Shanghai is China's fastest developing city of 2009

Shanghai made it to the top of China's list of fastest developing cities in 2009, beating out Beijing and Tianjin by a pretty wide margin both in terms of population and GDP per capita. According to China.org.cn, the cities were evaluated on a "comprehensive assessment basis" that took into acount the size of the economy, number of employed, and location and infrastructure, as well as financial things we don't quite understand - like fixed assets investment, gross output of industrial enterprises, etc. But don't pat yourself on the back just yet - we haven't gotten top spot in everything. Says Shanghai Daily, we're only third in China for efficiency of public services, despite spending the most out of anyone on that sector. Better get to fixing that, Shanghai - there's no place like first place!