Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, has been one of China’s most renowned and prosperous cities for much of the last 1,000 years. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou is well-known for its beautiful natural scenery, the West Lake being its most renowned location.

Ranked among the most competitive cities and also named the Happiest City in China for five consecutive years, Hangzhou has a reputation for outstanding quality of life that attracts people of different ages and lifestyles to visit, live, work and learn. Hangzhou citizens take great pride in their city and value it as an urban habitat designed for great living.

In 2007, the Hangzhou Municipal Government launched a campaign calling on its citizens to come up with a motto that best captured Hangzhou’s distinctive aspects. The motto “City of Quality Life” received the most votes and the widest recognition.

This “Quality of Life” includes the economic, cultural, political, social and environmental aspects of life. “City of Quality Life” best describes Hangzhou’s impressive achievements in economic development, travel resources, health and wellbeing, social stability, employment, household income, government efficiency, educational qualification, environmental protection and infrastructure. To build a city of quality life, people’s interests should be put first and developments should be made in accordance with the Hangzhou spirit of “refined and harmonious, graceful and opening” to realize the sustainable development of economy, politic, culture and society. These efforts will improve Hangzhou’s competitiveness and ultimately improve the quality of Hangzhou citizens’ lives.

“City of Quality Life is also a vision: The people of Hangzhou want economic growth, but also want it to be sustainable and clean. They want the thrills and fascination of the big city, but also want safety and security. They want to live together in the millions, but also want to be able to move around easily. This is their global message.