural units mainly located in the Wuxi Industrial Park (Jianshan Group, Wenfeng SME Base). These rural units are typically supported by the Wuxi Industrial Park and the development of tourism in the Hongchiba scenic area. As such, they rely on local special industries and tourism for growth, and their level of economic development is relatively high. The average arable land coverage in the region was 24.21 hm², showing that they have abundant farmland, a high per capita food production, and a per capita income of $7586, which were all higher than average for the whole region.

• (3)Ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype

Nine townships were recognized as ecologically and environmentally dominant subtypes; these were mainly located in the eastern part of the study area, with some in the south. These regions were characterized by high-quality ecological environments; for example, the Yinjialing National Nature Reserve is located in the region, there are widespread primeval forests and high-elevation/mountainous pollution-free pastures, and these subtype regions had a woodland and grassland coverage rate of 0.83 (cf. an average of 0.82 across the study region). Rural habitats in these regions are environmentally sound, which mainly reflects good governance by local authorities. Sanitation facilities are maintained to a high standard, and soil fertility is high and relatively unaffected by anthropogenic factors, as the average volume of pesticide and chemical fertilizer applied (4.19 tons) is lower than the average value for the study area (5.75 tons). Finally, the soil erosion grade index was 0.17, which defines a lower degree of soil erosion than the average value for the study area.

3.2.2. Integrated development type

Villages classified as having integrated development were located within the towns of Tucheng and Tianba. The study did not identify a dominant function or short-board function in these settlements, as the development of each function was relatively balanced. The overall function value was low, making these regions low-level and balanced development types. This is likely due to the area having an undulating topography and an average slope of 34.17°, which is steeper than the average slope across Wuxi County (31.14°). This impedes the development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Additionally, severe rock desertification and the inappropriate application of agricultural fertilizers have led to serious soil erosion (i.e. a grade index of 0.32). This has led to a reduction in the amount of high-quality arable land in the area, which has caused a low grain yield of 0.31 tons/person and an agricultural income of just $260.31/person. This low level of agricultural development ultimately affects the level of economic development. Finally, the level of health care (i.e. number of hospital beds), education index, and road network density in the region were all much lower than the average values for Wuxi County, with values of 19.50, 1,50, and 1.13 km/hm², respectively at the local level compared with averages of 31.03, 2.10, and 1.60 km/hm², respectively, across the study region.

3.2.3. Polarization development type

In this study, economically dominant–socially lagging villages were alternatively defined as polarized development-type villages. These were mainly found in the Wulong Township and were characterized by having limited social infrastructure and insufficient social management capacity. While dominant functions existed in this type of village domain, there were also at least one shortcoming in the functions; typically these were rich arable land resources, strong agricultural production capacity, and high per capita food production, but low degree of agricultural industrialization, low added value of agricultural products, and/or a per capita income lower than the average value across the study area. The education level index in these regions was 1.5, they had an average of 12 hospital beds, and they had a road network density of 0.87 km/hm², with all three indicators being lower than the average value across Wuxi County.

3.2.4. Developmental deficiency

Villages with developmental deficiencies were located in Zhongliang Township; in this study, this category was defined as having a social manpower deficit. No dominant function was recognized in this type of village, although they had significant shortcomings. The studied villages in this category had a stone desertification area of 2.70 hm², average hillslope angle of 36.52°, an undulating terrain, serious soil erosion, small-volume and sloping arable land, a per capita income of $1691, and annual grain production of 0.61 tons, all of which were lower than county averages. In this region, ecological environment quality was poor, economic and industrial development was low, and the level of medical and health care, education, and cultural development was the lowest across the entire study area. The road network density and infrastructure were poor, and there was retrogressive social and human development.

4. Discussion

As mentioned previously, the overall low level of rural vitality in the study region is similar to the low level of rural development across the southwestern mountains [38]. In this study, the Wuxi Economic Development Zone (Hongchiba Economic Development Zone) and the Wuxi Industrial Park showed a high calculated values for rural vitality, and the overall spatial distribution of vitality across the study area decreased from southwest to northeast. This result is comparable to previous work [28] (The pattern of obvious differences in the spatial distribution of rural vitality is similar.). While our formulation of a rural vitality indicator and evaluation system is an advancement from previous studies, our strategic plans for rural revitalization [39] followed the principles of systematic workflows, representativeness, authenticity, accessibility, and comparability. The study also considered the hierarchical structure of townships in the region, which required that overall regional indicators were considered when constructing an indicator system for rural areas.

The rural vitality evaluation system constructed in this study integrated all necessary requirements for effective rural revitalization strategies [40], and highlighted the regional development characteristics of rural mountainous areas in Southwest China [41]. These indicators that are closely related to the development of mountainous villages in the region, such as slope, topographic relief, rocky desertification rate, and other natural environment-related indicators, which can effectively evaluate the development level of rural vitality in mountainous areas, and be flexibly applied to the evaluation and comparison of different types of rural vitality.

