Most of the Chinese provinces recently published their average disposable income of urban households for the first half of this year. The metropolis Shanghai took the lead with 24,312 yuan (US$3948.68), and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region registered the highest growth rate of 11.5 percent.

The top three spots were taken by eastern China's Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang, the only three with an average income above 20,000 yuan (US$ 3,248.71), while the three trailing behind are Gansu, Tibet and Qinghai -- all located in the west -- demonstrating again the income gap between the two regions.

Here are China's top 10 provinces with the highest average income in the first half of 2014.

   Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia

Average disposable income of urban households: 14,038 yuan (US$ 2,279.93)

Growth rate: 9.7 percent