Evolution of an Urban Network in the Yellow River Basin Based on Producer Services

From the perspective of the producer services, a chain network model describes the evolution of an urban network in the Yellow River Basin and its mechanisms. The findings indicate the following phenomena: the spread of urban network connections in the basin and the proportional structure of cities at all levels show the characteristics of “flattening.” The network relationship within the basin has a clear spatial and hierarchical orientation, presenting a “core‐periphery” network structure and a “polarisation to trickle down” development model. The spatial organisation of the urban network societies in the river basin is remarkable. The closeness of the societies shows a trend at first decreasing and then increasing. The boundaries of the associations are consistent with the provincial administrative boundaries. The formation and evolution of the urban network in the basin have passed through the initial agglomeration stage, the hierarchical network formation stage, and the hierarchical network consolidation stage. From the perspective of influence mechanisms, proximity mechanisms, socio‐economic development, and advances in communication technology have significantly impacted the formation of the urban network structure in the Basin, while the level of science and technology education and the degree of openness to the outside world have had less influence on the promotion of network connections between cities.