China sees marked progress on urban development: ministry

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has achieved remarkable results in urban construction and development, with a new urbanization model deeply advanced during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), a government official said Monday.

By the end of the five-year period, the built-up urban area reached 60,300 square km, with 684 cities registered in the country, said Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, at a national work meeting.