Water shortages are a worldwide problem. Virtual water and the water footprint link water resources, human beings and agricultural products, and are effective tools to alleviate water-resources stress. The production of agricultural products consumes a large amount of water, and food is the most basic consumer good for human survival, so it is very necessary to study the water footprint of residents’ food consumption, which is also the weak point of current research on virtual water and the water footprint. This paper aimed to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the water footprint of food consumption in China from the perspectives of urban and rural residents, per capita water footprint, water footprint structure and food consumption structure. The results revealed that the average water footprint of residents’ food consumption was 605.12 billion m3/year, basically showing an upward trend. Guangdong residents had the highest water footprint for food consumption due to the highest population and higher consumption of water-intensive foodstuffs such as grain and meat in their diet. The water footprint of Xizang residents’ food consumption was the lowest followed by Ningxia and Qinghai due to having the least population. The water footprint of food consumption consumed by urban residents was on the rise while that consumed by rural residents was on the decline in China, which was consistent with the changing trend of population. On the whole, the rural population consumed more virtual water embedded in food than the urban population. From the water footprint structure point, the contribution rate of the green water footprint is the largest, reaching 69.36%. The second is the gray water footprint and then the blue water footprint, accounting for 18.71% and 11.93%, respectively. From the perspective of the food consumption structure, grain and pig, beef and mutton consumption contributed significantly to the total water footprint of residents’ food consumption, contributing 37.5% and 22.56%, respectively. The study is helpful for water management and water allocation in rural and urban areas, improving agricultural technology to reduce the gray water footprint and optimizing food consumption structure, such as reducing the consumption of grain and meat.

Research on virtual water and the water footprint is mainly focused on agriculture and industry, and less so on the service sector. The trade in products generates virtual water flow, as does the flow of people. The flow of international tourists will inevitably lead to the transfer and exchange of water resources embedded in the virtual form. This study takes China’s inbound tourism flow as the research object, from the perspective of the water footprint, in order to explore virtual water “exports” to the world. Based on kernel density estimation and ArcGIS spatial analysis, spatial-temporal evolution and structural difference were investigated. Virtual water “exports” showed an increasing trend. The kernel density estimation curves basically exhibited a “single peak” feature which indicated that virtual water “exports” from tourism were not significantly polarized in China. In terms of spatial evolution, this varied greatly at the provincial and regional level and Guangdong was always in the high value area. The south displayed greater values than the north, but this difference in provinces narrowed over the years. The water footprint of food was the largest, more specifically, the green component of this water footprint. Promoting a reasonable diet, reducing food waste, improving agricultural production technology, reducing the frequency of changing hotel supplies, and encouraging the use of new energy helped to reduce the water footprint. Virtual water trade in the service sector provides a new idea for helping to mitigate the global water crisis, in addition to virtual water flow for agricultural products.

The regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) is today the largest free trade area in the world. This paper examines agricultural trade in the RCEP from 2010 to 2019 through the perspective of virtual water. And the drivers of the virtual water flow between China and the RCEP are also explored. The results are as follows: the virtual water flow during the study period was 2,576.51 billion m3. From a temporal perspective, the annual virtual water flow over the study period is characterized by a slow rise–significant fall–slow rise. It has the characteristics of concentration in spatial distribution and water resources and product structure. However, the concentration degree showed a downward trend during the study period. Then, we have divided the major trading into four categories based on whether there is a shortage of water on both sides of the trade. In terms of the drivers of virtual water flows between China and the RCEP, we have used the gravity model to arrive at the following findings: crop yields, bilateral economic scale, and agricultural labor resources are the main drivers. Our research results have reference values for adjusting bilateral agricultural trade and water conservation.

The increasing amount of tourism waste has been a headache for most tourist destinations in China. Guiding tourists to classify waste has become a key concern for tourism waste management. In this study, the TPB-AR-DH model was constructed for the first time to reveal the formation process of tourists’ participation in tourism waste classification. The data came from a questionnaire survey sample of 382 tourists to the West Lake Scenic Spot in Hangzhou. The results from the structural equation model and multiple group analysis showed that (1) attitude towards the tourism waste classification, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and ascription of responsibility positively affected tourists’ waste classification intention. Especially, the ascription of responsibility was the most influential factor; (2) perceived behavioral control had the largest effects on actual behavior, and waste classification intention played a partly mediating role between perceived behavioral control and actual behavior; (3) tourists’ daily habit of waste classification played a significant moderating role between tourists’ waste classification intention and actual behavior. On the whole, this study offered a theoretical explanation model to popularize the initiative of tourism waste classification and perfect waste management policies in tourist destinations.