Identity crisis? Not for Chongqing residents, who enjoy strongest sense of belonging among China's seven largest metropolises
In Guangzhou, less so: cities rank first and third among mainland metropolises for civic pride
Residents of Chongqing enjoy the strongest sense of identity with their city among the seven main metropolises in China, according to a survey by Sun Yat-sen University.
Shanghai and Guangzhou ranked second and the third, followed by Tianjin, Beijing, Shenzhen and Wuhan, according to nearly 23,000 residents in all seven places polled online by the Guangzhou-based university.
Residents’ sense of belonging with their cities was measured by four factors: cultural, personal, status and regional identity.
Chongqing scored the highest in both cultural and personal identities; Shanghai residents had the highest sense of regional identity; while Guangzhou residents enjoyed the strongest status identity.
Researchers also found that local residents felt a closer sense of belonging to their cities than did immigrants.
Guangzhou ranked highest for its openness to outsiders, which was reflected in the smallest difference in the sense of belonging between its local residents and immigrants among seven cities.
According to the Annual Report on Urban Development of China published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Tuesday, China’s urbanisation level reached 54.8 per cent by the end of last year.
But Cai Fang, a prominent economist and vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the figure could not truly reflect China’s urbanisation level, because some 17 per cent of the population in the cities were immigrants without local household registration.
These immigrants were urbanised in name only but were not fully entitled to the same benefits of urban dwellers owing to the household registration system, Cai said.
