Abstract: [Purposes] The urban-rural fringe,serving as a transitional zone with hybrid urban-rural characteristics,represents both a crucial link for integrated development and a focal area for human-land system conflicts.Its accurate demarcation is essential for precise land use management. [Methods] Using Nanchang as a case study,this study develops a multidimensional characteristic index model integrating the natural breaks method and restrictive factor approach to quantitatively identify the urban-rural fringe. [Findings] ①The model exhibited strong feasibility and efficiency in long-term identification for large cities,with outcomes aligning closely with the fringe's intrinsic characteristics.②During 2000—2024,Nanchang's urban-rural fringe evolved through “cluster emergence-rapid expansion-contiguous expansion-steady expansion-structural optimization”,expanding from 11 805.22 hm² to 54 704.37 hm² with V-shaped fluctuation in expansion rate.③The evolution characteristics of the urban-rural fringe were highly consistent with the territorial and spatial master planning of Nanchang. [Conclusions] The research results can provide new ideas and methods for defining the long-term range of urban-rural fringe.

Key words: urban-rural fringe, multi-dimensional feature index recognition model, dynamic identification, characteristics of urban-rural fringe, Nanchang city