This paper reviews and compares the opportunities and challenges in terms of port and intermodal development in China and India—the two fast-growing economic giants in the world. The study analyzes the future direction of these two countries’ port-hinterland intermodal development from the sustainability perspective. Both China and India face some major opportunities and challenges in port-hinterland intermodal development. The proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offers plentiful opportunities for China. A challenge for China is that its development of dry ports is still in the infancy stage and thus it is unable to catch up with the pace of rapid economic growth. As compared with China, India focuses more on the social aspect to protect the welfare of its residents, which in turn jeopardizes India’s port-hinterland intermodal development in the economic sense. The biggest challenge for India is its social institution, which would take a long time to change. These in-depth comparative analyses not only give the future direction of port-hinterland intermodal development in China and India but also provide references for other countries with similar backgrounds.

In this study, the development of rinnenkarren systems is analyzed. During the field studies, 36 rinnenkarren systems were investigated. The width and depth were measured at every 10 cm on the main channels and then shape was calculated to these places (the quotient of channel width and depth). Water flow was performed on artificial rinnenkarren system. A relation was looked for between the density of tributary channels and the average shape of the main channel, between the distance of tributary channels from each other and the shape of a given place of the main channel. The density and total length of the tributary channels on the lower and upper sections of the main channels being narrow at their lower end (11 pieces) and being wide at their lower end (10 pieces) of the rinnenkarren systems were calculated as well as their average proportional distance from the lower end of the main channel. The number of channel hollows was determined on the lower and upper sections of these main channels. It can be stated that the average shape of the main channel calculated to its total length depends on the density of the tributary channels and on the distance of tributary channels from each other. The main channel shape is smaller if less water flows on the floor for a long time because of the small density of the tributary channels and the great distance between the tributary channels. In this case, the channel deepens, but it does not widen. The width of the main channel depends on the number and location of the rivulets developing on channel-free relief. The main channel becomes narrow towards its lower end if the tributary rivulets are denser and longer on the upper part of the main rivulet developing on the channel-free, plain terrain and their distance is larger compared to the lower end. The channel hollows develop mainly at those places where the later developing tributary channels are hanging above the floor of the main channel. Thus, the former ones are younger than the latter ones. It can be stated that the morphology of the main channels (shape, channel hollows, and width changes of the main channel) is determined by the tributary channels (their number, location and age).

Qatar FIFA 2022 was the first FIFA Football World Cup to be hosted by an Arab state and was predicted by some to fail. However, it did not only succeed but also showed a new display of destination sustainability upon hosting mega-sport events and linked tourism. Yet, some impacts tend to be long-term and need further analysis. The study aims to understand both positive and negative impacts on destination sustainability resulting from hosting mega-sport events, using bibliometric analysis of published literature during the last forty-seven years, and reflecting on the recent World Cup 2022 tournament in Qatar. A total of 2519 sources containing 665 open-access articles with 10,523 citations were found using the keywords “sport tourism” and “mega-sport”. The study found various literature researching the economic impacts in-depth, less on environmental impacts, and much less on social and cultural impacts on host communities. Debates exist in the literature concerning presumed economic benefits and motivations for hosting, and less on actual results achieved. Although World Cup 2022 is considered the most expensive among previous versions, destination sustainability seems to have benefited from the event’s hosting. Socio-cultural impacts of hosting mega-sport events seem to be addressed to an extent in the Qatar version of the World Cup, as well as environmental impacts while creating a unique image for FIFA 2022 and the destination itself. FIFA showcased this as using carbon-neutral technologies to create the micro-climate including perforated walls in the eight state-of-the-art stadiums, with the incorporation of a circular modular design for energy and water efficiency and zero-waste deconstruction post-event. The global event also drew attention and respect to the local community and underprivileged groups such as people with disabilities. Further research is needed to understand the demand-side perspective including the local community of Qatar and the event’s participants, and to analyze the long-term impacts and lessons learned from the Qatari experience.