The current spatial distribution of China's wind power industry exhibits a pronounced imbalance, necessitating an investigation of the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of China's wind power development (CWPD) and its driving mechanisms. From the whole industry chain perspective, this study employs panel data from 31 provinces in China covering the period from 2005 to 2021 to quantitatively reveal the spatioaltemporal characteristics and formation mechanisms of CWPD. Results show that: (1) The CWPD demonstrates a temporal evolution trend of "rapid growth – decelerated growth – steady growth" and a spatial distribution pattern of "coastal innovation, endowment-based investment, production in the northern regions, and consumption in the eastern regions"; (2) the spatial differences and concentration degree of China's wind power development have slowed, but further optimization of spatial layout is still needed; (3) Wind resource endowment shapes the spatioaltemporal patterns of CWPD, and GDP, green finance, and urbanization change its basic form of and further intensify their imbalance. Economic policy uncertainty and environmental regulations serve as external driving forces for the transformation of spatioaltemporal patterns, while technological innovation acts as an internal driving force. This study broadens the cognitive perspective on the temporal and spatial laws and phenomena of China's wind power development, providing a theoretical basis and policy insights for optimizing the spatioaltemporal layout of CWPD.