  The law of allometric scaling based on Zipf distributions can be employed to
research hierarchies of cities in a geographical region. However, the
allometric patterns are easily influenced by random disturbance from the noises
in observational data. In theory, both the allometric growth law and Zipf's law
are related to the hierarchical scaling laws associated with fractal structure.
In this paper, the scaling laws of hierarchies with cascade structure are used
to study Chinese cities, and the method of R/S analysis is applied to analyzing
the change trend of the allometric scaling exponents. The results show that the
hierarchical scaling relations of Chinese cities became clearer and clearer
from 1991 to 2014 year; the global allometric scaling exponent values
fluctuated around 0.85, and the local scaling exponent approached to 0.85. The
Hurst exponent of the allometric parameter change is greater than 0.5,
indicating persistence and a long-term memory of urban evolution. The main
conclusions can be reached as follows: the allometric scaling law of cities
represents an evolutionary order rather than an invariable rule, which emerges
from self-organized process of urbanization, and the ideas from allometry and
fractals can be combined to optimize spatial and hierarchical structure of
urban systems in future city planning.
