A good ecological environment is one of the essential development potentials of Zhongshan City. The picture shows the area surrounding Zimaling Park in the Central City. [Photo by Wen Zhicheng]

The Evergrande Research Institute, a renowned domestic think tank, recently released the "2019 China Urban Development Potential Ranking Report".

The report shows that Shenzhen's urban development potential surpasses Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and ranks first nationwide. Chengdu, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Tianjin and Hangzhou are also among the top ten. Zhongshan ranks 32nd across the country. 

The top 100 cities with great urban development potentials are classified into three grades. Fifteen cities including Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhongshan, fall under the First Grade. Twenty-five cities including Chengdu and Wuhan fall under the Second Grade. The remaining sixty including Lanzhou and Xuzhou are classified as Third Grade cities.

Zhan Zuping, Associate Professor of Economics at the Zhongshan Party Committee School, believes that a habitable environment, business environment and regional advantages, all put Zhongshan in the top rankings of various institutions in recent years. Especially, because of its geographical proximity to Hong Kong and Macao, Zhongshan has drawn high-end elements of other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.