The city of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo/VCG]

Hohhot, capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has been ranked 59th in the Warton Economic Institute's 2021 list of China's top 100 cities, according to local media reports.

The first three spots were taken by Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

Along with Hohhot, two other cities in Inner Mongolia made the list: Baotou, ranking 67th, and Ordos, ranking 40th.

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.

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

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

The list shows that in 2020, China's top 100 cities achieved a total regional GDP of 71.81 trillion yuan ($11.20 trillion), accounting for 70.68 percent of the national GDP.

Hohhot maintained steady growth in 2020, with major economic indicators showing relatively good performance despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regional GDP of the city for the year was 280.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.2 percent.