The "2005 (fourth) Chinese City Competitiveness List" was recently unveiled in Hong Kong. Weihai, a city nicknamed as the Penglai fairyland in ancient time, was ranked first on the list, followed by Zhuhai and Guilin that stands on the second and third position respectively. Cities like Guiyang, Taizhou and Beihai also appear on the list.

The public appraisal, carried by China City Competitiveness Research Institute, covers more than 600 cities in the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. The result came out after several rounds of assessment.

As much as 27 indexes were selected for the assessment, which include the city environment index, the economic development index, the social security index, and indexes for residents' behavior, for comfort of living and whether the city is praised by the public.

Six of the 27 indexes, such as the city environment index and the economic development index, are regarded as "highly important" since cities chosen as candidates should reach their top-level ratings while for the other 21 indexes, candidates should passed at least the second best ratings.

The top 10 inhabitable cities in 2005 are: Weihai, Zhuhai, Guilin, Guiyang, Taizhou, Beihai, Qinhuangdao, Yichang, Xianyang and Qujing. Enditem

(Chinanews.cn January 6, 2006)