There has been much talk about Beijing, the capital of China, being overcrowded and whether its potential and resources have been fully exploited.

Indeed, the city has taken the lead as both a political and cultural center and may even compete as a financial center with Shanghai.

A combination of all these functions has swamped Beijing, which has led some experts to suggest that Beijing should move its universities outside of the city, so that fewer young people would flock in and other cities would have some opportunities for development.

It is not difficult to understand the logic behind the suggestion. Beijing has about 100 universities, and most of them are highly ranked in fields from art to agriculture. But a more important reason that young people tend to choose these universities is because they are located in the capital.

Contrary to the situation in the US or the UK where the first-tier universities such as Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge are not located in the political or financial centers of the countries, such as Washington or London, the best universities in China are almost all located in Beijing or Shanghai.

It may be common for top American or British students to choose a prominent university no matter what city it is in, but for Chinese students, their choices are few.

Meanwhile, as Beijing has been developed into its fullest extent, it has formed a mature market to attract talent. With the vast potential of job opportunities, graduates find it easier to start up their careers and pursue their dreams.

Most of my peers, when choosing a university, considered its location first. They tended to choose those in Beijing or Shanghai because of the promising prospects of the city, even when there were better universities with the same major in smaller towns.

To some extent, the resources a city has are much more important than what a university can offer. Beijing has become a shining label rather than just being a place.

Another factor that makes moving higher education institutions out of Beijing unfeasible is that universities are not isolated from the rest of society and there are various interests involved.

For example, faculty have established their roots in the capital where they enjoy abundant social resources, such as housing and healthcare, which in Beijing are better than in other places. Balancing these interests will prove a headache for the government if these universities are to be removed from Beijing.

Indeed, a major contradiction in Chinese society is the unmatched pattern between higher education resources and economic geography. The economic prospects of some cities such as Nanjing and Chengdu are not attractive to graduates from there, while some places that are doing well economically, such as Suzhou and Shenzhen, don't have many education resources.

Big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have already formed their welfare pattern and it is difficult to make major changes because it is the public that has to suffer some losses at the first place.

The task for the government is to develop smaller cities to make them competitive and attractive. This sounds easy, but it highlights deficiencies in the country's modernization that require comprehensive reform and public support.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. wangwenwen@globaltimes.com.cn