Applying a novel approach based on the vast city-related information in the Internet, this paper probes into the hierarchy of Chinese cities in virtual space by developing a theoretical analysis framework and analyzing the amount of coverage that a city received in the Internet news media (attribute data) and the distance decay effect in Internet search of a city from other cities (relational data). We used the Baidu Media Index and Search Index of city names in China to capture the amount of yearly city exposure in the Internet news media and how often cities have been searched by Internet users in other cities, respectively. Our results show that the extent of Internet news coverage of a city is highly related to that city's real-world characteristics including its administrative status, economic development, tourist resources, and its distance to/from Beijing. Besides, the distance decay coefficients in the Internet search of cities vary widely and the effects are mediated by the city's amount of coverage in the Internet news media, job opportunities and transport functions. There is evidence to suggest that the hierarchy of cities in virtual space has been heavily shaped by specific social, economic, and political factors.
