关键词: 中国, 省, 自治区, 城市规模结构, 聚类分析

Abstract: The present article makes a clustering analysis of urban size structures of provinces and autonomous regions in China in 1999 .The result of the analysis demonstrates that, urban size structures of many provinces and autonomous regions have some shortcomings, and there are certain differences among urban size structures of the three large regions .The article argues that , in the 21 century , the focal points of the development of the three large regions' urban size structures should be different based on each region' s feature , and whether in the Eastern Coastal Region , the Middle Region, or in the Western Region, the development of large cities should be and must be given priority .China needs to develop urban systems in which the structure of cities and towns of various sizes is reasonable and the whole urban function can be brought into full play .

Keywords: China, Province, autonomous region, urban size structure, clustering analysis