At the Economist China Summit earlier this week, the publication, in a special session, identified the fastest growing cities in China. Taking into account rises in per capita GDP and disposable income, the top five came out as being Hefei, Baotou, Shenyang, Changchun and Hohhot.

During the same session, the CEOs of Bayer and Adidas for China emphasized the development of China’s inner regions as being key areas for growth, and stressed that the coastal areas would slow down, and become more competitive. Continuing high growth in China then, seems to require more attention to detail to the developing cities in China’s inland regions as wages increase and disposable income follows suit. Interestingly, that was borne out by the Economist’s own research into the top five fastest growing cities.

Here then, are the demographics of each:

Hefei, Anhui Province

Despite being the capital of Anhui Province, Hefei is a relatively underdeveloped city. However, with the rising rental costs in Shanghai and other cities in the Yangtze River Delta, more companies are looking towards second tier cities like Hefei as an alternative location for business.

• Hefei’s GDP has grown at a double-digit rate for more than 20 years

• Coca-Cola produces 180,000 bottle a day in the Hefei Economic and Technological Development Area

• Hefei is located 130 kilometers west of Nanjing, 404 kilometers north of Hangzhou and 439 kilometers east of Wuhan, placing it in a key position to act as a "gate" to Central China.

• The city supplies Shanghai with much of its farmed fresh water fish and crustaceans

Hefei is connected to the rest of China by four superhighways which link the city to Yining, Nanjing, Yantai, Shantou, and Chengdu. The city buses cover over 90 routes. The city lies at the junction of three national railway lines and the largest passenger terminal in Anhui Province. As a railway hub, it has lines going in five directions, connecting to all major cities in China. The line between Hefei and Nanjing to be put in operation in early 2008 will have a maximum passenger speed of 200 kilometers an hour and will travel at 120 kilometers an hour when carrying goods.

Hefei Luogang Airport, located 12 kilometers south of the city, is a modern airport. It has over 30 direct flights to various domestic destinations, including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as periodic direct flights to Hong Kong. It handles 1.5 million passengers annually and is capable of receiving Boeing 747s.

In 2008, Hefei had a GDP of RMB164.84 billion with per capita GDP for all residents at RMB34,482. Hefei’s fiscal revenue increased 40 percent to RMB30.12 billion in 2008.Investment came from 12 Fortune Top 500 companies, including Hitachi, McDonald’s and Carrefour. Hefei has 34 major industries, turning out more than 2,000 products, 250 of which are exported to other parts of the world.

Although not as popular a destination for FDI as some of the other cities in the region, Hefei is expanding fast. Contracted FDI increased by 24.6 percent to US$1.15 billion in 2007, dropping by just over 30 percent to US$780 million in 2008 due in most part to the global financial crisis. Used FDI meanwhile went up by an impressive 40.2 percent in 2007 and again dropped only about 30 percent in 2008 to US$770 million.

The eight key industries are: auto-making, equipment manufacturing, household appliance, chemical industry and tire, IT and software, new materials, biotechnology and new medicine, and finally food and processing of agricultural and sideline products. There was fast growth in industrial production in 2008. The SOEs and the non-SOEs had an annual sales volume exceeding RMB5 million realized and an added value of RMB60.63 billion, increased by 26 percent. Of the above-scale industrial enterprises, those from heavy industry realized RMB38.01 billion, an increase of 25 percent, while those from light industry realized RMB22.53 billion, an increase of 29 percent.

The city is considered one of the four main "science and education bases"in China with over 200,000 scientific and technological personnel, more than 190 research institutes and 358 different kinds of research and development institutes. It is second only to Beijing in terms of key national scientific projects and national level laboratories. In 2008, exports increased to US$5.43 billion while imports came in at US$2.28 billion.

Baotou, Inner Mongolia

Baotou is Inner Mongolia’s largest city and economic center. It can be found in the middle of Inner Mongolia, on the north bank of the Yellow River and west of the capital, Hohhot. The area developed at a much later date compared to Hohhot, only becoming a town in 1809. It became a city in 1923 when a rail link to Beijing was built; establishing Baotou as a major trade hub between Mongolia and the rest of the country.

• Is 140 kilometers from Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia

• Has a population of 2.5 million

• Baotou’s GDP is RMB101 billion

• Renowned for its pristine scenery and grasslands

• Baotou’s main industry is steel

Baotou is a terminal station for the Baolan Railway and the Jingbao Railway that reaches Lanzhou to the west and Beijing to the east. The city has two main railway stations, the Baotou East Railway Station and Baotou Railway Station. The Baotou Airport serves the city with regular flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Taiyuan. Furthermore, the city is linked to Hohhot via the Hubao Expressway.

Baotou is China’s largest manufacturer and trading center of steel. This is due to its rich iron-ore deposits found at Bayo Obo. The Baotou Iron and Steel Group is one of the largest iron and steel companies in China and produces 4.89 million tons of iron and steel and 4.57 million tons of iron and steel products every year. The city also sells electricity generated from wind farm centers to the rest of China.

Besides iron and steel, Batou’s other main industries include rare earth, aluminum, engineering, machinery, heavy-duty automobiles, electricity, textiles, leather products and chemicals. The rare earth industry is Baotou’s leading industry and will be a key industry for further development. At present, there are 18 rare earth enterprises in the city, producing a mixture of rare earth and metal products in 80 varieties and 200 specifications. Baotou also has China’s largest comprehensive rare earth research institute.

In 2007, the city’s GDP came in at RMB101 billion, an increase of 18.5 percent. Industrial production value was at RMB54.75 billion. Exports had a total value of US$87 million and imports US$1.21 billion.

The Baotou Iron and Steel Group is the biggest iron and steel manufacturer in the country. The company produces 4.89 million tons of iron and steel and 4.57 million tons of iron and steel products annually. The Rare Earth Research Institute of Baotou is also found in the city and is China’s most comprehensive rare-earth research institute.

Aluminum is another major industry in Baotou. The annual production of aluminium amounts to 136,800 tons of ingots and 3,000 tons of materials. Other nonferrous metals smelted in the city include carbon, copper, zinc, magnesium, and gold.