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.

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.

Transforming ecological value into economic value is an important challenge regarding China’s protected natural areas. The key strategy is to develop a regional public brand and increase the premium of eco-products. A brand–quality–price model was proposed to analyze the factors influencing consumers’ purchase intention and behavior toward eco-agricultural products from China’s protected natural areas. The data came from a questionnaire survey sample of 300 consumers in Zhejiang Province. The results show that there is a gap between purchase intention and actual behavior: (1) For purchase intention, brand awareness, brand trust, perceived quality, and perceived price had significant positive influences. (2) For purchase behavior, brand awareness, and purchase intention had direct impacts. However, brand trust did not directly affect behavior. (3) Age, monthly income, and marital status had significant effects on purchase intention and behavior. However, purchase intention and behavior were not affected by gender, and the educational level had significant effects on purchase intention but had no significant effects on purchase behavior. (4) Consumers were willing to pay 17.13% more than the price of the ordinary products. This study provides important references for brand development and valuable experience for establishing ecological product value realization mechanisms in other protected natural areas.

It is critically important to analyze the network structure of tourism services trade and identify China’s role within it, as such analysis provides a foundation for promoting sustainable growth under the Belt and Road Initiative. To this end, based on 2005–2022 tourism services export data for the Belt and Road economies from the WTO-OECD Balanced Trade in Services Database, this study uses complex network analysis and the QAP regression to build a directed weighted network and analyze its structure and influencing factors. The results indicate that: (1) The network has expanded steadily, with typical small-world characteristics and efficient factor mobility. (2) China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and other countries serve as core nodes. China’s three centrality indicators have consistently ranked among the top ten, and its betweenness centrality remains the highest, making it a stable anchor. The cohesive subgroups have consolidated into three stable trade blocs. (3) Common language, air passenger capacity, and trade agreements are key factors facilitating trade relations. Based on these findings, China should leverage its role as a core hub and intermediary bridge, enhance cross-regional resource allocation, network advantage transformation, and industrial synergy, deepen policy coordination and rule mutual recognition, and promote high-quality expansion of regional tourism services trade and deep economic integration.