When the United Nations Development Program, working with Oriental Outlook magazine, announced the results of its survey of Chinese cities, Changchun joined the Top 10, for the seventh year in a row in happiness cities. The compilers explained that the cities that did best tended to be mid-sized places where people’s well-being got a lot of emphasis.

And, while Changchun is not a big city as far as its size and population, the government has policies that are meant to improve people livelihood. The survey used a questionnaire covering healthcare, culture, the environment, education, individual development and infrastructure in reaching its conclusion, which involved 23 million respondents. Changchun came in at 6th place, just a bit behind Hangzhou, Nanjing and Xi’an.

It also came in 6th, in culture.

The city’s deputy mayor said Changchuners should be proud Of its accomplishments, especially for ranking among the Top 10 in happiness fr the seventh year in a row, then concluded, "But, the number 6 should remind us that we still face many challenges, not least of which is infrastructure, and that we need to bear in mind people’s well-being as a priority and strive to become China’s No.1 happiness city.”

Top Ten

1. Chengdu

2. Hangzhou

3. Nanjing

4. Xi’an

5. Tianjin

6. Changchun

7. Changcha

8. Yueyang

9. Zhuhai

10. Dalian