Abstract: Developing rural life circles is a fundamental basis for rural revitalization and a strategic support for urban-rural integration. Existing theoretical discussions and planning practices concerning rural life circles are mostly confined to micro-community scales or internal rural systems, and insufficiently recognize their value and significance under the broader orientation of urban-rural integration. From the perspective of integrated urban-rural development, this paper proposes an analytical framework for rural life-circle construction. It argues that rural life circles should be understood as having comprehensive connotations and strategic significance. Such an understanding requires attention to changes in urban-rural relations, structural transformation in rural life systems, and the value of rural life circles in territorial functions and spatial organization. Rural life circles oriented toward urban-rural integration are characterized by the dynamic openness of urban-rural systems, the compound nature of multiple types, functions, and scales, and regional differentiation in spatial organization. Under changing urban-rural relations, rural areas face challenges including population decline and social restructuring, shifts in production and living patterns, and the reorganization of urban-rural territorial spatial systems. The paper concludes with planning reflections that address uncertainty in rural development, structural changes in agriculture, rural areas and farmers, the reconstruction of rural spatial patterns, and the trend toward two-way urban-rural mobility.