Encourage charity

The annual publication of the list of China's top 100 philanthropists is a yardstick the general public uses to measure the wealthy's benevolence.

The list has been appearing since 2004. A companion publication ranks the 50 top enterprises in social responsibility.

The individual philanthropists on the list donated a total of 9.5 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the four years starting in 2003.