Wow, Qingdao has been ranked number 1 on a list of livable cities in China. Bonus: Weihai in Shandong province is number 5. That puts 2 of the top 5 within a couple hours drive from each other. Here’s the rundown:

Top 5 of the 40 Most Liveable Cities in China

  • 1. Qingdao
  • 2. Kunming (capital of Yunnan province)
  • 3. Sanya (resort in southern Hainan province)
  • 4. Dalian (capital of Liaoning province)
  • 5. Weihai (near Yantai and just north of Qingdao)

If you are the kind of person who goes in for lists and such, this should be confirmation of what many who live in Qingdao have been saying for years: Qingdao has always been a very desirable place to live, or even visit.

The former Strand Hotel on the Number 1 Beach was once a resort for those looking to escape the summer heat of China’s larger cities during the days of German administration of Qingdao.

Since the development of Qingdao at the turn of the 20th Century, the city has continually been an oasis of blue skies and green trees on the coast of the Yellow Sea, so it’s no wonder that Qingdao is still the best in the country.

Qingdao city church China

Check out the reports:

from ECNS.com
“Of the 40 most livable cities in China, the coastal city Qingdao took the top spot, while Beijing falls to the bottom, according to the China Livable Cities Research Report conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The report showed that 40 cities, mainly provincial capitals with more advanced economic and social development, achieved 59.92 points on average, just below the benchmark for livability of 60 points.

Following Qingdao as most-livable were Kunming in Yunnan Province, Sanya in Hainan Province, Dalian in Liaoning Province and Weihai in Shandong Province.

At the bottom of the rankings were Nanchang in Jiangsu Province, Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, and Beijing.

The research examined 29 indicators from six perspectives — safety, access to public services, natural environment, social and humanistic environment, public transport and environmental health hazards.

The report’s main author Zhang Wenzhong, a researcher with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at CAS, said the evaluation system intentionally excluded home prices to prevent possible hype by real estate developers.”

View of Qingdao Downtown

Qingdao Huiquan Bay Beach 1 View From Xiao Yu Shan

Find out more about the rankings from the source on Sina (Chinese text).