Official announcement! China's 14th megacity is born!

The ranks of China's megacities have expanded again.

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics issued the 2023 version of the "Announcement on Updating the National Statistical Zoning Code and Urban and Rural Division Code".

In the announcement, all streets in Suzhou Industrial Park are divided from the central area of the town to the main urban area.

According to the newly adjusted data, the permanent population of Suzhou has increased from 3,991,200 to 5,125,100.

It has met the standards of megacities in the Notice on Adjusting the Standards for the Classification of Urban Scales: the permanent population of urban areas is more than 5 million and less than 10 million.

After adjustment, Suzhou, the "strongest prefecture-level city" with a GDP of more than 2 trillion yuan for many consecutive years, officially became the 15th megacity in the mainland, and the number of megacities in the Yangtze River Delta increased to 4 (Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou).

It should be noted here that it is only an adjustment of statistical caliber, not a zoning adjustment.

Last month, Suzhou also issued a "fact sheet" for online rumors that "Suzhou Industrial Park was merged into Gusu District", clearly stating that "the information is not true".

In addition, Nanning, which has a permanent population of 4,567,500, Shijiazhuang, and Xiamen, which has a permanent population of 4,Chinese 363,800, is getting closer and closer to the threshold of megacities.

If the updated statistical caliber is adopted, the three parks under Hefei's jurisdiction are also included, and its urban population data will also have a large room for growth.

are expected to be among the megacities.

What does it mean to be a megacity?

Megacities have also played an important role in promoting China's economic growth and leading regional economic development.

What is clear is that the relevant policy and resource dividends for megacities can be enjoyed.

The rating of a city indicates the city's economic vitality and resource-gathering capacity.

It is the approval of many national policies, development strategies, major projects (urban village transformation, metropolitan area construction, etc.), public resource allocation (transportation, education, medical care, household registration management...). Every city attaches great importance to this indicator.

A few examples:

The population of 3 million in an urban area is one of the key indicators for a city to build a subway.

Metropolitan areas need to be gradually cultivated with megacities centered on megacities and megacities, mainly concentrated in areas with economic development advantages, and one-hour commuting circles as the basic range, with mature conditions and strong radiation driving capabilities.

In addition, in the Notice on Strengthening the Planning and Construction Management of Super High-rise Buildings (Draft for Comments) previously released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, requirements are put forward according to the population of urban areas:

No buildings above 250 meters shall be constructed

In other words, if the population is less than 3 million, no buildings above 250 meters are allowed to be built, and if this value is exceeded, no new buildings of more than 500 meters will be built.

For example, the size of the city is also linked to the management of household registration.

Completely remove restrictions on settling in cities with a permanent population of less than 3 million in urban areas; Comprehensively relax the conditions for settling in large cities with a permanent population of 3 million to 5 million in urban areas.

Giving cities with a permanent population of less than 5 million more development opportunities will make it easier for small and medium-sized cities and some second-tier cities to settle down.

…………

In short, the further upgrading of the city's status means that more and better development resources can be obtained.

The development of these large infrastructure projects also signals the future development potential and economic vitality of a city.

A larger population size, fuller labor mobility, and higher-quality population mobility can effectively promote the accelerated development of cities, enhance urban competitiveness, and empower urban construction.

The same is true for our choice of urban development and investment, and the future development potential of cities with city ratings will far exceed that of other cities.