The distribution of cities in China and its influencing factors

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the distribution of cities in China during 221 BC- 1911 AD and its influencing factors. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows:(1) the urban distribution gravity center of China during the entire study stage was located in the central and eastern regions and firstly, moved sharply southwestward from the Qin dynasty to the Tang dynasty. Secondly, the gravity center moved toward the northeast from the Tang dynasty to the Yuan dynasty, and then toward the southwest direction. Finally, the gravity center during the Yuan-Qing dynasty moved mainly towards the north direction. In this paper, we divided China into east and west parts by the population line of Tengchong- Aihui and found that during the study period, the gravity center path in the western region presented a large fluctuation trend in both the south-north and the east-west directions. However, the moving trajectory of the gravity center in the eastern region was similar to that of the whole country.(2) The analyses of the standard deviational ellipses showed that the urban distribution in the whole country, the eastern region, and the western region exhibited a distribution pattern of "decentralization,centralization and decentralization", and this trend in the western region was most obvious.From the perspective of the average direction, the urban distribution in the whole country and the eastern region were similar to a certain degree, with the northeast- southwest as the main characteristics. However, the urban distribution in the western region took the northwestsoutheast as the main features.(3) Based on the urban density distribution and spatial correlation, we found that its spatial continuity and self- organization were continuously strengthened, and the structural variation was in a significant state. Viewing from the direction,we concluded that the degree of homogenization on the Omni-direction tended to decline. The urban density homogenization degree of each dynasty in the northwest and southeast directions was relatively good and the spatial differences were minimal, but the spatial differences in the east and west directions were most obvious.(4) The analysis of the related factors of the urban setting up in different periods revealed that the setting up of the cities of China during 221 BC-1911 AD mainly focused on the flat terrain near the river and the central city with moderate climate.