(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- Beijing has retained its status as the best city for scientific research, according to a report done by British science journal Springer Nature. 

Beijing ranks first in the category of 200 science cities, based on a fractional count from 2017 data, the Nature Index 2018 Science Cities report shows. 

Other nine Chinese cities that rose to the top 50 were Shanghai (7th), Nanjing (12th), Wuhan (19th), Guangzhou (25th), Hong Kong (26th), Hefei (27th), Hangzhou (33rd), Tianjin (35th), and Changchun (42nd). Wuhan has risen faster than any other in the top 20. This suggests that second-tier cities are rising in their scientific prowess.

In comparison, some 19 US cities ascended to the top 50. This also meant that the top five positions were controlled by China and the US. New York ranked second, and the region of Boston - Cambridge - Newton was third. Paris snatched the highest spot for a European city with its 8th place. After Chinese participants, Tokyo did best as an Asian city with its sixth position. 

Debuted in 2014, the Nature Index is a database gathered from over 80 science journals by an independent group of researchers. The index is compiled by Springer Nature.

Editor: Emmi Laine