The Characteristics and Tasks of Geography in the New Era

Geography is a subject of exploring the laws of nature, declaring the human essence, with characteristics of comprehensiveness and interactiveness. Since the 1980 s, Geography plays an important role in global environmental change research programs. Theories, methods and techniques of Geography have become the basis for solving the problems of the sustainable development of human society is facing. Originated in the global environment change research, and combined with the social science research, The Future Earth research plan represents the direction of the development of Geography in the new period. In contemporary, Geography research methods have shift from survey, observation, and records, drawings and other traditional research methods to the modern scientific methods such as spatial statistics, earth observation, GIS, indoor and outdoor simulation and modeling, decision-making system, etc., and are gradually tend to comprehensive and quantitative. As the problems that Geography is facing are more complex and more comprehensive, the Geography research issues become more comprehensive and diverse, and attract more extensive subjects to participate in. In more and more field, the angle of Geography are considered. The discipline boundary that concepts and tools belonging to is blurring. In the new era, the geography, is heading for geographical science. China is an ideal geography test sites of studying the problem of the sustainable development of human society. The future development of Chinese Geography needs to deepen the comprehensive and integrated understanding of the complex man-land system, and strengthen the research of global problems. To achieve the goal of geographical science and social service value, the internationalization level of Chinese geographical science needs to be promoted, and the ability of using advanced technology to parse geographical phenomenon needs to be improved.