Abstract
Intercity travel by residents promotes the regathering and dissemination of social and economic factors. Based on big data from Tencent’s location-based service, 346 cities above the prefecture level in China were chosen as study objects, with 2018 as the study time node. To construct the intercity residents’ travel network, complex network analysis and GIS spatial analysis methods were used. Furthermore, when analyzing the structural characteristics and spatial differences of Chinese residents’ intercity travel from different time perspectives (the whole year, daily, Spring Festival travel rush, and special holidays), Gephi network analysis tools and ArcGIS spatial analysis software were used. The following are the major findings: daily and the whole year intercity travel by Chinese residents, as well as intercity travel during special holidays and the Spring Festival, all exhibit the “diamond” structure, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou-Shenzhen, and Chengdu-Chongqing at the core. The distribution of lines in and around the “diamond” is large and concentrated from the perspective of the hierarchical nature of the residents’ intercity travel network. Significant increases in high-intensity population flow lines within the “diamond” can be seen during Spring Festival travel and holidays. The number of cities involved in the inflow line is significantly greater than that involved in the outflow line, as demonstrated by the number of residents in the first point of travel, indicating that there is a difference between the central cities flowing into and out of the network. The first flow of the central city is the most visible during the Spring Festival travel period. Most cities in the resident intercity travel network have relatively low degrees of centrality, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality, and the number of cities with large values of the three is small, and they are concentrated in the apex and interior of the “diamond” structure.
Highlights
Travel migration and population flow are regarded as activities in which production factors are reallocated in space, thereby promoting the regathering and diffusion of social and economic factors [1]
In order to more clearly show the difference in population travel routes and intensity during the three time periods of daily (Figure 2(b)), special holidays (Figure 2(c)), and Spring Festival (Figure 2(d)), we categorize them according to the standard of the daily time period, it shows that the number of lines with the high-intensity population during the three periods of daily, holidays, and Spring Festival transportation has increased significantly, and the carrying pressure on each line has generally increased
In terms of resident travel, we discover that there is a clear hierarchy. e first level is a “diamond” structure with nodes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Wuhan; this structure supports China’s entire transportation network and plays an important role in transportation lines. e second level is the network of contacts between provincial capitals. ere are numerous travel routes and a large number of people between cities, which supplement and support the overall “diamond” structure. e third level transportation network is most visible as a link between prefecture-level cities and provincial
Summary
Travel migration and population flow are regarded as activities in which production factors are reallocated in space, thereby promoting the regathering and diffusion of social and economic factors [1]. Population travel embodies the interaction between their production and life styles and other production and life spaces; it reflects individuals’ ability to participate in social and economic activities. Regional communication and collaborative development are facilitated by an efficient, comprehensive transportation system, convenient communication services, and urban development modes. E study of residents’ travel can serve as a reference for the rational formulation of policies and has far-reaching implications for guiding the healthy development of urban transportation in the future [2, 3]. Population flow has evolved into a spatial representation of social and economic development in China. In the process of globalization, information technology, and regional integration, the connection between different regions in China is becoming
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