A list of China's top 100 counties was recently released to demonstrate the counties with the most comprehensive strength in 2018.

This is the 14th straight year for the list to be published. Based on research by several institutes, including the Economic Development Committee of Chinese Small and Medium Cities and the Research Institute of Development Strategy for Small and Medium Cities, the list ranked counties and county-level cities according to their economic development, social progress, urban and rural amalgamation, friendly environment and government efficiency.

The research did not include urban districts though they are county-level administrative divisions. This explained why Guangdong, one of China’s economic power engines, had only one entry on the top 100 list. The province changed many counties into urban districts several years ago. 

Jiangsu province dominates the list with 23 counties, followed by Shandong and Zhejiang provinces with 15 and 14 respectively.

Let's take a look at the top 10 Chinese counties in 2018.

10. Haicheng city, Liaoning province