Previous research has analyzed the level of rural vitality by examining entropy, performing principal component analysis, or applying other evaluation methods [31]. Such a variety of approaches has diversified the breadth and depth of knowledge of this topic; however, in contrast with previous research methods, this research adopted the CRITIC–TOPSIS method to quantify rural vitality. The CRITIC method can objectively empower indicators, which generates more reasonable and authentic results, effectively reduce the interference of extreme data values on indicator systems, and improve the accuracy of indicator measurements [42]. At present, CRITIC-TOPSIS is widely used in the comprehensive evaluation of various fields, such as resource science [43], enterprise economy [44,45], industrial economy [46] and other fields, with the help of the scientific nature of CRITIC-TOPSIS method, it greatly improves the accuracy and efficiency of decision-making in various fields. The combination of the CRITIC method with TOPSIS theory [47,48] can overcome the shortcomings of traditional qualitative analysis, such as having a large subjectivity and low reliability. This method is suitable for analyzing developmental trends across entire regions or in selected, smaller areas, both in time and space.

Recent studies have helped to refine the study of spatial variations in rural development [49]; for example, studies focused on rural regions usually cover large areas [37] and treat them as homogenous bodies, yet the level of rural revitalization in different townships within the same county may not be equivalent, meaning that it is necessary to classify and tailor policies to local conditions [31]. This study considered Wuxi County as the study area and used small-scale townships as discrete units to determine a township-level rural revitalization evaluation index system and evaluation method. The approach documented here allows identification of different characteristics of rural development between townships, revealing regional patterns in rural development, and so providing quantitative support for the effective application of rural revitalization strategies.

Nonetheless, our work only evaluates the level of rural vitality in Wuxi County at a certain time, and fails to reflect the spatial changes that may occur between different periods. This static representation may contain a potentially biased choice of indicators. This study also focused on the spatial distribution of rural vitality levels, but not the factors that influence rural vitality, such that the internal linkages and mechanisms that drive rural vitality still require detailed study. Future research should consider expert opinions and questionnaires, and such subjective and objective methods can be combined to make increase the reliability of the data used as vitality indicators. Such advances will necessarily improve development of the rural vitality evaluation system.

This study obtains the development status of rural vitality level in typical mountainous areas of Chongqing, which can provide a reference for the evaluation of villages in mountainous areas. Moreover, the study integrates the requirements of rural revitalization strategy, and the index system constructed in this study can provide some reference when evaluating the villages in other regions. However, China is a vast country with diverse topographic changes. Considering the irregularity of different geographic regions, when evaluating rural vitality in other regions, we should combine the natural, social and economic characteristics of rural development in the study area, and construct the indicator system in a comprehensive and targeted way, so as to achieve a more scientific evaluation of rural vitality.

5. Recommendations

5.1. Prominent characteristics and balanced development strategies for leading development-type area

Three subtypes of dominantly development villages were identified in the study area: socially dominant, environmentally dominant, and economically dominant. In the dominant development type, some functions had strong developmental advantages, while other functions were developed in a more coordinated manner. There was no shortage of functions. For these types of villages, this study recommend adopting a revitalization strategy focused on highlighting characteristics and balancing development, which involves strengthening the optimization of the dominant functions of the village and exploring the path of characteristic development. At the same time, non-dominant functions should be further integrated to dominant functions in order to promote coordinated development.

• (1)Socially dominant subtype

Future development in socially dominant subtypes would benefit from an accelerated transformation of the agricultural industry, optimization of their industrial layout, and adding value to agricultural products. Nonetheless, environmental improvement in towns and villages should be promoted in an orderly manner, which would improve the suitability of living spaces. In addition, it would also be necessary to strengthen the construction of a rural ideology, morality, and public culture, which would improve the spirituality of villagers, raise the level of civilization in these rural societies, and encourage new demographics to move to the countryside.

• (2)Economy-led subtypes

Economy-led subtypes could be developed by stabilizing new areas of arable land to protect basic farmland, continuously improve the quality of arable land and raise the rates of production, strengthen comprehensive agricultural subsidies to raise the per capita income of farmers and further promote the development of the rural economy. This would also develop efficient ecological agricultural practices and create a number of high-quality agricultural product bases that can be adapted to the resources available in the Qinba Mountain area.

• (3)Ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype

Ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype regions should vigorously promote the construction of ecological tourism, enhance economic benefits, and further improve the level of social security. This could be achieved by taking full advantage of resources, vigorously developing modern agricultural industries adapted to mountainous characteristics, promoting the development of industries such as the cultivation of Chinese herbs, fruits, and vegetables, processing of agricultural and sideline products in accordance with local conditions, and accelerating the construction of logistics platforms.

5.2. Integrated development

This research suggest that areas marked as requiring integrated development should improve their infrastructure, such as medical care, education, and transportation. In order to enhance the overall functional value of the region, this type of village should work on addressing situations where various functions are weak, characteristics lack prominence. This can be achieved by designing a multi-faceted layout and comprehensive plan that involves industrial development, talent introduction, cultural heritage, ecological conservation, and rural governance.

