To elucidate the research trajectory and developmental trends in the field of rural wellness, and to support the deepening of the Healthy China and Rural Revitalization strategies, this study aims to systematically analyze the evolution characteristics and cutting-edge dynamics in this field. Taking 491 articles from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) journal database from 2008 to 2024 as samples, CiteSpace software was used to conduct author/institution co-occurrence network analysis, keyword clustering, and burst analysis, generating visual maps. The results show that: (1) the number of published articles related to rural wellness in China has generally increased, with a three-stage leap in annual publication volume, and a burst of growth after 2018 (accounting for 88.59% of the total); (2) research institutions are independent and lack interdisciplinary connections, with an institution collaboration density of only 0.0027 (N=141, E=27), and weak interdisciplinary collaboration; (3) the frontier trend of research topics has shifted from macro to micro research, with burst strength revealing that hotspots have shifted from macro-level themes (e.g., "health and wellness tourism", burst strength=5.91, 2010-2018) to micro-level practical applications (e.g., "therapeutic landscape", burst strength= 4.51, 2023-2024). The current frontiers focus on the travel and residence elderly care service system, ecological design of health and wellness landscapes, and the industrial-spatial collaborative model of characteristic towns. It’s urgent to establish an interdisciplinary collaboration mechanism, a differentiated demand response system, and a high-quality health care environment construction technology system.