The per capita disposable income of urban residents topped 15,000 yuan (1,875 U.S. dollars) in the 16 cities in the Shanghai-centered Yangtze River Delta last year, said a research center based in East China's Jiangsu Province.

This indicates an increase of 13.3 percent over 2004, according to statistics provided by the Yangtze River Delta Research Center in the scenic city of Wuxi.

Shanghai is China's largest city and commercial hub with per capita disposable income averaging 18,645 yuan (2,330 U.S. dollars) in 2005, it said.

The seven cities in the booming Zhejiang Province posted 16,612 yuan (2,076 U.S. dollars) of per capita disposable income last year, while the eight cities in the neighboring Jiangsu Province reported 13,643 yuan (1,705 U.S. dollars).

The research center said wages still make up the bulk of the residents' income. In 2005, 10,836 yuan (1,354 U.S. dollars), or 65.2 percent of their average income, came from wages. Other sources of income included business earnings such as rental property income and interest and dividends

The Yangtze River Delta, one of China's three major city clusters, reported per capita GDP of more than 4,000 U.S. dollars in 2004.

Some 37 percent of China's GDP was earned in the three major city clusters which also include the Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Bay rim.

Source: Xinhua