Shenzhen was ranked first among 15 Chinese cities in a report on education competitiveness released by Chinese Academy of Social Science Sunday, the Beijing News reported Monday.

Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Qingdao and Ningbo were ranked second to seventh in the report, which was titled A Comparison on Education Competitiveness Among 15 Chinese Cities.

"The core of a city's competitiveness lies in education," Dr. Ni Peng, the man in charge of the research said.

According to Ni, the top five cities in education hardware are Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Jinan and Ningbo, and the top five in education software are Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shenzhen.