At present, China ranks second in the world in terms of economic clout. China's reform and opening-up, as well as China's urban planning and construction, greatly contributes to such a miracle.

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan and Zhengzhou may be not strange to those foreigners who have been to China. However, they may not know too much about them as China's national central cities, which have been identified by the central government in recent years.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is that many other cities with large populations and economic scale have not been identified as national central cities. The identification of national central cities plays an important role in regional economic development and even national economic expansion and implementation of the country's all-around well-off goal.

I am commenting on the national strategy of developing central cities from the following three perspectives.

First, the central cities, as the cores of the regional urban clusters, have a flexible layout.

The layout of China's central cities has several distinctive features besides the advantages in transportation hubs combining water, land and air routes, which can be easily connected with all parts of the country through high-speed railway, expressway and aviation.

They are the core cities of certain regional urban clusters in China. Beijing and Tianjin are the center of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Shanghai is the center of Hangzhou bay urban agglomeration. Chongqing and Chengdu are the center of Chengyu urban agglomeration; Wuhan, center of urban agglomeration in the middle reach of the Yangtze river; Zhengzhou, center of urban agglomeration in central China; and Xi 'an, center of the urban agglomeration in Guanzhong area.

Most of them are located in the developed area. According to the level of regional economic development, China can be divided into three parts, including the east, the middle and the west. The eastern part, a more developed part, includes four center cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. The middle part, a medium-level part, includes two central cities, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. The southwestern part, an underdeveloped part, includes two central cities, Chongqing and Chengdu. The northwestern part, also an underdeveloped part, includes one central city, Xi’an.

The endowment of natural resources is better. Most of the center cities are distributed along the main stream of the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing and Chengdu are distributed along the Yangtze river from its upper reach to downstream. Zhengzhou and Xi'an are located along the Yellow River. Guangzhou is in the Pearl River estuary, next to South China Sea. Beijing and Tianjin distribute in the water system of Yongding River, Chaobai River and Haihe River, east facing the Bohai Sea.

They have higher administrative jurisdiction. Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing are municipalities directly under the central government. Guangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Chengdu and Xi’an are the capital cities of Guangdong province, Hubei province, Henan province, Sichuan province, Shaanxi province, respectively.

Second, the central cities have a powerful radiation and become the pillars of the country's economy.

As the economic driver of China's major urban clusters, the central city has a large economic effect, makes great contributions to regional and national economic growth and has become the important pillar to achieve national economic development and social progress and realize the Two Centenary Goals.

In 2017, China's economic growth rate reached 6.9 percent year-on-year, and the national GDP reached 82.7 trillion yuan (around $12.65 trillion), 59,927 yuan per capita. The total GDP of the nine central cities reached 15.7 trillion yuan (see attached table: China central city statistical table 2017), 112,142 yuan per capita. The total GDP of the nine central cities accounted for 18.9 percent of the national GDP. Their GDP per capita is twice the national GDP per capita. As for the per capita disposable income, Zhengzhou reached 30,800 yuan per year (lowest) and Shanghai reached 58,600 yuan per year (highest), and people led a quiet and peaceful life.

In the east, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou play an important exemplary and leading role for eastern provinces including Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei provinces in economic development. The GDP of these six provinces reached 36.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 45 percent of national GDP.

If the GDP of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin is added, the GDP of the east would account for 53.9 percent of national GDP. The eastern region has formed many matured industry sectors, including automobile, chemical, medicine, metallurgy, appliances and food, which becomes important in import and export trade. The region is closely connected with the global economy and contributes to world economic growth.

Third, the central cities have a long-standing history and culture, providing rich soil for development.

China is a country with an ancient civilization, and the central cities have a long history of city construction, bearing the Chinese a splendid national culture. As for the center in the eastern part, Beijing, once called Yanjing or Youzhou, after 938 AD, was the capital of the Liao (916-1125), Jin (1115-1234), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Shanghai, located in the coast of the East China Sea, where Songjiang prefecture was set up in the Yuan Dynasty, became an important commercial port in the Far East in the middle of the 19th century.

Tianjin got its name when Emperor Zhu Di passed here and fought for the throne of the Ming Dynasty. And blocks here such as Jiefang Bridge, the Five Avenues are the microcosm of China's modern history.

Guangzhou was originally founded in 214 BC, once called Renxiao city, serving as an administrative city for Guangzhou area in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and becoming the Guangdong provincial capital in the Qing Dynasty.

As for the center in middle part, Wuhan, the birthplace of Chu culture, was the key city of the state or province in successive reigns and dynasties. Panlongcheng historic site in the city is the ruins of a tribe’s palace in the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) which has a history of 3,500 years.

Zhengzhou is the city to which the Shang Dynasty moved its capital away from the flood caused by the Yellow River.

As for the center in southwestern part, Chongqing was the capital city three times. In 189, the emperor of the Song Dynasty (420-479) Zhao Chun was first conferred the title of prince and came to throne. He boasted double celebrations, hence named the city Chongqing (The pronunciation of Chongqing in Chinese means double celebrations).

Chengdu was the birthplace of the ancient Shu culture. In the 4th century BC, there was a saying that “one year made a fief and two years made a capital”, hence Chengdu was named in this way (The Chinese meaning of “made a capital” is similar with the pronunciation of Chengdu). And after 2,500 years, the location of the city did not change, either did its name.

As for the center in northwestern part, Xi'an was once called Chang’an or Haojing and 13 dynasties set their capital here, including the Western Zhou (c.11th century-771 BC), Qin (221-206 BC), Western Han (206 BC-AD 24), Eastern Han (25-220), Western Jin (265-316), Sui and Tang.

Rome was not built in a day, that is true, and with the populous China central cities’ further expansion, opportunities and challenges come side by side.

At a glance: China's national central cities

Xu Zongwei is former general director of policy of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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