*2.1. Study Area*

Located on the eastern edge of the East Asian continent and the western coast of the Pacific Ocean, eastern China is the most economically developed region in China due to its unique natural harbor cluster and geographical environment. Eastern China includes Hebei Province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province, Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Hainan Province, Taiwan Province, Hong Kong and Macau (See Figure 1). Considering the issue of data integrity and statistical consistency, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau will be excluded from this study. Hainan Province is also considered to be significantly less developed than the other regions and does not meet the requirement of this study to be a prosperous region, so it is excluded. The following is a basic description of the regions studied:

**Figure 1.** Eastern China.

Hebei Province is located in northeastern China (113◦27 –119◦50 E, 36◦05 –42◦40 N), surrounded by Beijing and bordered by Tianjin and the Bohai Sea to the east. Hebei Province has a complex and diverse landscape, mainly mountainous, with a total area of 188,800 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Hebei Province has 11 prefecture-level cities: Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Handan, Xingtai, Baoding, Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Cangzhou, Langfang and Hengshui, with a resident population of 75,919,700. In 2020, Hebei's GDP was RMB 3,620.69 billion, ranking 13th in China.

Beijing is located in northern China (115.7◦–117.4◦ E, 39.4◦–41.6◦ N), bordering Tianjin to the east and Hebei Province to the west. Beijing is predominantly mountainous and plain, with a total area of 16,410.54 km<sup>2</sup> by 2020. As of 2019, Beijing's resident population is 21.536 million. In 2020, Beijing's GDP was RMB 361.026 million, ranking 12th in China.

Tianjin is located in northern China (116◦43 –118◦04 E, 38◦34 –40◦15' N), is bordered by the Bohai Sea to the east and Beijing to the west. Tianjin is dominated by plains and depressions, with a total area of 11,966.45 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Tianjin has a resident population of 15,618,300 people. In 2020, Tianjin's GDP was RMB 140,837,300, ranking 23rd in China.

Shandong Province, located on the eastern coast of China (114◦47.5 –122◦42.3 E, 34◦22.9 –38◦24.01 N), shares borders with Hebei, Henan and Anhui as well as Jiangsu. Shandong Province is predominantly hilly and mountainous, with a total area of 157,900 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Shandong province has 16 prefecture-level cities: Jinan, Qingdao, Zibo, Zaozhuang, Dongying, Yantai, Weifang, Jining, Tai'an, Weihai, Rizhao, Binzhou, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Linyi and Heze, with a resident population of 100,702,100 people. In 2020, the GDP of Shandong province was RMB 73,129,000, ranking 3rd in China.

Jiangsu Province, located on the eastern coast of China (116◦21 –121◦56 E, 30◦45 – 35◦08 E), bordered by the Yellow Sea to the east, shares borders with Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shandong Provinces. Jiangsu Province is predominantly a plain, with a total area of 107,200 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Jiangsu Province has 13 prefecture-level cities: Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Lianyungang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou, Suqian and Yancheng, with a resident population of 80.7 million. In 2020, Jiangsu Province had a GDP of RMB 102,719,000, ranking 2nd in China.

Shanghai, located in eastern China (120◦52 –122◦12 E, 30◦40 –31◦53 N), is bordered by Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. Shanghai is predominantly a plain, with a total area of 6,340.5 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, the resident population of Shanghai is 24,281,400. In 2020, Shanghai's GDP was RMB 387,058,000, ranking 10th in China.

Zhejiang Province, located on the southeast coast of China (118◦01 –123◦10 E, 27◦02 – 31◦11 N), is bordered by the East China Sea to the east, Fujian Province to the south, Anhui and Jiangxi Provinces to the west and Jiangsu Province and Shanghai to the north. Zhejiang Province is mainly hilly, supplemented by plains, with a total area of 105,500 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Zhejiang province has 11 prefecture-level cities: Zhoushan, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Lishui, Taizhou, Jinhua and Quzhou, with a resident population of 58.5 million people. In 2020, Zhejiang's GDP was RMB 646.13 million, ranking 4th in China.

Fujian Province, located on the southeast coast of China (115◦50 –120◦40 E, 23◦33 – 28◦20 N), is adjacent to Zhejiang Province in the northeast, bordered by Jiangxi Province in the northwest and connected to Guangdong Province in the southwest and Taiwan in the southeast. Fujian Province is predominantly mountainous and hilly, with a total area of 121,400 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2020. As of 2019, Fujian Province has nine prefecture-level cities: Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Longyan, Sanming, Nanping and Ningde, with a resident population of 39.73 million. In 2020, Fujian Province's GDP was RMB 434,348,900, ranking 7th in China.

Guangdong Province, located in the southernmost part of China (109◦39 –117◦19 E, 20◦13 –25◦31 N), shares borders with Hong Kong, Macau, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces. Guangdong Province is dominated by plains and hills, with a total area of 179,725 km<sup>2</sup> as of 2018. As of 2019, Guangdong Province has 21 prefecture-level cities: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou, Shantou, Chaozhou, Jieyang, Shanwei, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Yangjiang, Yunfu, Shaoguan, Qingyuan, Meizhou and Heyuan, with a resident population of 115.21 million. In 2020, Guangdong's GDP was RMB 110,760.94 million, ranking 1st in China.
