China forges ahead with Yangtze mega-city ‘cluster’

China has moved a step closer to making a string of mega-cities a reality with approval to develop a massive urban cluster on the mid-section of the Yangtze River.

And more progress could be on the way amid reports that similar approvals are in store for two other regions - one covering Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, and another taking in Chengdu and Chongqing.

The State Council approved a plan on Sunday to forge ahead with the Yangtze urban cluster, which covers 317,000 sq km.

The plan aims to develop urban centres around Wuhan in Hubei, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city group in Hunan province and around Poyang Lake in Jiangxi.

The plan for the Yangtze's mid-section is part of a bigger urbanisation scheme to create 20 mega-city clusters across the country. Five of these clusters, including the one on the Yangtze River, will have "national" status. The other four are the Yangtze Delta cluster, the Chengdu-Chongqing cluster, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Pearl River Delta.

People's Daily said the government expected this month to issue a development plan to integrate Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.