Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, has made it into the alpha category of first-tier global cities, according to the latest world city ranking issued by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC).

The southern Chinese city ranks 27th among all global first-tier cities. It is the first time it has made it into this category.

Beautiful scenery along the Pearl River in Guangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account ZGGZFABU]

Created in the Geography Department at Loughborough University, the GaWC is a think tank that focuses on research into the external relations of world cities.

The GaWC examines 361 cities worldwide, then ranks them based on their international reputation, participation in international affairs, demographics, transportation systems, attractiveness to foreign investors and cultural influence. The cities are then categorized into "Alpha" (including four sub-categories Alpha ++, Alpha +, Alpha, and Alpha −), "Beta" (including three sub-categories) and "Gamma" (including three sub-categories). There are also categories for "high sufficiency" and "sufficiency" levels.

According to the 2018 rankings, alpha level cities are as below.

Alpha ++ cities: London and New York 

Alpha + cities: Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Paris, Dubai, and Tokyo

Alpha cities: Milan, Chicago, Moscow, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Jakarta, Mumbai, Miami, Brussels, Taipei, Guangzhou, Buenos Aires, Zurich, Warsaw, Istanbul, Bangkok, and Melbourne

Alpha − cities: Amsterdam, Stockholm, San Francisco, New Delhi, Santiago, Johannesburg, Dublin, Vienna, Montreal, Lisbon, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Bogota, Manila, Washington DC, Prague, Munich, Rome, Riyadh, Budapest, Houston, and Shenzhen.

According to analysis from GaWC, Guangzhou has become China's fourth largest financial center after Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. [Photo/WeChat account ZGGZFABU]

Since it was first included in the gamma-class cities list in 2000, Guangzhou has maintained a steady and continuous trend of improvement in the rankings. In the previous rankings, the city was included in the "Alpha −" cities list and ranked 40th among the 49 first-tier global cities.