Hot list

As the country's northern cities are often shrouded by heavy smog in winter, a list of the best smog-free tourist destinations was released on Thursday by the Standard Rank Institute and tourist website mafengwo.cn. It is ranked according to number of web inquiries from the latter. Ministry of Environmental Protection data on the air quality of 74 cities over the past nine months are factored in.

1. Xiamen, Fujian province

Xiamen's air quality ranked fourth in the country; Gulangyu Island is a popular scenic spot.