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As an important representation of the evolution of the rural human–land relationship in the process of urban–rural transformation development, labor migration between rural and urban areas has become the core impetus for agricultural transformation in China's traditional farming areas. An in-depth analysis of the internal mechanism of the evolution of agricultural production patterns driven by rural–urban migration at different phases helps to find solutions for ensuring the sustainable development of the countryside. This paper analyzes the relationship between rural–urban migration and the evolution of the rural human–land relationship, then introduces the city power and the rural power in the push–pull theory, and finally establishes an interactive analysis framework for rural–urban migration and agricultural transformation. The results demonstrate that the part-time rural labor and the frequent rural–urban migration in Yucheng City are the normal conditions for the labor to participate in agricultural production; and the low registered population urbanization rate and the return of the elderly labor have become the main features of the rural–urban migration in the new era. Furthermore, the state of rural–urban migration in Yangqiao Village has become the impetus of the farmland use transition and homestead use change at the village level; the arrangement fragmentation of agricultural production and the change in traditional agriculture production modes are the important factors affecting agricultural transformation in Yangqiao Village. In the context of rural vitalization, agricultural transformation in traditional farming areas needs to pay more attention to the future livelihood systems of small peasants. It is important to promote rural transformation to create more employment opportunities based on local conditions and attract rural migrants to return to start businesses in the countryside. • Analysis framework about rural-urban migration and agricultural transformation is established based on 'push–pull' theory. • The effects of rural-urban migration on agricultural transformation in China's traditional farming areas are analyzed. • The low urbanization rate and the return of the elderly migrants become the main feature of the rural labor migration. • Creating employment opportunities and attracting return migrants to start businesses is important for rural vitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A coupling analysis framework between greenhouse-led farmland transition and rural transformation development is constructed. • Coupling relationship between greenhouse-led farmland transition and rural transformation development is analyzed from different scales. • Coupling mechanism between greenhouse-led farmland transition and rural transformation development is probed. • Optimizing the coupling relationship and interaction between land use transition and rural development is useful for rural reconstruction. • Formulating land management policies tailored to local conditions can stimulate the vitality of rural development. The farmland transition is a theoretical summary of the morphological change of farmland in the context of the rural man–land interrelations evolution. The coupling mechanism between the farmland transition and rural transformation development (RTD) in China's traditional farming area is good for optimizing urban–rural relations and reconstructing rural development paths. This paper takes the greenhouse-led farmland transition (GFT) as the starting point and attempts to construct a coupled conceptual model between farmland transition and RTD. Further, Qingzhou City is used as a case study to analyze the process of GFT from the county and village scales, and the coupling relationship between farmland transition and RTD is analyzed. The research shows that the coupling relationship between farmland use morphology and rural development status presents types at different stages, which become an important window to track the change mechanism of rural man–land relationship. The GFT has changed the rural production system and urban–rural relations in Qingzhou City. The correlation coefficient between the proportion of greenhouse land area in the available farmland area and the proportion of rural labor force outflow was −0.579. Since 1995, the coupling relationship between GFT and RTD of Nanxiaowang Village in Qingzhou City has shown the characteristic four stages: "traditional grain production stage" ― "mixed development stage of grain production and greenhouse cultivation" ― "modern high efficiency agricultural production stage" ― "market-oriented comprehensive agricultural development stage". This study puts forward the conceptual framework of the coupling mechanism of farmland transition and RTD, and further validates the stage succession process of the coupling relationship based on typical case studies at different scales. In addition, the major problems existing in the current coupling relationship between GFT and RTD are further summarized. The land use policy based on the coupling relationship between land use transition and rural development is proposed to further promote the orderly reconstruction of the villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]