BEIJING--China's Zero2IPO Group, a leading research institution for the country's venture capital and private equity industry, said on Thursday that a record $ 8.1 billion entered China's venture capital market during the first half of this year.

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In a report released by the group, 605 projects in 29 provinces and cities have raised funds from the venture capital market during the first half, up 56.3 percent year-on-year.

Beijing and Shenzhen were ranked one and two in terms of the venture capital investment attraction, the report said.

A growing number of venture capitalists have shifted their focus to the country's resource-abundant western regions such as Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Inner Mongolia autonomous region amid intensified investment competition in developed cities, according to the report.