An economic forum focusing on investment was held on May 21 in Qingdao of Shandong province.

Dong Fan, a property market researcher at Beijing Normal University, was invited to give a speech at the forum, which was hosted by Star River Group, a real estate developer.

Dong referred to real estate as still the best investment, other than stocks, futures and collections.

“The process of urbanization and population redistribution will make the real estate industry the most potentially rewarding for investment,” he said.

He added that Qingdao has development potential and is an ideal place for investment.

Qingdao is one economic hub in China. Its GDP in 2015 reached 930 billion yuan ($142 billion), an 8.1 percent increase from 2014. This figure is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan at the end of 2016.

The city’s government has extended urban development to the northern and western parts of the city, with infrastructure, urban function areas and public service much better than before.