China, with 16 spots, leads Asian countries with the most number of cities ranked in the top 100 global education cities, according to a ranking released on Saturday.

Beijing and Shanghai placed 3rd and 9th, respectively, both securing positions in the global top 10. Hong Kong followed closely at 12th, with Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province also ranking highly at 27th and 29th, according to the ranking issued by the University of International Business and Economics' Institute of World Influential Education Center Studies.

Other Chinese cities on the list include Guangzhou (37th), Nanjing (47th), Macao (48th), Wuhan (49th), Chengdu (53rd), Taipei (60th), Xi'an (65th), Chongqing (66th), Tianjin (71st), Hefei (84th), and Changsha (85th).

The United States leads all countries with 19 cities, followed by China with 16, Germany (7) and the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada with 4 each.

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In Japan and South Korea, educational hub cities are predominantly capitals or major economic centers, with Seoul ranking 5th and Tokyo 13th, reflecting the deep integration and mutual reinforcement between educational resources and urban development.

By continent, Europe leads with 39 cities, Asia follows with 29, showing strong development momentum, and North America ranks third with 24. Oceania has 4 cities, while South America, and Africa each have 2 cities.

Professor Yuan Ke of UIBE and a member of the evaluation project team, said four first-level indicators — educational development, contribution, support and inclusivity — were chosen to compile the ranking.

The selection and establishment of these indicators were based on people-centered principles, innovation and openness, international comparability, forward-looking vision, and feasibility, developed through multiple rounds of team discussion and expert consultation, he said.