Cultural and entertainment facilities are an important mainstay for urban development and the well-being of urban residents. Studying their spatial distribution is thus of great significance for improving urban functions and shaping urban characteristics. This paper uses the Simpson index, grid method, kernel density, nearest neighbor analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis to present in detail the spatial pattern, hotspot distribution and clustering characteristics of urban cultural and entertainment facilities in Beijing. With the help of the spatial lag model, the main factors affecting the spatial distribution of the facilities are explored. The results are as follows: Different types of cultural and entertainment facilities have different spatial agglomeration effects, which are closely related to the historical background of Beijing, industrial distribution, and the living needs of residents; the facilities generally present a spatial distribution with prominent centrality, strong clustering and significant heterogeneity; and financial insurance institution density, building density, securities company density, housing rent and distance to nearest scenic spot are the main factors affecting the distribution of the facilities. Analyzing the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of urban cultural and entertainment facilities in Beijing will provide typical cases and decision-making references that can underpin the informed layout and planning of urban cultural and entertainment industries and facilities.

China has entered an era of rapid high-speed railway (HSR) development and the spatial structure of urban agglomerations will evolve in parallel with the development and evolution of the spatial structure of the HSR network. In this study, we explore how the spatial structure of an HSR network evolves at regional and local scales. Existing research into HSR network structures has mostly been carried out at a regional scale, and has therefore failed to reveal the spatial connections within a city. In this work, we progress the science by exploring it at a local scale. To describe the HSR network more accurately, we use the dwell time to simulate the passenger flow between stations and use the simulated passenger flow as the network weight. We use complex network analysis to investigate the evolution of the network’s spatial structure. Our results present the evolution of station locations, of community structure, and of the locations of connections between stations at a regional scale, and also show how HSR network development within core cities has impacted structures and connectivity at a local scale. These results help us to understand the spatial structure of urban agglomerations and cities, and provide evidence that can be used to optimize the structure of the HSR network within regions and cities.

High-speed railway (HSR) promote the efficient flow of the population and materials between cities and have profoundly affected urban economic development in China. However, there is currently limited research about how HSR influences urban expansion, especially related to the variable impacts on different urban agglomerations, different size cities, and the conversion of non-urban land to urban land. In this study, from two levels of regional heterogeneity and type heterogeneity, a multi-stage difference-in-differences (multi-stage DID) model and land use remote sensing data are used to investigate these research areas. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The first opening of HSR had a more significant role in promoting urban expansion than HSR frequency, but several years after opening, HSR no longer promotes urban expansion. (2) The opening of HSR only played a significant role in promoting urban expansion in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei. HSR frequency had a significant role in promoting urban expansion in the Yangtze River Delta. (3) The opening of HSR had no significant impact on urban expansion for different size cities, and HSR frequency only had a significant negative impact on urban expansion of small cities. (4) The first opening of HSR led to urban expansion dominated by the occupation of cultivated land. Cities in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia mainly converted barren land and vegetation cover to urban land after the first opening of HSR. In northeast China, the first opening of HSR made the conversion of vegetation cover and cultivated land to urban land roughly equivalent in size. The results of this study are helpful to understand the impact of the first opening of HSR and the scale of conversion of different types of non-urban land into urban land on urban expansion. In the era of HSR, these findings provide a valuable reference for regional planning and preventing the disorderly expansion of cities.