Guangzhou has topped Forbes’ list of the 100 most business friendly cities in China’ for a second straight year. [file photo]

Guangzhou has taken the number one position on the 2011 Forbes (China) list of the 100 most business-friendly cities in China, released on Oct. 11. High ratings in passenger and cargo transportation, and a low operating cost compared to other major Chinese cities, secured the top position for Guangzhou for its second consecutive year.

Other cities that made the top ten, in order of rank, are Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Ningbo, Wuxi, Suzhou, Beijing and Tianjin.

Due to high operating costs as well as a decline in consumption, Beijing and Shanghai, China's two largest municipalities, fell in the rankings. The Yangtze River Delta (including Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces and Shanghai Municipality) remained a powerhouse, boasting 33 cities in the top 100.

Forbes (China) made its selections for the list based on eight characteristics: talent, creativity, consumption, passenger and cargo transportation and operating cost.

Liu Ruiming, managing editor of Forbes (China), pointed out that we can see that innovation is playing a more and more important role in the development of cities.

Nanjing, Wuhan and Hefei jumped 6, 20 and 31 spots on the list respectively, largely due to their abundance of higher education and research institutions. A greater degree of educational exchange, especially in scientific research, has boosted the creation index of these cities, causing them to leap up the rankings.