Forbes China's newest rankings of the top 100 mainland Chinese cities for doing business suggest that as a business destination, Kunming and western China lag behind much of the rest of China but are starting to catch up.

This year Kunming was rated China's 60th-best city for doing business by Forbes. The ranking may not be impressive in itself, but Kunming was one of the fastest-rising cities in the list, jumping 37 places from its previous ranking of 97.

Not surprisingly, Forbes ranked Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen the top three mainland cities for doing business. Provinces with the most cities on Forbes' list include Jiangsu, which has 16 cities on the list, and Zhejiang and Shandong, which have 14 cities each.

What may be surprising to some, this year's rankings – the sixth time the magazine has published the list – suggest an increasing level of competition between Chinese cities. They also reflect the rising economic clout of China's central and western regions vis-à-vis the country's coast, where external demand and investment, which have contracted during the global recession, play a bigger role in local economies.

All major economic hubs in central China moved up in the Forbes rankings this year, including number 14 Wuhan (up 19 places), number 25 Zhengzhou (up 37), number 28 Changsha (up eight), number 61 Nanchang (up two) and number 62 Taiyuan, which made its first appearance on the list.

The once laggard region of western China has also been rising in economic importance. Remaining at number 12, Chengdu leads the way for western Chinese cities including number 24 Chongqing, number 31 Xi'an and Kunming. Three western cities made their debut on the list, with Nanning – Kunming's major rival for Southeast Asian markets – entering at the 54 spot, Guiyang at number 92 and Lanzhou at 93.

China-based luxury business portal The Hurun Report has released its list of China's millionaires, which it qualifies as individuals with personal wealth of 10 million yuan, which equates to 1 million GBP or US$1.46 million.

According to the Hurun 2009 Wealth Report, Yunnan came in 23rd out of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities surveyed, with 4,500 millionaires. Of those millionaires, 390 have personal wealth of 100 million yuan or more, ranking 22nd nationwide.

Not surprisingly, the bulk of China's wealth is concentrated in the country's coastal region:



In total, China has 825,000 millionaires and 51,000 individuals with 100 million yuan or more, according to the report. The average millionaire is 39 years old, while the average individual with 100 million yuan or more is 43, the report said.

What is generating wealth in Yunnan? According to Hurun, half of the province's millionaires made their fortune through mining. Energy, real estate, pharmaceuticals and biological resources were also leading sources of wealth among Yunnan's richest residents.

A feasibility study is underway for a new high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Kunming, construction of which is expected to begin in 2009, according to Kunming media reports.

The new rail line, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015 – around the same time that the rail network linking Kunming and Singapore is hoped to be completed – will shorten the travel time between Shanghai and Kunming from 37 hours to less than nine hours.

The Shanghai-Kunming passenger line (沪昆客运专线) will connect Shanghai and Kunming via the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, passing through the major cities of Hangzhou, Nanchang and Changsha. Its target speed is reportedly 350 km/hr – compare to France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen aka 'Bullet Train' which currently operate at 320 and 300 km/hr, respectively.

The cross-country line is part of a nationwide rail upgrade that has allocated 500 million yuan (US$73.2 million) in funds for Yunnan province alone.

According to China Rail Ministry plans, Yunnan will not only be on the receiving end of improved rail connectivity with central and eastern China over the next six to seven years, it will also improve its regional and internal rail network. Kunming Rail Ministry officials told local media that the following projects have also been approved:

• Lijiang to Shangri-la (Zhongdian): schedule yet to be made public

• Yunnan to Guilin – construction to start next year and finish in 2015

• A rail line around Dianchi Lake: scheduled for completion in 2010

• Guangtong to Dali: schedule yet to be made public

• Kunming to Yuxi: construction to start next year and finish in 2015

More than five decades after its initial discovery, an archeological site in Dali dating back more than 3,000 years ago is suspected of being the world's largest Neolithic dig, according to a China Daily report.

The site, located on the banks of Jian Lake in Jianchuan county, Dali prefecture, was first discovered in 1957 by workers digging a canal, but excavation at the site – which has to date yielded more than 3,000 artifacts – only began in earnest in January of this year.

In addition to pottery, iron implements and bones, the site features more than 2,000 wooden poles dug 4.5 meters into the ground.

"I was shocked when I first saw the site. I have never seen such a big and orderly one. This could be only a small fraction of the actual community that existed at the time," China Daily cited Yan Wenming, history professor at Peking University, as saying.

The Neolithic period began about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and is considered to be the end of the Stone Age. It is marked by the emergence of rudimentary agriculture and ended with the appearance of metal tools, either bronze or iron, depending on the part of the world in question.

Yan said the site is already bigger than the Neolithic site at Hemudu in Zhejiang province, which is considered to be the cradle of the Yangtze River civilization. Other similar in China have also been found in Hubei and Guangdong provinces.

"Right now there is also such a site being excavated in Switzerland. But that site is smaller than the one in Yunnan. The Yunnan one could be the largest in the world," Yan said.

Twenty-eight excavations have been made at the Jianchuan site, covering a total of 1,360 square meters. Min Rui, a Yunnan Archaeological Institute researcher leading the excavation, said the area may eventually cover 4 square kilometers.

Image: China Daily