Employees walking to work in the city at sunrise [Photo/VCG]

Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, is estimated to have a recorded permanent residents population of over 10 million, said a report from Hangzhou Municipal Statistics Bureau on Feb 14.

Official statistics reveals that the city has witnessed a rapid growth in the number of permanent residents over the past four years, up by 338,000 from 2017 to over 9.8 million people by the end of 2018, up 3.57 percent compared with the previous year.

It also indicates that Hangzhou is making great strides towards "megacity" (metropolitan areas with a total population of 10 million or more).

Among the 338,000 increased population, the net inflow population accounted for more than 300,000, which suggests that Hangzhou is gradually turning itself into a magnet for talents.

Yuhang district, one of the most economically developed regions in Hangzhou, is the largest contributor with a population growth of 127,000 people, followed by Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area (Xiasha) where a crucial base of modern industry, export-oriented economy, higher education and scientific research are located.

Tang Hairu, chief engineer from the Hangzhou City Planning and Design Academy believes that while the whopping population in the city's urban areas is a mirror of Hangzhou's expanded urban framework, it is these new enterprises and research institutions that attract an increasingly number of people.

He added that high quality talents who can contribute to the development of the city are in urgent need.

Backed by the new drivers of the information economy, Hangzhou enjoys a growing edge in the advantageous industries of the digital economy, such as e-commerce, cloud computing and big data, digital content, information security, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, which will further increase the city's influence and attract more talents, said an expert.