Beijing, the political, cultural and economic center of China, featured the highest average house price in the country, at 37,439 yuan (US$6,113) per square meter, according to the Top 100 cities by average house price list in January 2014, released by the national real estate market information center.

Shanghai ranked second, followed by Shenzhen and Xiamen. According to the list, there were five cities with a price of more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,266), and one city with an average housing price of more than 30,000 yuan (US$4,898) per square meter.

Although the house prices in more than half of the cities on the list increased a lot, there were obvious drops in many cities, including some provincial capitals and relatively developed cities.

The following 10 cities posted the biggest declines in house prices in January 2014:

   Ningbo

Ningbo

Average house price: 13,503 yuan (US$2,205)/㎡

Month-on-month decrease: -1.94%