Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Zhuhai is in the running for a title as one of China's Happiest Cities in 2019 as Oriental Outlook magazine and Liaowang Institute think tank have begun a selection process in Beijing that will last into November.

Among the other 100 prefecture-level-or-above entries are Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu. In another category, 100 county-level cities (districts) are typified by Foshan's Nanhai District, Guangzhou's Tianhe District, and Jiangsu's Taicang City.

All the candidates were screened based on previous years' China's Happiest Cities lists, Annual Reports on China's Urban Competitiveness by the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and 2018's Top 100 Counties (County-Level Cities & Districts) by Comprehensive Strength by the Economic Development Committee of Chinese Small & Medium Cities.

Agreeable environment 

The final list will be released in November after big data collection and analysis, public canvassing, and confirmation of the views of professional assessment institutes and review committees.

Held for 12 consecutive years, the selection has involved 900 million people across the country and recognized more than 60 happiest cities.

In 2018, a Chinese Happiest City Laboratory was established under the initiative of the Liaowang Institute. It has developed a scientific and reliable urban happiness index system based on more than 1 billion data units regarding the physical characteristics and human behaviors related to 100 prefecture-level cities and 100 county-level cities (districts).

Lively entertainment [Photos courtesy Zhuhai Daily]