Zhanjiang has been ranked as one of the country's top 10 performers when it comes to environment and sustainability resources, according to the 2016 China Urban Sustainability Index (USI 2016) released in April.

The report gathers nine years' of development data on economy, society, resources and environment to analyze the sustainability levels of 185 Chinese cities.

The coastal city of Zhanjiang in South China's Guangdong province ranks well on the 2016 China Urban Sustainability Index (USI 2016) released in April. [Photo / Zhanjiang.gov.cn]

Aimed at finding out how China's sustainability drive is evolving, the study also provides an international reference for Chinese cities.

Zhanjiang came second to Shenzhen in the environment category, and was the only Guangdong city to make the top 10 in the resources indicator list.

The report was published by Urban China Initiative (UCI) which was established in 2011 by McKinsey & Co, a global management consulting firm, Tsinghua University School of Public Policy & Management and Columbia University.