China‘s urbanization by night, by courtesy of the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov/).
Both photos reflect the rapid urbanisation that has taken place in China in the last two decades. The photo taken in 2010 clearly shows the three main urbanised areas: the Bohai rim, the Yangzte delta, and the Pearl river delta. Chengdu and Chongqing have also undergone rapid urbanisation, as does Xi’an. Urumqi is the only discernible urban area West of Lanzhou.
For a time jump from 1992 to 2010 click on the link below:
http://ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/data/web_data/china_movies/china/China_movie.html