To give a more precise indication about sustainability of Chinese cities, the Annual Greenbook for Sustainability of 35 big cities in China and 16 cities in Yangtze River Delta was released on Oct 26.

Beijing sits at the top of sustainability development efficiency, along with capital city of Shangdong province, Qingdao. Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujiang province, ranks third. Shanghai and Guangzhou rank 24th and 25th respectively.

"Most of manufacturing bases moved out of Beijing, which makes it a more sustainable city. Other large cities, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, still have large manufacturing facilities in the city, which lower their sustainability," said He Fang, one of authors of the book and also a professor from Tongji University.

The book also extends its data collection to eight cities from the BRICS countries - Brasilia, Sao Pailo, Rio, Calcutta, Mumbai, New Delhi, Cape Town and Durban. They are compared to four cities in China, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Calcutta, Beijing and Mumbai are the most sustainable cities among the 16 cities.