Port research is not a new field of interest for human geographers, evidenced by numerous conceptual models and empirical cases of port evolution and development in the literature. However, several critical questions remain unanswered, notably the exact position of port geography as a subdiscipline within human geography in the past, present and future. Based on a pluralistic approach, the paper analyzes the changing waves and development of port geography as a sub-discipline of human geography, with a special focus on whether port geography has experienced a paradigm shift and, if so, when, why, and how. Also, through analyzing the major terrains of port geography research from the macro perspective, it brings a new lease of life to port geography in this rapidly changing world.
