China’s high‐speed rail (HSR) system has expanded rapidly, with stations now serving nearly all major cities across the country. The network is structured around the “Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals” framework, which possesses several distinct characteristics. This study utilizes train schedule data to extract station information for constructing an origin–destination (O/D) matrix. Methods including centrality measurement, edge strength analysis, correlation analysis, and GIS visualization are employed to examine the hierarchical structure of China’s HSR network at both national and urban agglomeration scales. The findings reveal that (1) most cities have limited train services and low connectivity, while cities with high connectivity are relatively few and concentrated in regions such as Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). The degree distribution follows an exponential pattern and aligns with the “80/20” rule, and the network exhibits small‐world properties. (2) Based on nodal degree, HSR cities are classified into four tiers, which exhibit a pyramid‐shaped distribution in terms of both quantity and proportion. Geographically, these cities are predominantly located southeast of the “Heihe–Tengchong Line,” with notable clusters along the Yangtze River and coastal areas. (3) Network edges are also categorized into four levels. First‐level edges connect economically developed cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, while second‐level edges are mainly distributed along the Yangtze River corridor. (4) Among the major urban agglomerations, the YRD and Mid‐Yangtze River (MYR) regions show the highest centrality, followed by BTH and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Chengdu–Chongqing (CC) region ranks the lowest. Relative centrality analysis indicates a clear hierarchical distribution within agglomerations such as YRD, whereas GBA and CC display more fragmented connectivity patterns. The network structures across regions are diverse: YRD is oriented east–west, MYR forms a triangular layout, CC exhibits a radial pattern, BTH resembles a “Z” shape, and GBA is structured like a tree.
Zhang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.