Tai'an, East China's Shandong province made the list of China's 100 strongest cities in 2021, along with 12 other cities in the province.

The list was compiled by the Shanghai-based Warton Economic Institute based on 2020 data regarding gross domestic product, household savings, as well as development in science, education, culture, healthcare, and environmental protection.

The top 10 cities were Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Wuxi.

Tai'an ranked 80th on the list, while another 12 cities in Shandong were also listed, namely Jinan, Yantai, Qingdao, Weifang, Dongying, Zibo, Weihai, Jining, Linyi, Binzhou, Dezhou, and Heze.

In recent years, Tai'an has seen rapid development in its business environment, transportation, manufacturing industry, and tourism resources. Its gross domestic product totaled 276.65 billion yuan ($42.83 billion), a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent, despite disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Warton Economic Institute, founded in 1988 with approval from the Shanghai Municipal Government, is the first comprehensive research institute to focus on macroeconomics, regional economics and business development in China.