The Asian Development Bank (ADB) named Chengdu the most livable city in China among 33 cities in the country.

The ADB conducted a study to identify which among China's cities are the most livable through its Environmental Livability Index. The study considered factors such as the cities' source of clean water, their quality of air, efficient solid waste and environment management and their urban aquatic environments.

Like Us on Facebook

The study was conducted in 33 cities, which primarily used data from Chinese yearbooks and environmental bulletins across China. The ADB was heavily reliant on whatever available data there are and used 2011 information from which its evaluation was based.

The city that comes close to Chengdu is Guanzhou followed by Ningbo. Beijing got the 18th rank, while Shanghai got the 22nd spot. At the bottom of the list are Harbin, Taiyuan and Lanzhou.

The report indicated that higher livability was found in cities having good natural conditions. This included Kunming, Hangzhou and Xiamen, according to the report. Furthermore, it said that environmental management has been deemed stronger in the more developed regions of China.

The research conducted by ADB also suggested that cities in the eastern coast in southern China and the country’s economically progressed areas have higher livability index. The rankings also suggested that the livability in northern, northwest China and in less developed areas were lower.

The research said that urban areas in China face environmental issues that could hinder growth although the overall livability in some Chinese cities has improved. Environmental challenges mentioned in the study included air pollution, scarcity of water and solid waste management.

Cities listed in the report also have other environmental challenges including loss of biodiversity, urban ecological environment deterioration, invasion of unknown species and noise pollution.

Sergei Popov, ADB's principal environment specialist, said the index has been comprehensively designed. He said the index also includes rankings and monitoring systems filled with significant scientific data will help Chinese lawmakers when making policy decisions.

The index was launched by the ADB and the Ministry Environmental Protection in 2010 and has been used as standard to measure city livability. At the time of the index's launch, it found that Nanjing, Fuzhou and Ningbo were the top three cities among 35 others that were chosen in China to be the most livable.

TagsChengdu, Ministry of Environmental Protection, China cities