Protecting environment tops public concerns in poll

About 60 percent of Chinese want the government to give priority to environmental protection when boosting economic growth, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The Public Opinion Research Laboratory of Shanghai Jiao Tong University polled by telephone more than 8,500 residents from 35 cities about Chinese people's basic living conditions and how they look at public services and hot social issues.

Of the 8,500, the survey asked 1,050 residents about the environment. More than half of the 1,050 said they had concerns, with women paying more attention to environmental protection than men.