A panoramic view of Hohhot city in Inner Mongolia. [Photo provided to en.hhhtnews.com]

Hohhot city – capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – has been ranked 63rd in the Warton Economic Institute's 2022 list of China's top 100 cities, according to local media reports. 

The Warton Economic Institute was founded in 1988 with the approval of the Shanghai municipal government, as the first comprehensive research institute focusing on macroeconomics, regional economics and business development. 

It has organized and compiled an annual list of the top 100 cities in China for seven consecutive years, since 2015. 

Cities are selected by their GDP, household savings, scientific development, education, culture, healthcare and environmental protection. All the data comes from the National Bureau of Statistics. 

The list shows that in 2021, China's top 100 cities achieved a total regional GDP of 80.44 trillion yuan ($12.02 trillion), accounting for more than 70 percent of national GDP. 

The total social R&D investment in the top 100 cities reached 2.13 trillion yuan, accounting for 87.22 percent of the national total, while the R&D expenditure in 40 cities exceeded the national average. 

Hohhot got top marks for its economic and social achievements in 2021, with its GDP hitting 312.14 billion yuan – a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent – ranking the city third in the autonomous region.