More People Moved to Alibaba-Home Zhejiang Than Busy Guangdong Last Year
Lin Xiaozhao | Ma Chenchen
DATE:  Apr 21 2020
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
More People Moved to Alibaba-Home Zhejiang Than Busy Guangdong Last Year More People Moved to Alibaba-Home Zhejiang Than Busy Guangdong Last Year

(Yicai Global) April 21 -- Eastern China's Zhejiang province, home to Alibaba Group Holding, surpassed southern Guangdong, the country's most populous province, by attracting more people to relocate there last year.

Some 834,700 people moved to Zhejiang province over the year as the total number of permanent residents rose to 58.5 million, according to census data. The provincial capital city of Hangzhou attracted 550,000 new arrivals, becoming the fastest-growing relocation destination in the country while exceeding the southern city of Shenzhen for the first time.

Hangzhou has tech giants such as Alibaba and NetEase but also many startups that lure in new talent, particularly in Yuhang district where Alibaba's global headquarters is located, Chen Jianjun, executive director at Zhejiang University's Institute of Urban and Regional Development, told Yicai Global.

Influenced by the e-commerce giant, Hangzhou has gathered more than one-third of online vendors to set up a home base in the city, according to incomplete statistics. Meanwhile, many service providers, including those related to payment technologies, cloud computing, express delivery, online marketing, and information technology, have followed suit.

Babies, Not Workers, Make Guangdong Remain Biggest

Guangdong province retained its lead as the most populous Chinese region for the 13th straight year with its 115 million permanent residents, but just 833,200 people had moved into the province last year as more than half of the annual addition of 1.8 million was attributable to natural increase, explained by the region's young demographics.

The living conditions of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are very comfortable, Hu Gang, head of think tank Urban Research Association of South China and professor at Guangzhou's Jinan University, told Yicai Global. High-end manufacturing, information economy, and other emerging industries have developed rapidly, mobilizing people to come and find work, he added.

Four Coastal Hubs Vary in Population Trends

Development was not steady along China's coastal belt of economic powerhouses. Eastern Jiangsu and Shandong provinces added much fewer residents than their peers Guangdong and Zhejiang over the year.

Jiangsu province had a low birth rate and its net inflow of permanent residents was 25,500. The main reason for the weak pull may be related to the economic gap between the province's southern and northern parts, which could cause more mobility within the province, as well as outflows.

Shandong province, the second-most populous region in China, lost some 199,300 permanent residents over the year, the largest figure within the country. Still, its natural population increase amounted to 429,000, ranking No. 2 in China.

Compared with the tech-heavy regions of Guangdong and Zhejiang, Shandong houses a lot of traditional industries, said Ding Changfa, associate professor at Xiamen University. The interprovincial gaps between small and private firms are also big, which makes Shandong less attractive to move into, Ding added.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine
 

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Keywords:   Provincial Census,Data Analysis,Regional Economy