Abstract
China has promulgated a regulation on restoration on June 4, 2008, following the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake disaster. Development in harmony with ecological and environmental processes was emphasized by the regulation. What changes should be reflected in urban-rural restoration planning relate to natural hazards, land use patterns and global change? Are there ecological mitigation opportunities for the planners in the restoration process? According to these questions, the paper reviewed the opinions of restoration planning between urban-rural planners and ecologists. By controlling the planning of the non-urban areas, the urban areas and regional restoration layout were determined towards ‘adaptation’ in these mountain cities. The earthquake damage and its impacts on land use and regional ecology might be magnified by the earthquake were identified, and ecological principles of urban-rural restoration planning including: (1) ecological location; (2) ecological layout and planning; (3) ecological construction (ruins dealing and reconstruction); (4) ecological migration. To achieve the basic goals of ecological integration, the paper presented a route-map to the long-term urban-rural restoration planning: ecological safety, ecological health and ecological harmony.