Happy? You Should be if You Live in These 10 Chinese Cities

By Matthew Bossons

On November 26, the results of the ‘China’s Happiest City 2018’ survey were revealed in Guangzhou. According to reports, more than 12 million people participated in the 2018 study (the 12th year the survey has been held).

So, which Chinese cities topped this jovial list? Here are the top 10 happiest cities in the PRC: Chengdu, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Taizhou, Tongchuan and Zhuhai.  We should note that the order these cities are listed in is not necessarily an indication of their place on the top 10 list. (Chinese media outlets have failed to confirm a first place, second place, third place and so on. It is worth noting, however, that numerous Chengdu publications have claimed that Chengdu topped the list and is China’s happiest city).

Image via Pixabay

As for county-level cities, the survey honored the following settlements: Tiacang, Kunshan, Zhangjiagang and Jiangyin in Jiangsu province, Rongcheng in Shandong, Hunan’s Changsha county and Yuyao, Putuo, Cixi and Yiwu in Zhejiang.

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City was selected in the survey as China’s ‘happiest eco-city,’ while Guangzhou’s Tianhe District has been honored as China’s ‘happiest city that is an example of development and innovation.’

Image via Giphy

While you’d be forgiven for thinking that rapper, fashionista and all-around megastar slash famously-happy dude Pharrell Williams was behind a study of this nature, the evaluation system for the China’s Happiest City survey was developed by the number-crunchers over at Yuwang Think Tank. Baidu Business Intelligence Lab acted as a ‘strategic data partner’ for the study and contributed by conducting big data analysis, according to Guangdong Yangcheng Evening News.

The survey reportedly looked at nine different facets of big-city living, including income levels, quality of life, traffic, public safety and healthcare facilities, among other aspects. According to GRT Radio, China’s Happiest City 2018 is considered a highly credible and influential survey.

If your city failed to make the aforementioned happy list, there’s a chance it may have been honored earlier this month on the ‘happy city rankings’ compiled by China Economic Life Survey (2017-2018). The top 10 happiest Chinese cities on that list, in order, are:

1. Wuhan
2. Xining
3. Nanchang
4. Hohhot
5. Changsha
6. Tianjin
7. Fuzhou
8. Hangzhou
9. Nanjing
10. Haikou

Globally, China was ranked the 86th happiest country on the planet in 2018 according to the 2018 World Happiness Report, well behind East Asian neighbor Japan, who came in at No.54.

READ MORE: Zhuhai Ranked China's 'Most Livable' City for 3rd Year

[Cover image via Pixabay]

You May Also Like...

For more China news, click "Read more"（阅读原文）below.