The study of Features and Characteristics of Mountainous Rural Settlements (RFCMRS) is a key factor in the development of rural settlements during the urbanization process. Mountainous rural settlements, due to their unique mountainous conditions, climate, living environments, and regional culture, are among the important subjects of research for governments and the academic community worldwide. This paper, utilizing the knowledge mapping software CiteSpace (6.2.R3) for co-citation and collaboration analysis, keyword clustering, keyword time zoning, and keyword emergence, analyzes the research trajectory, key issues, and future trends of RFCMRSs. The study finds that current RFCMRS research can be categorized into the following three key issues: “implications of climate change: risks and adaptive responses”, “regional cultural heritage and economic development”, and “ecological conservation and fostering harmonious symbiosis”. Future research will focus on the following three development trends: “risk response based on climate resilience and ecological protection”, “factors of features and characteristics based on regional culture and landscape configurations”, and “human settlements based on low-carbon objectives and sustainable development principles”. Lastly, the paper proposes the following three future research suggestions: “improving the evaluation system for features and characteristics of mountainous rural settlements”, “deepening the study on the evolutionary phenomenon and mechanism for features and characteristics of mountainous rural settlements”, and “exploring the design methods for features and characteristics of mountainous rural settlements based on the concept of sustainable development”.

The contradiction between industrial development (ID) and land resource carrying capacity (LRCC) is increasingly intensified with the rapid advancement of urbanization globally. This typical phenomenon exists particularly in these developing countries or regions. This study investigated the matching degree (MD) between ID and LRCC by using a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) with referring to the main cities of Xinjiang, China. The data used in this study was collected from 16 sample cities in Xinjiang for the period of 2009–2018. The research findings reveal that (1) MD average value between 16 sample cities has been gaining steady growth; (2) although MD value in all sample cities has been increasing, there still exists a big room for improvement towards a well matching state; (3) the differences in MD values among all sample cities are very small; (4) the MD performance in the northern cities in Xinjiang is better than that in southern Xinjiang. This is mainly because of the radiation effect of Urumqi in northern cities. It is therefore suggested developing such a radiation city in southern Xinjiang in order to improve MD performance in southern Xinjiang. These research findings can provide policymakers in Xinjiang and other backward cities globally with valuable references in understanding the status of MD between ID and LRCC in the local cities, thus tailor-made policy instruments can be designated for the mission of sustainable development.