Guangzhou ranks sixth globally in scientific research. Do you still think it's only about morning tea and rental income?

01

Guangzhou, Now the Sixth Global Science and Research City

On November 16th, Springer Nature, a globally renowned academic institution, released the special issue of Nature, "2025 Nature Index - Science and Research Cities".

According to the list, the top ten global science and research cities in order are: Beijing, Shanghai, the New York Metropolitan Area, the Boston Metropolitan Area, Nanjing, Guangzhou, the San Francisco Bay Area, Wuhan, Baltimore - Washington, and Hangzhou.

Guangzhou has risen two places from its previous ranking, moving from 8th to 6th globally. Additionally, it can be seen that 6 out of the top ten global science and research cities are in China.

From the list, Beijing, China, has ranked first in global science and research for nine consecutive years. Second is Shanghai, China, third is the New York Metropolitan Area in the United States, and fourth is the Boston Metropolitan Area in the United States (where Harvard and MIT are located).

Well, ranked fifth globally is Nanjing, China, a historically and culturally famous city so low - key that it's almost invisible, yet its scientific research output ranks third in China and fifth globally.

Ranked sixth globally is Guangzhou, China, a city misinterpreted as just a "laid - back capital" with morning tea, slippers, and rental income, but its scientific research output ranks fourth in the country and sixth globally.

Data shows that Guangzhou ranks sixth with a share of 1820.05, a significant increase from last year's 1558.1. The number of papers is 3966, second only to Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing in China. Additionally, Beijing ranks first globally with a share of 5501.45 and nearly 12,000 papers; Shanghai ranks second globally with a share of 3153.61 and 6680 papers; Nanjing ranks fifth globally with a share of 2135.61 and 4282 papers.

Ranked eighth globally is Wuhan, China, rising one place compared to 2023. Also, Hangzhou, China has entered the global top ten for the first time, rising three places compared to 2023.

At this point, some may wonder if it's an unreliable list. Let's first understand what kind of existence Nature magazine is.

Nature is a globally recognized top - tier comprehensive academic journal, along with Science and Cell, known as the three top journals in the global basic scientific research field (CNS). Many Nobel laureates in history have published papers in Nature, which has had a profound impact.

The "Nature Index" is from the same source as Nature, both compiled by the globally well - known academic institution Springer Nature Publishing Group. This index tracks the contributions of various institutions to scientific research papers published in 145 high - quality natural science and health science journals.

For this reason, the "Nature Index" is also listed as an important reference for the evaluation of many international scientific research institutions. How can a mainstream academic list with such a prestigious origin be described as an unreliable list?

02

Surpassing 36 Cities Continuously, Guangzhou is One of the Fastest - Rising Cities in Global Science and Research

Here comes the key point. Why can Guangzhou, which has always been considered "poor in scientific research" by some critics, shine in the global scientific and technological community this time?

First of all, this is not a dark horse emerging out of nowhere, but a long - term result of accumulating strength over time.

Looking back at the "Nature Index - Science and Research Cities" list in the past decade, Guangzhou's ranking has been continuously rising, from 42nd in 2015 to 6th globally in 2024. It has surpassed 36 cities in 10 years and is one of the scientific research cities with the greatest progress globally in the past decade.

Behind this series of leaps is the all - round development of Guangzhou's scientific research strength. In the lists of the five major disciplines tracked by the Nature Index, all five major disciplines of Guangzhou entered the global top ten in 2024:

Physical Sciences ranked sixth globally, Life Sciences ranked ninth globally, Chemistry ranked fourth globally, Earth and Environmental Sciences ranked third globally, and Health Sciences ranked tenth globally.

So, how is Guangzhou's sixth - place global comprehensive ranking calculated?

It is reported that the calculation method of the Nature Index is not simply counting the number of papers, but using the indicator of "share" for measurement.

Share refers to allocating the contribution value of a paper to each relevant institution or region, and its calculation is based on the proportion of authors affiliated with that institution or region in each paper.

