Living the City Dream

By Lu Yan

When she obtained her masters degree this year， Zhu Yanyan decided to leave Beijing after residing in the capital for six years and go back to her hometown in Chengdu， Sichuan Province， to settle down. “Compared with Beijing or Shanghai， the cost of living in Chengdu is lower， making life less stressful—but no less convenient，” Zhu explained.

In September， the National Bureau of Statistics released a list of Chinas megacities and supercities based on the seventh national census results released in May. The number of such metropolises reached 21， among nearly 700 cities nationwide. For the first time， Chengdu， too， was listed as a megacity.

In October， a detailed guideline on the promotion of the coordinated development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle was jointly released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. Aiming to create a new economic growth zone in the western region， the directive calls for the transformation of Chengdu and adjacent Chongqing into an important economic center and a hub for scientific and technological innovation.

“New policies will lead to new development potentials and opportunities for Chengdu residents. Im optimistic about the future progress of the megacity，” Zhu told Beijing Review.

Mega-attraction

According to a document on city size classification criteria issued by the State Council in November 2014， a megacity is defined as a city with a population of 10 million or more， whereas a supercity is an area with a permanent urban population of over 5 million and under 10 million.

The definition of megacity is the same as the one put forward by the UN. Currently， there are more than 30 megacities in the world. The UN estimates this number will rise to 41 by 2030.

Among the seven Chinese cities with over 10 million inhabitants， Shanghai ranks first with a permanent populace of 19.87 million. Tianjin is listed seventh with an urban population of 10.93 million.

Due to the agglomeration effect of big cities， their expanding population will produce more innovation and ideas， yet population flow will lead to polarization， with people flowing into large cities and out of rural areas and small towns， according to Fan Gang， President of the China Development Institute， an independent think tank based in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province.

Fan believes that at present， China should follow the natural trend of population migration and undertake urban planning accordingly.