Advent of City Clusters

China’s urbanization rate reached 58.5 percent in 2017, up from 17.9 percent in 1978 when China started its reform and opening-up policy. More than 40 years ago, six of the top 10 Chinese cities were located in northeastern provinces, but now they have been replaced by cities either in the Yangtze River or Pearl River deltas, reflecting the rapid shift of cities’ economic development. Nowadays, China’s four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are leading cities worldwide in terms of population, transportation, economy and influence. A structural change to China’s urbanization is the rapid rise of city clusters which are now the norm in China’s drive toward urbanization.