The gross domestic product figures for the first half of the year were recently released for 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

Shanghai led with a total GDP of 2.23 trillion yuan ($312 million), followed by Suzhou and Hangzhou, both surpassing 1 trillion yuan. Suqian topped the growth rate list with a 7.3 percent increase. Ranking third to seventh in GDP growth were Zhejiang cities Shaoxing, Lishui, Quzhou, Huzhou, and Jinhua, in that order.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP for the first half of the year was 61.68 trillion yuan, a 5-percent increase year-on-year. Among the Yangtze River Delta cities, 35 exceeded or matched the national average growth rate.

Zhejiang's 11 cities showed impressive growth. Shaoxing's GDP grew by 7 percent, Lishui by 6.9 percent, Quzhou and Huzhou by 6.5 percent, and Jinhua by 6.4 percent. Suzhou, Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Chizhou all grew by 6.2 percent, tying for ninth place.

Thirteen cities saw GDP increases of over 20 billion yuan. Jinhua stood out with a GDP increase of 21.35 billion yuan, ranking 12th in terms of growth.

Jinhua's economic highlights in the first half include a total import and export value of 423.6 billion yuan, a 14.7 percent increase, surpassing Hangzhou and Tianjin and ranking among the top 10 in the nation. The city also led the nation in express delivery volume with 8.04 billion parcels, a 19.8-percent increase. Additionally, Jinhua saw a growth of 11.5 percent in registered market entities, totaling 1.91 million.