The 2013 Online City Image List press conference was held in Hefei, Anhui province on June 19, 2014. Suzhou has gained first place in the prefecture-level city list for a second consecutive year.

Suzhou has been trying to build a service-oriented government in recent years. For example, it has made government affairs online more transparent and has tried a lot to create a good online city image. Suzhou thoroughly makes use of the Internet to actively advertise the city and boost Suzhou’s image with an open attitude. With the developed Internet and a full public relations program, Suzhou is becoming increasingly known to the world.

The research paper analyzes the 286 cities’ online images from the basic data, business, government, social life and public sentiment. It grasps the overall situation and development of the 286 cities and provides reference for them to optimize their city images.

The Online City Image List was jointly launched by Xinhua, the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Internet Science Research Center of Wuhan University and the China Statistical Information Service Center (CSISC).