Wuxi, Yinchuan, Hangzhou among world's top 20 smart cities

The city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province ranks in 17th place on this year's world's top 20 smart city list released by Juniper Research, making it the highest ranked city in China.

A bird's eye view of Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province in eastern China on August 23, 2017. [Photo: IC]

The top five smart cities are Singapore, London, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. Another two cities in China—Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province--are also on the list, ranking 18th and 20th respectively.

Smart cities use Internet of Things (IoT) technology and connected services to improve their infrastructure. Juniper Research ranks cities based on their use of technology in areas including transportation, health care, public safety, and productivity.

Juniper Research says smart cities have the potential to save each resident 125 hours every year. For example, using an intelligent transport system, cashless payments, and digital medical care can help save 19.4 hours, 1.2 hours and 10 hours respectively.

Wuxi is continuing to roll out smart city technology to improve public service efficiency and improve people's daily life, said an insider of the city's smart city project. The city is also testing its 5th Generation (5G) mobile networks, and some operators have built 5G test sites, according to the insider.