In order to understand, evaluate and predict how terrestrial ecosystems will respond to global change, International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) has established fifteen global change terrestrial transects in the world. Two of them are located in China, and there are NorthEast China Transect (NECT) and North-South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC). The advance along NECT and NSTEC during recent years is presented systematically in this paper from plant carbon and nitrogen metabolism, biodiversity, ecosystem function and carbon budget, and ecosystem change trend under global change. These studies enhance the understanding of the processes and mechanisms of global change and terrestrial ecosystem interaction. Finally, considering the special eco-environment and regional characteristics in China, the authors emphasize  that the future terrestrial transect study in China should pay more attention to the following key science problems: adaptability of terrestrial ecosystems to global change, dynamic process and mechanism of land use change, interactive biological-physical-chemicalsocial processes and management of the earth system, ecological effects of disaster weather and climate and their control mechanisms, global change simulation and warning system. These studies might enhance the academic level of global change study in the world, and provide the scientific basis for the sustainable social and economic development of China.