The list of mega cities has undergone new changes! The "2022 Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook" released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development recently shows that there have been an increase of 3 mega cities and 2 mega cities. Among them, the total population of Dongguan urban area reached 10.8244 million, that of Wuhan urban area reached 10.8064 million, and that of Hangzhou urban area reached 10.021 million, reaching the level of 10 million people and ranking among the super cities; The total population of Hefei urban area has reached 6.504 million, while Suzhou has reached 5.008 million, surpassing the threshold of 5 million people and becoming a mega city. What does urban population change represent? Why are the population size of these cities increasing? Please read our reporter's report. 5 cities have achieved "upgrading" -19 cities with a population of over 5 million in urban areas nationwide, and the total number of cities in the Yangtze River Delta exceeds that of the Pearl River Delta. According to the "2022 Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook" (hereinafter referred to as the "Yearbook"), a total of 5 cities have achieved "upgrading" in 2022, including Wuhan, Dongguan, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Suzhou. The total number of cities with a population of over 5 million in urban areas nationwide has reached 19. From a regional perspective, out of the 5 cities that have achieved "upgrading", 3 are located in the Yangtze River Delta region. At this point, the number of mega cities in the Yangtze River Delta region has reached 5, including 2 mega cities in Shanghai and Hangzhou, as well as 3 mega cities in Nanjing, Hefei, and Suzhou, accounting for 1/4 of the total number of mega cities in China. The Pearl River Delta region, which has a denser population distribution, still has an advantage in the number of mega cities, with three urban areas, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dongguan, with a population of over 10 million. The expansion of urban population is mainly due to population mobility. In addition, zoning adjustment is also an important factor in the changes in urban population data. Suzhou has become a mega city for this reason. Due to the management of four county-level cities, the permanent resident population in Suzhou's urban area has not been able to exceed 5 million in the past. Recently, the Suzhou Industrial Park has adjusted its urban-rural division code to include its population in the population of Suzhou urban area, helping to push the permanent population of Suzhou urban area to exceed 5 million and become a mega city. What other cities are expected to enter this list in the future? According to the results of the seventh population census, Xi'an (9.28 million) is most likely to become a mega city in the future. In terms of mega cities, cities such as Nanning, Xiamen, Taiyuan, Guiyang, Urumqi, Ningbo, Wuxi, Fuzhou, Changchun, Nanchang, and Changzhou have populations ranging from 3 million to 5 million, all of which are expected to be promoted to mega cities. The change in population data of a city is a comprehensive reflection of its economic scale, industrial development, and other aspects. Zhang Jianping, Director of the Regional Economic Research Center of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, told our reporter: "Taking the Yangtze River Delta as an example, it is currently a region with a high level of economic development, good integration, and leading the market mechanism and internationalization level in China. Especially in cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou, the economic development vitality has continued to burst in recent years." The relevant report of the China Center for Urban and Small Town Reform and Development pointed out, Since the beginning of this year, the economic growth momentum of mega cities has been strong. In the first half of the year, 97% of urban GDP