Abstract:

Spatial structure measurement of residents' intercity trip network based on multiple perspectives can be used to comprehensively describe the complex connection between cities. Based on the data of population flow from Tencent migration platform in 2018 during the Spring Festival in China and using the complex network analysis method and taking alter-based centrality and alter-based power as indicators, the structural characteristics of Chinese intercity trip network under the three traffic modes of aviation, railway, and highway were compared and analyzed. The results show that: 1) The number of routes connected by aviation is the smallest among the three modes of travel, and the average trip distance is the longest; the number of passengers by railway is the largest, followed by highway and aviation. 2) With regard to the maximum dominant flow, Beijing and Shanghai play the most important controlling role in the domestic aviation trip connection, followed by Chengdu and Chongqing. With regard to the railway trips, Beijing and Chengdu occupy absolute advantageous positions, and the highways mostly connect provincial administrative centers and the surrounding cities. 3) There are four types of cities based on the alter-based centrality and alter-based power: high alter-based centrality-high alter-based power cities, high alter-based centrality-low alter-based power cities, low alter-based centrality-high alter-based power cities, and low alter-based centrality-low alter-based power cities. The number of high alter-based centrality-high alter-based power cities is the largest in the aviation and railway travel network. The number of high alter-based centrality-low alter-based power cities is dominant in the highway travel network. 4) There are differences in the number of urban community detection clustering structures under different travel modes. Aviation, railway, and highway were clustered into 7, 8 and 10 urban communities respectively. Under the aviation travel mode, discontinuity between "communities" is clear. Under the mode of railway travel, agglomeration appears, and an obvious block distribution appears under the mode of highway travel. From the perspective of travel modes, the characteristics of urban network are also significantly different. The intercity flow of aviation travel showed a core-periphery structure with national hub cities as the core; train travel showed a core-periphery structure with the cities along the national railway artery as the core, and gradually decreasing to the hinterland cities; and the intercity flow of highway travel indicates the spatial pattern of local strong aggregation matching the population scale. The study of spatial structure of residents' intercity trip network under different travel modes can reveal the multiple spatial characteristics of population migration, residents' trip, and urban network from different perspectives, complement the results of existing studies based on single travel modes, and enrich the regional understanding of spatial relationships of Chinese cities.

Key words: intercity trip network, urban network structure, population flow, Spring Festival travel rush, Tencent migration platform, China