GoKunming Forums

Civilized Kunming

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +1

Tier 1 is more of an economic measure. I was surprised that Suzhou is tier one, as the place is pretty small.

JanJal (1243 posts) • 0

Since when was Suzhou tier 1?

To my understanding only the four (Beijing Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen) have ever been classified Tier 1, though no classification here is official anyway since the state does not endorse any of this.

If there was some fifth city to give this status, I'm not sure that it would be Suzhou. Maybe if you consider the economic value of the entire province rather than the capital city.

Another problem with the tiering is that by the time Kunming reach Tier 1, those other four will no doubt have evolved to Tier -99, or something.

Much the same as with poverty reduction here. Reducing absolute poverty but growing the wealth gap.

debaser (647 posts) • +1

Kunming is listed as one of the 'New Tier 1 cities'. It's one of about 15 cities on the list published by some official organization yesterday - lots of Chinese friends put it on their Wechat Moments. check out www.yicai.com for the full list in Chinese.

JanJal (1243 posts) • +2

Yeah, well since there is no official tiering, anyone can make their own list with whatever criteria they choose.

But the most common remains that the four first tier cities in China are the ones mentioned above.

In that specific tiering, Kunming is nowhere close to tier 1.

Ishmael (462 posts) • -1

If the tiers are supposed to be primarily economic categories, then it woulds be interesting to compare the list to lists of (1) income gaps within the cities and (2) income gaps within the provinces within which they belong or to which they are relevant. Would such a comparison indicate 'civilized cities'?
Definitions are interestingly promoted as steps on the road to - what?.

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +3

I don't think the civilized city designation is in anyway connected to the tier system, but I stand to be corrected.

kurtosis (86 posts) • 0

The ranking is based on a weighted index comprised of several factors: business resources concentration (23%), hub function of the city (17%), urban dwelling dynamics (21%), quality of live and lifestyle diversity (19%), future development opportunities ("future plasticity" in the Chinese text)(20%). (sorry for clumsy translations, but I couldn't think of better words - the index really is this lofty).

Kunming here ranks 15th in China, based on this index. But I guess everyone has different priorities. Personally, I'd rank Kunming far ahead of congested dirt hole cities like Beijing anytime, but someone else might have different priorities.

Ishmael (462 posts) • 0

This is the tier ranking, not the factors considered for civilized status, right? Be interesting to know what the latter are. As the link on the first page of this thread is not accessible, apparently free access to information is not a factor in judging levels of civilization. The kneejerk reaction to the word is almost always positive - civilization is good, and of course I'M civilized - but Kongming's reference to Gordon Childe's checklist for cultures examined archaeologically is useful in pointing out that it's virtually all about technological possibilities, and it makes me wonder what's being left out and whether we know what we're talking about and whether I want to be civilized. In fact, like many, many words, 'civilization' seems to have become more and more a buzzword of public relations, advertising, education and other conduits of propaganda.
I wonder: is slapping big stickers with the phone numbers of businesses or individuals all over my stairwell within or without the locally-proffered definition of 'civilized'? And is it legal? Either way, is it considered 'good'? If so, for whom?

JanJal (1243 posts) • 0

For most purposes relevant to Chinese, the usual tiering (with only the four first tier cities) quite accurately corresponds with expected average wages of white collar workers in those cities.

This drives attractiveness of the cities among better educated Chinese, which in turn attracts employers and fuels further development of those cities, in all walks of life.

As an example, how many national level sports clubs are there in Kunming, or whole of Yunnan? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the highest level I've seen is the Lijiang women's volleyball team that competes in national league. Kunming remains high altitude training destination at best.

Ishmael (462 posts) • 0

Sports is fine, And then it's AVERAGE wages, BETTER educated, employers (supposedly with employees) - right.

But what about this civilized thing?

Related forum threads

Login to post