Inadequate sanitation and unequal access to public services have become widespread headaches amid rapid global urbanization. To mitigate this, China underwent dramatic urban expansion, lifting its urbanization rate from roughly 11% in 1949 to nearly 68% today. Yet it has blazed a distinct path of people-centered new urbanization by advancing migrant citizenization, urban-rural integration and coordinated regional growth. Taking Suzhou, a historic city with robust economic output, as a typical example, how exactly does this people-centered urban path benefit all residents?