Qingdao, a coastal city of east China's Shandong province, saw its GDP reach 1 trillion yuan (about US$145.02 billion) in 2016, according to the municipal government.

The city becomes the 12th city to achieve this nationwide and the third in northern China after Beijing and Tianjin, joining the ranks of the "trillion-yuan club", thanks to advanced industrial expansion driven by internet technologies and infrastructure spending.

The 12 cities are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chongqing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Qingdao. Among them, Nanjing and Qingdao saw their GDP reach 1 trillion yuan for the first time.

Shanghai and Beijing again top the list with their GDPs reaching 2.75 trillion yuan and 2.49 trillion yuan respectively last year.