The 2004 CCTV City China Activities are continuing and the organizing committee released the candidate list for China's Top Ten Economically Dynamic Cities Sunday. They are Changzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Dongguan, Harbin, Hangzhou, Hohehot, Kunming, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Weihai, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xiamen, Xuzhou and Zhoushan.

Since July when the City China Activities officially started the organizing committee selected 20 candidates from 280 Chinese cities of prefecture level or above (excluding municipalities directly under the State Council and county level cities) for final consideration. The committee will finally determine on ten top economically dynamic cities, city of the year and single prizes among these cities.

Cities are the principles leading regional and global economic development, symbols of social progress and centers of scientific and technological innovation. Since the 1990s China's urbanization has entered an acceleration phase. Urban population accounted for 39.1 percent of the total population in China in 2002. It is estimated that China's urbanization rate would reach about 47 percent by 2010 and urban population would increase to around 600 million.

According to experts as the engine of China's social and economic development the role of cities is even more important in the 21st century. Many Chinese cities have enacted development plan according to their own characteristics. Development competition among cities is becoming increasingly fierce. In order to promote China's urbanization process the business channel of the CCTV launched the City China Activities. This is the first appraisal activity held in China to assess cities' economic dynamics and it also for the first time sets up city prizes such as the Farmer Workers Satisfaction Prize, Entrepreneurs Satisfaction Prize, Citizens Satisfaction Prize and Emergency Response Performance Prize etc.

By People's Daily Online