China's three major megalopolises compared

(7) Higher Education Radiation

The three major megalopolises are home to 51.6 percent of the country's top universities, and 28.2 percent of the students attending universities and colleges.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis is home to 26.8 percent of the nation's top universities, the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis 20.9 percent, and the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis 3.9 percent.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis has 8.3 percent of the nation's students attending universities and colleges, the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis 14.0 percent and the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis 5.9 percent.

The performance of the three megalopolises can be measured by observing the top 30 cities among China's 298 cities at prefecture and above in terms of the radiaiton of higher education.

The Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis has five cities in the top 30, including Shanghai in second place, Nanjing in fourth, Hefei in 12th, Hangzhou in 14th, and Suzhou in 30th.

The Pearl River Delta Megalopolis only has Guangzhou in the top 30.

The three megalopolises have nine cities in the top 30. The Pearl River Delta Megalopolis has relatively weak radiaiton of higher education.

(8) Science and Technology Radiation

The three megalopolises have 53.3 percent of the country's R&D human resources, and 55.6 percent of the country's patent licenses.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis makes up 12.2 percent of the national R&D human resources, the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis 28.5 percent, and the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis 12.7 percent.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis makes up 10.3 percent of the national patent licenses, the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis 30.9 percent, and the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis 14.4 percent.

The performance of the three megalopolises can be gauged by observing the top 30 cities among the nation's 298 cities at prefecture level and above in terms of the radiation of science and technology.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis has two cities making it into the top 30, including Beijing in first place, and Tianjin in eighth.

The Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis has 11 cities in the top 30, including Shanghai in second place, Hangzhou in sixth, Suzhou in ninth, Nanjing in 10th, Ningbo in 12th, Wuxi in 14th, Hefei in 17th, Shaoxing in 20th, Nantong in 21st, Jiaxing in 27th, and Changzhou in 30th.

The Pearl River Delta Megalopolis has five cities in the top 30, including Shenzhen in third place, Guangzhou in fifth, Foshan in 16th, Dongguan in 18th, and Zhongshan in 24th.

A total of 18 cities in the three megalopolises make the top 30.