French geographer Gottman put forward that city cluster is an advanced stage of urban regional development. Over the years, the Yangtze River City Cluster has been developing well, playing an increasingly important role in the integration process of the Yangtze River Delta, and has always been the focus of the policy level.
Firstly, this paper analyzes why the Yangtze River city cluster is planned? It is proposed that the Yangtze River city cluster includes eight districts and cities of Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Changzhou, Yangzhou, Taizhou and Zhenjiang, accounting for 47.6% of the land area of Jiangsu Province, carrying 64.7% of the population of the province, creating nearly 80% of the province's regional GDP and general public budget income, which has a decisive impact on the provincial economic development. Then, it analyzes the practical significance of the construction of Yangtze River city cluster, and puts forward that the construction of Yangtze River city cluster is not only in line with the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, but also in line with the reality of regional coordinated development in Jiangsu. Finally, the paper prospects the future development of the Yangtze River city cluster, and believes that in order to achieve high-quality development, the Yangtze River city cluster needs to make new breakthroughs in five aspects: scientific and technological innovation, high-end manufacturing, reform and opening up, ecological protection and common prosperity.
