关键词: 空间规模结构, 耦合概念, 地理整体形象思维, 干旱区城镇系统

Abstract: The article stresses two key factors: the characteristics of the physical geography and the population of arid land, with which to analyse the spatial scale structure of the city-town system in the Jiuquan-Jiayuguan region, hoping to obtain some law cognition. The study shows that in the north-west arid land of our country, the area of desert, Gobi and high mountain is vast, but the area of oasis distributes in the desert and Gobi is small. The population in the area is few, and the bearing capacity of eco-environment is limited. Under such a condition, the growth of spatial scale structure of city-town system appears such an orientational feature: "small or middle cities and towns with multipolar centres". Moreover, the north-west arid land is an undeveloped region, the spatial relation of the region is out of harmony: it's on the whole in a state of mutual nonconnection and spatial separation among those different units, cities, towns, cities and surburb's towns, due to the multiple differentiation of administration ownership and profit ownership among those different circles.The study and the plan of spatial scale structure should concentrate efforts on the development of small or middle cities and small towns, the construction of multipolar city-town system in the region, the supplement functions among the key cities or towns in each major part of the region, so as to spur jointly the regional integrated development, impel spatial connection among neighbor cities, cities and units belonging to the region or the periphery, cities and surburb's market towns, expand the population scale and the spatial scale of key city or key town in each major part of the region, push forward regional integrated development and rural-urban integration, construct a resonable, convenient, efficient regional city-town system.

Key words: spatial scale structure, coupling conception, thinking in terms of images of geographic integration, city-town system of arid land