Due to its rapid industrialization and urbanization, China is facing the challenge of sharply growing energy and resource consumption, while it simultaneously faces various socio-economic challenges such as growing income gaps between urban and rural areas. These challenges are posing threats to regional sustainability. In this paper we look into the Yangtze River Delta region which consists of Shanghai city and the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang - the fastest economically developing region of the country. We first review recent trends in urbanization and industrialization of the region. We then demonstrate that the rapid urbanization and associated industrial activities have had tremendous impacts on energy and resources consumption, thus having an impact on regional sustainability. We finally discuss that technological innovations in secondary industries and pursuing industrial symbiosis in the context of circular economy would be of vital importance especially for the industrial sectors of the region to pursue sustainable development.© 2013 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.