(Yicai Global) March 30 -- A leading UK consultancy has listed eight Chinese cities in its latest ranking of 96 global financial centers, with Shanghai unchanged in sixth place.

A total of eight Chinese cities made the ranking this time, namely, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Chengdu, and Dalian, in addition to Shanghai. Tianjin entered the ranking for the first time in 63rd place.

Qingdao made the biggest rise among its domestic counterparts, rising to 33rd from the 47th last time. The city, located in eastern Shandong province, is the country's first wealth-management pilot area for comprehensive financial reform. Dalian in neighboring Liaoning province continued to fall, reaching 96th, down from the 93rd in the last edition.

London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Toronto, San Francisco, Sydney, and Boston made up the top-ten of UK-based consulting firm Z/Yen Group's 23rd Global Financial Centers Index, which ranks major financial hubs by business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial development, and reputation.

"China's financial sector has been advancing rapidly in recent years," said Wu Xiaoqiu, director of the Finance and Securities Institute of Renmin University. As a major country, it is more appropriate for China to give a play to other cities rather than place all its financial acumen in just Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.