According to a recent index
report, released jointly by Horizon Research Consultancy Group and China's First
Financial Daily, Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang province, has topped a
list of China's best cities to live in for 2006.
The survey was carried out using a multi-stage random sampling method,
consulting 2553 residential citizens aged 18 to 60 in 20 cities including
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu Shenzhen, Dalian, Jinan and Ningbo.
The survey focuses mainly on people's living conditions and their feelings
toward immediate living space, community space and public space.
They are also asked to make a subjective evaluation of their current
housing conditions, community environment and the city's supply market.
Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan
province, Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province ranked second and third respectively, with
Suzhou and Sanya taking the fourth and fith places.
The 15 cities that followed are Shenzhen, Qingdao, Guilin, Zhuhai, Shanghai,
Tianjin, Nanjing, Dalian, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Xi'an,
Beijing and Wuhan.
The index report notes that people in medium-small cities with rapidly
developing economies enjoy more leisure and live more comfortable
lives. While people in Shanghai, Beijing and other big cities,
though having greater opportunities for development, are faced with
relative worse living conditions, public transportation and the environment.
The report indicates that transportation greatly affects a person's
evaluation of a city, as does noise and environment.
A tough job market also affects ratings.
