Big companies want to be in Hefei

The once poor center of a mainly rural economy now boasts huge advances in upgrading industries and R&D

It came as no surprise when The Economist magazine named five Chinese cities as the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the world in 2012. What was unexpected was which they were. Not Guangzhou, Shanghai or Chongqing, but places such as Baotou, Anshan and - topping the list - Hefei, the capital of Anhui province.

Much of this success is due to the Hefei Economic and Technology Development Area set up 20 years ago.