Spatial distribution characteristics and accessibility analysis of beautiful leisure villages in China

This study was designed to evaluate the spatial distribution characteristics of 1432 beautiful leisure villages in China using econometric geography and spatial geographic information system analysis methods, such as nearest distance index, K index, and nuclear density. We also used the grid cost weighted distance algorithm to determine the spatial accessibility of beautiful leisure villages and the overall accessibility of county units. In addition, our evaluations determined the spatial differences in county accessibility using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). Our results showed that the spatial distribution of the beautiful leisure villages in China could be best described using the cohesion type classification and that there were large differences in their distribution between provinces and economic regions. The average accessibility time of beautiful leisure villages was 197.24 min with only 57.19% of these commutes being less than 2 h, and only 17.88% being less than 30 min. The area with the longest accessibility time was located on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, at up to 1510.03 min. The spatial distribution of accessibility showed obvious traffic directivity producing a positive Moran I value for most counties. There was also a significant positive correlation between the accessibility of beautiful leisure villages and their adjacent areas, and clear patterns of hot spots–sub-hot spots–sub-cold spots—cold spots from east to west. The overall service scope of beautiful leisure villages was characterized by west > east > middle, with topography, population, economy, and location acting as the major factors in the spatial distribution of these beautiful leisure villages in China.