Abstract: The northern slope of Tianshan Mountains has the largest continuous oasis in Xinjiang, China, and it is also the most economically developed area of Xinjiang. Comparative analysis of rural settlements in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains determines the differences of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and local rural settlements and provides corresponding countermeasures for its integration and development to provide theoretical basis for the integration and development of XPCC and the local settlements in Xinjiang. Based on the land use data and exploratory spatial statistical model, differences of the spatial pattern and economic development of rural settlements in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains are quantitatively analyzed and the corresponding countermeasures are put forward based on their differences. The results show that: with respect to the spatial distribution characteristics, scale distribution characteristics, location distribution characteristics, and morphological characteristics of the XPCC and local rural settlements in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains show obvious spatial differences. In spatial distribution characteristics, the rural settlements space show agglomeration distribution pattern with high density in the center and low density in the surrounding. The ANN value of local settlements is larger than that of XPCC. So, the agglomeration trend of the local settlements is obvious. Density of local settlements is mainly in the range of 0.12 to 0.83 per square kilometer, and XPCC settlements are located in the area with a density of 0.12 to 0.38 per square kilometer. In location distribution, with the increase of elevation and slope, the number of rural settlements in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains gradually decreases. Among them, 51% of the settlements are in the range of 200 m to 600 m elevation, while 76% of the settlements are in the range of 0° to 6° slope. The settlements of XPCC are distributed in the flat area of the downstream oasis than the local settlements. The distribution of rural settlements is influenced by factors of road, river, and town. About 50% of the settlements are within 0 km to 5 km of road and river, and within 0 km to 30 km of town. Compared with the local settlements, the XPCC settlements are located in poor conditions far from road, river, and town. In terms of the complexity of the external form of the rural settlements, the morphological characteristics of patch in settlement area are different. Because the construction and development of XPCC settlements are man-made interventions, its Landscape shape index LSI is smaller than that of the local settlements and the external form of settlement patch is more regular. The overall economic development of the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains is relatively good and the per capita gross domestic product of XPCC is higher than local. Moreover, agriculture is the main industry, the local economic structure is diversified, and in addition to agriculture, animal husbandry is main industry. In the end, taking economic development as the goal, the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences must be adhered. Based on the differences between XPCC and local settlements, corresponding integration countermeasures must be put forward. In the spatial pattern, according to the actual situation, carrying out relocation and merging of the XPCC and local settlements promote the construction of new cities in XPCC. In the aspect of economic development, the principle of complementary advantages should be effectively used to promote the industrial integration between XPCC and local. This study aims to promote the integration development of the XPCC and local in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains.

Key words: rural settlements, integration, Xinjiang