  Structural properties of the ship-transport network of China (STNC) are
studied in the light of recent investigations of complex networks. STNC is
composed of a set of routes and ports located along the sea or river. Network
properties including the degree distribution, degree correlations, clustering,
shortest path length, centrality and betweenness are studied in different
definition of network topology. It is found that geographical constraint plays
an important role in the network topology of STNC. We also study the traffic
flow of STNC based on the weighted network representation, and demonstrate the
weight distribution can be described by power law or exponential function
depending on the assumed definition of network topology. Other features related
to STNC are also investigated.
