Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Out of nearly 300 examined metropolises, Zhuhai has come in first in City Health Rankings. The findings were released in Beijing on Sept 27 in the 2016 Eco City Green Book compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

New Yuanming Palace 

The report appraised and ranked 284 Chinese cities based on the latest data reflecting ecological construction outcomes in 2014, rating them as very healthy, healthy, sub-healthy, unhealthy, and very unhealthy. 

Fifteen cities are labeled as very healthy. Following Zhuhai are Xiamen, Sanya, Weihai, Huizhou, Zhoushan, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Changchun, Tongling, Haikou, Karamay, Fuzhou, Jiangmen, and Huangshan. They account for 5.28 percent of the total samples, 1.41 percentage points more than the previous year. The numbers of sub-healthy and unhealthy cities decreased compared with 2013, reflecting achievements in eco-city construction and the fact that health is a main trend of Chinese urban development. 

Fenghuang Mt Reservoir [Photos courtesy ifeng.com]

Meanwhile, the top 10 cities on the Environmentally Friendly City list are Sanya, Zhuhai, Xiamen, Zhoushan, Huizhou, Huangshan, Tongling, Fuzhou, Haikou, and Guangzhou. 

According to the Green Book, Zhuhai was among the top 10 on the environmentally friendly city list from 2010 to 2014 in terms of comprehensive indexes, indicating favorable ecological environment, economy, and society. However, the Green Book suggests that the city should further reinforce control over the volume of sulfur dioxide emitted per unit of GDP.