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Comparing Intercity Mobility Patterns among Different Holidays in China: a Big Data Analysis

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Abstract

With the relaxation of migration control and the rapid development of transportation in China, intercity mobility has remarkable effects on population distribution and regional economic development. Based on Tencent migration data of 2018, this study compares different intercity mobility patterns among different holidays and identifies the influencing factors using spatial and statistical analysis methods. The holidays consist of traditional holidays (Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival) and non-traditional holidays (New Year’s Day, May Day and National Day). The results are demonstrated below: 1) The spatial patterns of intercity mobility vary markedly from non-traditional holidays to traditional holidays, directly reflected in the distribution of main destination cities. 2) Regional attributes, including administrative divisions, geographical divisions, and dialect divisions, do affect the intercity mobility patterns in different holidays, and people in the south are more inclined to travel on traditional holidays and pay more attention to traditions; 3) Various travel purposes, distances and scales emerge in different holidays; 4) Economic factors at the city level are more associated with working place selections, and the destination choices during non-traditional holidays are influenced more by tourism factors. This comparative study of intercity mobility patterns among holidays has significant policy implications for allocating transportation resources and optimizing city hierarchical structure.

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Notes

  1. The 3 biggest urban agglomerations in China include Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomerations.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.42101226). Thank the reviewers for their valuable suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China

    Xin Lao

  2. School of International Business, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China

    Xinghua Deng

  3. Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Hengyu Gu

  4. School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

    Jian Yang

  5. Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

    Hanchen Yu

  6. Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Macau SAR, China

    Zhibin Xu

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  1. Xin Lao
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  2. Xinghua Deng
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  3. Hengyu Gu
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  4. Jian Yang
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  5. Hanchen Yu
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Correspondence to Hengyu Gu.

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Lao, X., Deng, X., Gu, H. et al. Comparing Intercity Mobility Patterns among Different Holidays in China: a Big Data Analysis. Appl. Spatial Analysis 15, 993–1020 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-021-09433-z

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