China Integrated City Index 2019 released

The Cloud River Urban Research Institute recently released the China Integrated City Index for 2019, the fourth year in a row since its initiation in 2016.

Jointly developed by Cloud River Urban Research Institute and the Development Planning Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, the index is a system that evaluates growth performance of 297 cities at prefecture level or above across the country.

It measures urban development in three dimensions: environment, society and economy. Under each dimension lies many indicators that support its sub-dimensions at different layers. All of its indicators are supported by 785 data sets, which come from statistical data, satellite remote sensing data, and internet data. 

China Integrated City Index is a multi-modal index that analyzes and measures a city's development through statistical resources of different fields.

1. Comprehensive ranking

Beijing has topped the comprehensive ranking for four consecutive years, and is followed by Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The top 10 cities in the comprehensive ranking are Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin, Nanjing and Wuhan. The ten cities are located in five megalopolises, including three in the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis, two in the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis, two in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis, two in the Chengdu-Chonqqing Megalopolis, and one in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis.

In the comprehensive ranking, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have been topping the list for four consecutive years with an overwhelming lead. They have their own unique advantages: Beijing has unparalleled advantage in the social ranking, Shanghai tops the economic ranking, Shenzhen occupies the first place in the environmental ranking, and Guangzhou takes a leading role in all the three dimensions.

Chongqing has seen significant growth in the comprehensive ranking, surpassing Tianjin and Hangzhou as it moves to the 5th from the 7th in 2018. On the other hand, Tianjin has fallen from the 5th in the 2018 ranking to the 8th, largely due to its drop in the environmental ranking from 21st to 40th. Hangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan have remained steady performance.