Compiled by Cloud River Urban Research Institute, a high-level think tank, the China Core Cities & Metropolitan Area Development Index 2019 was recently released. In the comprehensive ranking, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen occupy the top three positions, followed by Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing and Nanjing.

All the top nine cities for the 2019 ranking are the same as the year before, while the 10th, formerly Wuhan, have been replaced by a non-core city Suzhou. Several cities like Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Fuzhou, Guiyang, Shijiazhuang, Nanning, and Yinchuan have all climbed higher in the ranking.

Shenyang, Changchun, and Harbin, the three provincial capitals in northeastern China, have moved down in the 2019 ranking by two, one and three places to the 21st, 26th and 29th, respectively. Due to the economic slowdown, these once-booming heavy industry bases are now in an awkward position in competition with other Chinese core cities.