Yangtze River middle reaches city cluster: Overview

Cities:

Hubei province
Wuhan, Huangshi, E’zhou, Huanggang, Xiaogan, Xianning, Xiantao, Qianjiang, Tianmen, Xiangyang, Yichang, Jingzhou, Jingmen.

Hunan province
Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Yueyang, Yiyang, Changde, Hengyang, Loudi.

Jiangxi province
Nanchang, Jiujiang, Jingde, Yingtan, Xinyu, Yichun, Pingxiang, Shangrao, Fuzhou, Ji’an.

Land area: 326,100 square kilometers

Population: 125,000,000 (2017)

Regional GDP: 7.9 trillion yuan ($1.16 trillion) in 2017, around 9.6 percent of the country’s total

Geographic location:

Located in Central China, the Yangtze River middle reaches city cluster is China’s largest metropolitan cluster centering on three major cities – Wuhan, Changsha and Nanchang – with 28 other cities in the provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi.

Construction orientation:

The Yangtze River middle reaches city cluster is striving to upgrade its industrial system, fuel the urbanization of Central China and exert its influence on the nation’s economy.

Economic profile:

The middle reaches of the Yangtze River are endowed with beautiful natural landscapes and advantageous geographic location. With abundant natural resources, the city cluster only makes up 3.4 percent of the country’s land area and 9 percent of its population, creating about 9.6 percent of the national GDP.

In 2017, the fixed assets investment of the 26 cities in Yangtze River midstream city cluster added up to 6.84 trillion yuan[$1.01 trillion], up 11.3 percent year-on-year. The total import and export volume of the region reached 720 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 22.7 percent.

Development planning:

According to the latest planning approved by the State Council in April 2015, the Yangtze River midstream city cluster is expected to become an area with global influence. It will make strides towards the following goals:
A world-class transport equipment manufacturing base
A world-class ecological livable base
A national integrated transport hub
A national integrated innovation hub
A national inland platform for opening-up

Development strategies:

Regional integration and co-prosperity
Constructing an urbanization pattern led by metropolises
Building a well-organized transport hub
Gathering world-class industrial clusters
Establishing a comprehensive logistics network
Stressing green and coordinated development
Regaining and gathering talents
Promoting inter-provincial communication and establishing a benefit sharing and compensation mechanism