Shenzhen has pulled away from Guangzhou as the most modernized city in South China's Guangdong province, with innovation and the high-tech industry being the biggest driver of its rapid development, according to a recent report by the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences.

The academy evaluated a modernized city from five perspectives: economic development, social development, quality of life, ecological civilization and science and technological education.

It released the results on April 27.