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Abstract The spatial distribution of schools has always been of major practical and historical concern among Chinese scholars of education. Ever since modern education was transplanted in China at the end of the Qing dynasty, schools entered a long period of continuous spatial expansion. After 1979, this expansion stopped and reversed, with schools shrinking on a large scale, a phenomenon that has met with considerable debate and inquiry. From a spatial perspective, and based on historical changes to schools, this study attempts to reinterpret the evolution of school distribution in Chinese counties. Taking the county as the basic research unit offers the scholar a “definitive microcosm” of China. Given China’s geographical features, two ideal types of counties are put forward: one in the central and eastern plain and one in the west of China. The spatial characteristics of school distribution in the two counties is described, and a theoretical explanation of school distribution is provided. The author indicates that school enrollment in different spatial scopes expands as time goes on and educational level rises. School distribution is closely related to a county’s area, outline, location, population, towns and other factors, showing different characteristics dependent on the geographical space concerned. With a sparse population and vast territory, schools in the western county are distributed in units of towns and villages in a square. In the central and eastern plain county, the area presents a circular spatial contour with the county town generally located at the center of the circle. This form of distribution makes it difficult to curb the migration of rural students towards the county town.
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2019, Vol. 23 
