Which Chinese mainland city is most attractive to foreigners?

China launched the 2019 campaign (2019 Amazing China) for most attractive Chinese cities to foreigners this week. Foreign experts staying in China, including Nobel Prize laureates, will assess major Chinese cities based on factors including expat-friendly policies, governmental administrative capacity and working and living environments.

The campaign, focusing on cities' opening up and talent-building, is meant to guide cities in attracting more high-level overseas talents to come to China for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The annual campaign, titled "Amazing China: the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Foreigners," was organized by the Foreign Talent Research Center for Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010.

It is the only ranking for Chinese mainland cities voted on entirely by foreign experts, and the ranking has become an important window for foreigners into Chinese cities.

In 2018, Shanghai and Beijing topped the list of the 10 Chinese cities most attractive to foreigners. Other cities on the list included Hefei, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Xi'an and Wuhan.

The 2018 rankings received 239 votes from foreign experts, including Nobel laureates and Turing Award winners, 2,815 votes from other foreign professionals, and 94,849 online votes from foreign Internet users.

The results of the 2018 campaign showed the implementation of the work permit mechanism for foreigners to come to China and the visa system for foreign talents have greatly boosted government policies, as well as the work and living environments of Chinese cities, enabling foreign talents to come and move easily and stay comfortably in China.

In 2018, China issued 336,000 work permits for foreigners, and over 950,000 foreigners worked in the country.