Average urban areas of 153 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region expanded by about 50 percent every 10 years, according to data released on Wednesday.
A survey by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation to assist coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, will also help control air pollution.
The 153 surveyed cities had total urban areas of 1,651, 2,484, 3747 square kilometers in 1990, 2002 and 2013 respectively, roughly a 50 percent each decade.
From 1990 to 2013, over 1,100 square kilometers of arable land and 815 square kilometers of other rural land have been swallowed up. Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Shijiazhuang and Qinhuangdao are the five most rapidly growing cities in this region.
The survey also covered distribution of air pollutants, vegetation, subsidence and stability of the earth's crust.
It shows that sources of air pollutants rapidly increasing. In 2013, there were over 38,000 major air polluters, 2.25 times the number in 2007.
Additionally, the area of dusty ground increased by 1,253 square kilometers in 2013 from 2007, mostly construction sites and open-cast mines.
