Author: Lin Xiaozhao

　　Apart from municipalities directly under the Central Government, provincial capital cities and cities under separate state planning, which common prefecture-level cities have the largest population?

　　According to the statistics of the first financial reporter, as of 2021, there are a total of 10 ordinary prefecture-level cities in my country with more than 9 million permanent residents, one less than the previous year. Among them, Suzhou, Linyi and Dongguan have more than 10 million people, and Wenzhou surpasses Nanyang to rise to Fourth, Weifang surpassed Handan and rose to seventh; from the perspective of regional distribution, these 10 cities are mainly from the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Huanghuaihai Plain.

　　Three Cities Over 10 Million

　　According to the statistics of the first financial reporter, the ten most populous prefecture-level cities in my country in 2021 are Suzhou, Linyi, Dongguan, Wenzhou, Nanyang, Foshan, Weifang, Handan, Baoding and Xuzhou. The resident population of these 10 cities will exceed 9 million. .

　　Among them, Suzhou topped the list with 12.8478 million people, ranking tenth among all cities in the country.

Corresponding to the population, Suzhou is also the only ordinary prefecture-level city whose total GDP ranks among the top ten of all cities in the country.

　　Suzhou's GDP in 2021 will reach 2,271.8 billion yuan, more than 800 billion yuan more than Wuxi, the second prefecture-level city. , Guangzhou, four first-tier cities and the municipality directly under the Central Government Chongqing, Suzhou is also known as the "best prefecture-level city".

　　In terms of income, the per capita disposable income of Suzhou residents will exceed 68,000 yuan in 2021, closely following the two first-tier cities in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, ranking fifth among major cities in the country.

　　The net inflow of population refers to the difference between the resident population and the registered population. If the resident population is greater than the registered population, it means that the urban population is in a net inflow, otherwise it is a net outflow.

Generally speaking, economically developed big cities have more employment opportunities, which form a strong attraction to the floating population.

According to the analysis of the first financial reporter, Suzhou's current net inflow population is as high as 5.2267 million, ranking seventh among all cities in the country.

　　After Suzhou, the resident population of Linyi City in Shandong will be 11.0195 million in 2021, and the urbanization rate will be 55.97%.

Linyi is located in the southeastern part of Shandong Province, near the Yellow Sea and north of Jiangsu in the south.

According to public information, Linyi has a total area of ​​17,200 square kilometers. It is the city with the largest population and largest area in Shandong Province. It is a logistics turnover center and a trade and wholesale center.

　　The "world factory" Dongguan ranks third with 10.5368 million people. It is worth noting that in 2021, Dongguan's population density will reach 4,259 people per square kilometer, making it the prefecture-level city with the highest population density.

　　Dongguan, with an area of ​​only 2,474 square kilometers, was upgraded to a prefecture-level city in 1988.

Since the reform and opening up, with the development of export trade, Dongguan has gradually developed into one of the largest manufacturing bases in the world. A modern industrial system with eight major industries as the pillars.

The development of the industry has also led to a large population inflow. At present, the net inflow population in Dongguan is as high as 7.75 million.

　　In 2021, the resident population of Wenzhou, a major private economy city, will surpass that of Nanyang, rising to the fourth place among prefecture-level cities.

A few days ago, the "Wenzhou City Population Development Medium and Long-term Plan" was released, showing that by 2025, Wenzhou's permanent population will strive to reach 10 million; the total number of high-skilled talents will reach 400,000, and 600,000 college graduates will be introduced. The proportion of skilled laborers has reached 30%; at the same time, the population distribution has become more reasonable, and the urbanization rate of the city's permanent population has reached 75%.

By 2030, the status of "city with a permanent population of 10 million" will be further consolidated.

By 2035, the advantages of "city with a permanent population of 10 million" will become more prominent.

　　Tang Hairu, deputy director of the Expert Committee of Hangzhou Planning Commission, analyzed Yicai that it is a big challenge for Wenzhou to reach the population target of 10 million.

Because even in a central city like Hangzhou, population growth has slowed down and adjusted significantly.

Therefore, the future population growth of Wenzhou will depend to a greater extent on the economic and social development of the city.

　　Tang Hairu said that in the future, Wenzhou needs to give full play to its location advantages and give more play to its leading and radiating role in the central city in the region.

In the future, the energy level and functions of the central city of Wenzhou need to be further improved. This improvement is not only within the scope of Wenzhou, but also needs to break through the administrative boundaries.

　　In addition to Wenzhou, another prefecture-level city whose permanent resident population ranks in the top ten is Weifang. Although Weifang’s population only increased by more than 10,000 people last year, the total surpassed Handan and rose to seventh place in the prefecture-level city.

　　It is worth noting that last year, Weifang's total GDP ranked 35th among all cities in the country, an increase of 4 places over the previous year.

Weifang has many listed companies such as Weichai, Chenming and Goertek.

Among the 371 provincial manufacturing champions selected by Shandong from 2017 to 2020, Weifang has 57, ranking first among 16 cities in Shandong.

　　Huanghuaihai Plain Concentration

　　From the perspective of regional distribution, these 10 cities are mainly from the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Huanghuaihai Plain.

The largest number of cities are from the Huanghuaihai region, including Nanyang, Handan, Baoding, Xuzhou, Weifang and Linyi.

　　In addition, some of the most populous cities outside the top 10 also come from this area.

For example, Zhoukou in Henan, although the resident population fell below 9 million last year, there are still 8.853 million people.

Heze, Jining, and Fuyang are also big cities with a resident population of more than 8 million.

Among them, Fuyang, located in northern Anhui, has 8.171 million people. The neighboring prefecture-level city Bozhou officially separated from Fuyang and established a prefecture-level city in 2000. The total resident population of the two places exceeds 15 million.

　　Niu Fengrui, a researcher at the Urban Development and Environment Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed the first financial reporter that the Huanghuaihai region has a large plain area, good agricultural production conditions, and a relatively large population density. The city has jurisdiction over many counties, which makes it easier to form a populous city.

　　For example, Nanyang currently has 2 municipal districts, 10 counties and 1 county-level city; Handan has 6 districts, 11 counties, and 1 county-level city; Zhoukou has 2 districts, 7 counties and 1 county under its jurisdiction level city.

　　However, it is worth noting that many of these populous cities have significantly reduced their resident population.

For example, in 2021, the resident population of Nanyang will decrease by 86,000, the resident population of Handan will decrease by 48,000, Baoding will decrease by 51,000, and Xuzhou will decrease by 55,400.

Zhoukou, the 11th most populous prefecture-level city, will drop below the 9 million mark in 2021, a decrease of 166,000.

　　However, Niu Fengrui believes that the population reduction in these cities is just the concept of an organic city, that is, the population within the administrative division is decreasing, and does not mean that the urban population is decreasing.

These cities often have larger rural areas and a large rural population. The main outflow of population is the rural areas under their jurisdiction. Some of these populations have moved to the developed prefectures on the southeast coast and the capital cities of the provinces where they are located, and there are also a considerable part. The population needs to be urbanized nearby and flow into the urban areas of the local-level cities. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for the population growth in the urban areas of these populous cities in the future.

　　Niu Fengrui said that in general, central cities and big cities are dominated by service industries. In contrast, manufacturing requires more land. Population cities are rich in land resources and labor force. Therefore, these cities should be based on manufacturing industry, give full play to its own advantages in labor, develop some industries with relatively large demand for labor, and accelerate the process of urbanization in nearby areas.