5.3. Polarization development type

Villages classified as having polarized development should vigorously develop their own unique specialty agriculture, promote the deep processing of agricultural products, encourage the development of collective village industries, and increase the scale and modernization of rural industrial operations. At the same time, they should increase investment in infrastructure to support construction and technology, increase policy support for the region, accelerate the mending of the shortcomings of rural infrastructure, promote the interconnection of urban and rural infrastructure, and promote the construction of rural infrastructure.

5.4. Developmental deficiency type

Villages identified as having a developmental deficiency must improve their infrastructure in order to expand transport arteries and enhance the quality of public services. Subsequently, they should improve the mechanism for the introduction and cultivation of new talents, solidly promote the training and enhance the quality of grass-roots businesses, and the effectiveness of grass-roots party organizations in governance. Finally, they should modernize infrastructure that supports agricultural production, establish ecological support for new agricultural bases, focus on industrial development, develop a green ecology, promote tourism projects to bring in visitors, extend the rural industrial chain, and promote sustainable income growth for farmers.

6. Conclusion

The research used social and economic statistics from 30 townships in Wuxi County for the year 2021 to construct an evaluation system for spatial variations in vitality index. This aimed to examine how to promote rural revitalization in mountainous regions. The research quantified rural vitality by producing detailed indices that measured the level of rural vitality via an objective evaluation model. Spatial variation in rural vitality development patterns across all 30 townships was used to identify patterns in rural types, vitality development level, and spatial differentiation characteristics across the region.

This work has revealed two major conclusions. Firstly, the study region recorded average comprehensive rural vitality scores of 0.225–0.566, and its overall level of rural vitality was low. Areas with strong vitality scores were mainly distributed in the Wuxi Economic Development Zone (Hongchiba Economic Development Zone) and the Wuxi Industrial Park. The overall distribution of rural vitality decreased from southwest to northeast, and there were several differences in regional spatial distribution.

Secondly, development-level indices were calculated for rural resources and the environment, economic industry, and social resources, through the identification of dominant functions and short-board functions for each village. These values were used to divide the research area into four types: dominant development, comprehensive development, polarized development, and those that lacked development. Regions of dominant development were further divided into a socially dominant subtype, economically dominant subtype, and ecologically and environmentally dominant subtype. This study then proposed tailored rural revitalization strategies for each set of distribution characteristics.

Wuxi County in Chongqing Municipality has been identified as a key county for rural revitalization, which is challenging in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. In the process of village and town development in the region, we should coordinate the harmonious symbiotic relationship between economic and social development and ecological environment protection, and enhance the vitality of regional development. This is the key to becoming a beautiful place in Chongqing and planning a region in the overall situation. This study takes townships as the research unit and analyzes the vitality of townships based on the geographic perspective. An evaluation system is constructed from the three dimensions of regenerative force, survival force and development force to scientifically judge the sustainable development ability of villages and towns and accurately locate the types of vitality development. Explore the spatial pattern of village vitality development, and then identify the types of village development, so as to provide practical references for scientifically enhancing the sustainable development capacity of villages and the comprehensive capacity of counties. This will provide a scientific basis and decision-making support for upgrading the comprehensive development level of mountainous villages and promoting the process of rural revitalization.

The article constructs a rural vitality evaluation index system based on statistical data to measure the level of rural vitality, revealing the types of villages in the region, the level of vitality development and its spatial differentiation characteristics. Further research may be carried out in the following directions or areas: Due to the difficulty of obtaining data, only spatial analysis was done in the article. In future research on rural vitality, an in-depth study of the time evolution analysis should be done to overcome the static nature of the measurement; In rural development, national and local policies, institutional elements, population flow elements and capital flow elements play a crucial role in rural development. In the follow-up study, policy, institutional and mobility elements should be added to the rural vitality evaluation index system to build a more comprehensive rural vitality evaluation index system; How do factors such as spatial structure of villages, development policies, land use and landscapes affect rural vitality? This question requires an in-depth exploration of the intrinsic linkages and mechanisms of action among the drivers of rural vitality in order to arrive at an in-depth explanation; Does the level of rural vitality affect the level of rural villages at the same level of administrative units and at different levels of administrative units? More in-depth explanations will be needed in the future through horizontal and vertical comparisons of the case studies.

Funding

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, grant number cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0290, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University, grant number SWU021003, and 2022 Academician Strategic Consulting Research Project of Chongqing Academy of Chinese Engineering S&T Strategy for Development of China, grant number 2022-DFZD-12.

Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yun Luo: Writing – original draft, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis. Chunxia Liu: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Investigation. Yuechen Li: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. Xianfeng Jin: Resources, Methodology, Data curation. Zhiming He: Writing – review & editing, Formal analysis. Qi Chen: Data curation.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.