Chengdu has outdone major cities Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou as the most livable city on China’s mainland, according to a recent report by the Asian Development Bank.
The winning criteria was based on evaluation system the Environmental Livability Index, which takes into account urban aquatic environments, water resources, air and the management of solid waste and the environment.
Among the 33 Chinese cities selected as part of the evaluation, Beijing and Shanghai ranked 18th and 22nd respectively.
Guangzhou and Ningbo were ranked 2nd and 3rd, while Lanzhou, Harbin and Taiyuan were in the bottom three.
[Taiyuan, famous for its pollution]
The data used was sourced from published yearbooks and environmental bulletins from 2011 to now. Leading the study was ADB Principal Environment Specialist, Sergei Popov, who said the information will give policy makers valuable data on which to base their decisions on.
The ranking suggests that the livability index is higher in southern China, on its eastern coastal cities and in economically developed regions. It rated lower in North China, the northwest and in less-developed regions.
"Livability is also higher in cities with good natural conditions, such as Hangzhou, Kunming and Xiamen," the report said. "Environmental management was particularly strong in China's more-developed regions."
The study suggests that while the livability and in turn quality of life in some cities has improved, they still face serious environmental challenges - such as water shortages, air-pollution and waste control - heading into the future.
Other issues affecting the environment are noise pollution, deterioration of the urban ecological environments, loss of biodiversity and the invasion of alien species.
The index was jointly launched in 2010 by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Asian Development Bank.
A study released in 2010, based on data from that year, chose 35 cities on the mainland. Fuzhou, Ningbo and Nanjing were the top three most livable cities.
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