Accessibility and Economic Connections between Cities of the New Western Land–Sea Corridor in China—Enlightenments to the Passageway Strategy of Gansu Province

In 2019, China proposed the New Western Land–Sea Corridor (NWLSC) to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between China and Southeast Asia. As an important province in western China, Gansu plays a crucial role in transportation and cultural exchange in the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). Thus, how to develop the strategic passageway of Gansu Province becomes the research focus. In order to enhance the radiation effect of the NWLSC on the northwestern region and help Gansu Province expand its pattern of expanding, this paper firstly selects 16 core cities in this Corridor by using an accessibility method and an urban flow intensity method; then, analyzing the status of accessibility and the economic connection patterns between those cities; and lastly, obtaining conclusions that the accessibility of space layout is “corridor style”, the spatial distribution of urban flow intensity is balanced, and Gansu should actively participate in southbound gateway and gain the full advantages of the “golden passageway”. To sum up, this paper is innovative in terms of regional selection, research methods, and theoretical significance.