Yunnan and Guizhou provinces led China’s GDP growth in the first quarter, while Shanghai was at the bottom among 31 provinces and autonomous regions, according to figures released by local bureaus of statistics Thursday.

Statistics show that 21 provinces and regions have shown a decline in GDP growth rates and only 15 provinces and regions have shown a first quarter GDP growth rate that is higher than their targets for the whole year.

It not only shows that structural change is becoming the new direction of economic development in many areas but also that China’s economic growth still faces challenges.

Yunnan’s first quarter GDP is just 226 billion yuan and Guizhou 123 billion yuan, but they lead the country with a year-on-year growth rate of 12.6 percent.

As eastern economic powers, the GDP growth of Shanghai and Zhejiang dropped remarkably. Shanghai ranked the last with the GDP of 494 billion yuan and a year-on-year growth rate of 7.8 percent, and Zhejiang ranked the third last with the GDP of 726 billion yuan and a year-on-year growth rate of 8.3 percent.

Beijing fell from seventh last in 2012 to second last, with its first quarter GDP of 410 billion yuan and a year-on-year growth rate of 7.9 percent.

According to statistics, the GDP of three provinces exceeded one trillion yuan. They are Guangdong, 1261 billion yuan, Jiangsu, 1188 billion yuan and Shandong, 1108 billion yuan. Another three provinces and autonomous regions have only tens of billion yuan, and they are Hainan, 73 billion yuan, Qinghai, 36 billion yuan and Ningxia 42 billion yuan.