For example, if a paper has 10 authors and 3 of them are from scientific research institutions in Guangzhou, then Guangzhou's contribution share to this paper is 0.3.

This calculation method aims to more accurately reflect a city's actual participation and contribution in high - level scientific research activities. To ensure the comparability of data between different years, the share is adjusted annually, but the core calculation rules remain unchanged.

It should be noted that the Nature Index is only one of the important indicators for measuring scientific research performance, not the whole. When comprehensively evaluating the scientific research quality of a city or institution, other multiple factors also need to be considered.

What's even more exciting is that Guangzhou's scientific research strength has also been recognized by another international authoritative organization. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the "Top 100 Global Innovation Clusters" ranking in September this year. The "Shenzhen - Hong Kong - Guangzhou" innovation cluster surpassed Japan's "Tokyo - Yokohama" and became the world's largest innovation cluster for the first time.

It is very rare for so many international authoritative institutions to endorse Guangzhou's scientific research strength.

03

Why has Guangzhou Made Such Great Progress?

At this point, some may wonder why Guangzhou's scientific research output is so strong.

First of all, it has many universities!

Data shows that Guangzhou has 84 ordinary universities, ranking second in the country in total. These universities have gathered more than 1.6 million college students, and the number of college students has ranked first in the country for many consecutive years. Guangzhou can be called the "City of Universities" in China. In addition, there are more than 180,000 postgraduate students in Guangzhou, ranking among the top cities in the country.

The university resources provide continuous talent support for Guangzhou's scientific and technological innovation. In 2024, Guangzhou published a total of 70,843 scientific research papers, a year - on - year increase of 10.86%, accounting for 45.32% of the total in the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area Science and Technology Cluster, leading the cluster in both volume and growth rate.

According to the analysis of Yijian Finance, among the many universities in Guangzhou, Sun Yat - sen University has made outstanding contributions, ranking 11th among domestic institutions. According to the data from August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, in Nature Index, the number of its counted papers reached 1742, with a share of 674.55, and its contribution rate can reach 1/3.

Second, Guangzhou has many scientific research platforms.

It is reported that Guangzhou has built a powerful "2 + 2+N" scientific and technological innovation platform system and has become the only city in the country that brings together national - level major platforms such as national laboratories, comprehensive national technology innovation centers, national major scientific and technological infrastructure, and international big science projects.

During the "14th Five - Year Plan" period, a number of scientific and technological "national treasures" such as the Cold Spring Ecosystem Device, the Human Cell Lineage Facility, and the "Dream" Ocean Drilling Vessel have successively landed in Guangzhou.

Third, more and more technology companies are emerging in Guangzhou, becoming new players in scientific research output.

In 2023, Guangzhou's R & D investment exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time, with an R & D investment intensity of 3.44%. The annual R & D investment of enterprises reached 68.6 billion yuan, accounting for 65.8% of the city's total, effectively playing the role of the main force in innovation.

As of 2024, there were 13,500 high - tech enterprises in Guangzhou, more than seven times that in 2015. Although they only account for 0.6% of the total number of enterprises, they contribute nearly 50% of the industrial output value and nearly 20% of the enterprise income tax.

In 2025, the number of unicorn enterprises in Guangzhou reached 24, ranking fourth among Chinese cities and 11th among global cities. This number is equivalent to the total number of unicorn enterprises in South Korea and Japan.

In recent years, a number of representative innovative enterprises have emerged in Guangzhou. In the new energy vehicle field, there is XPeng Motors; in the cross - border e - commerce field, there is Shein; in the drone industry, there is EHang; in the field of autonomous driving, there are Pony.ai and WeRide; in the commercial space field, there is CAS Space; in the field of artificial intelligence, there is Quark... These technology companies are becoming the new main force in Guangzhou's scientific research output.

So, now that Guangzhou has achieved sixth place globally in scientific research, can you still say it's only about morning tea, rental income, and wearing slippers?

This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Warfare", author: Xiaoyu. Republished by 36Kr with permission.