The 2019 China City Conference was hosted in Beijing on Nov 30 by the China City Network and People's Daily. The list of China's top 100 cities in terms of brand influence was released at the conference, on which Quanzhou ranked fifth. 

Apart from the Quanzhou, Southeast China's Fujian province has another four prefecture-level cities made the list, namely Zhangzhou, Longyan, Sanming and Putian. 

The China City Conference has been a high-end platform with considerable influence in the country since 2017. The list of top 100 cities in terms of brand influence is announced at every conference, which is made in accordance with the National Standard for City’s Brand Evaluation, and statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Information Center. 

The concept of city brand is proposed to comprehensively display the city's ecological, cultural and economic image. It serves not only as a main impetus in the city's publicity, but also an important factor to enhance urban development and the happiness index of its residents. 

Quanzhou city is the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. In 1982, it was selected as one of the first historical and cultural cities in the country. 

It is now vigorously carrying forward the traditional culture, while accelerating the pace of industrial transformation and upgrading by continuously optimized the business environment and promoted high-quality development. 

The total economic volume of the city has led the way in Fujian province for 20 consecutive years. 

Currently, it has 156 well-known business trademarks in China and is home to 104 listed companies. 

Since 2014, Quanzhou has hosted more than 20 international activities, such as the Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival. The city’s Jinjiang International Airport has opened to 13 countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road.

 Coastal scenery in Quanzhou city, Fujian province [Photo provided to enquanzhou.com]