Looking into the list of the big cities in China with the largest population inflow, it seems to debunk the once popular assertion that the city's population is decongesting as more people are looking to move away from the urban areas, The Star reports.
Between the period of 2009 and 2014, there's a total of 5.04 million people who moved into Shanghai. Beijing had an inflow of 3.96 million people, 2.88 million into neighbouring Tianjin, Guangdong province's capital Guangzhou had an inflow of 2.75 million, and Dongguan in the same province had 1.99 million.
Based on the data by the National Bureau of Statistics, these first-tier cities also saw an increase in house prices, while prices have fallen in the second and third-tier cities.
Those 10 top cities with the most expensive realty price belong to first-tier cities, and small cities that have slow economic growth make up the bottom 10 of the list.
Big cities with abundant opportunities are now major destinations for most people which in turn push the local realty prices. In these big cities, the realty prices are high and most dwellers belong to the high-income groups.
This then shows an economic pattern that is turning out for megacities with booming economies. For instance, Beijing is being linked with Tianjin, the same way Shanghai is linked with Suzhou, and both are also linked to other satellite cities within the suburban areas.
The metropolises turn out to be the number one choice for most people, followed by satellite cities and then second-tier cities. Such is attributed to the abundance of job and opportunities in said areas.
However, that poses pressure on smaller and medium-sized cities.
Officials during the recent Central Economic Work Conference that was held in Beijing think that the realty sector has to double-time in making their inventory move faster.
To them, it would be beneficial if the mainland cities are able to develop in a more balanced way. In order to meet that, it would be necessary for them to use market rules in dealing with population flows that go into resource-rich places. With better public service and greater opportunities come the inflow of people.
