Hangzhou was selected as one of China’s top 10 international image cities at the award ceremony of the first China’s Best Cities of International Image held on October 21 in Nanjing, according to Hangzhou News.

The investigation activity of China’s Best Cities of International Image was jointly hosted by the “Oriental Outlook Weekly” of Xinhua News Agency, the “China Urban Development Report” Working Committee of the China Association of Mayors, the International Public Relations Research Center of Fudan University, and the China Travel Channel.

At the ceremony, Edward Dagwell, an Australian teaching at Hangzhou Normal University, gave an award to Zhang Jianting, deputy mayor of Hangzhou. “Hangzhou is beautiful, Hangzhou citizens are welcoming, and the Hangzhou government is making efforts to make citizens live harmoniously with the environment,” said Edward when asked why he gave the award to Hangzhou.

“Though Hangzhou has no big historical events, abundant mineral resources or natural ports, the citizens in Hangzhou love this city and tourists from throughout China and abroad love this city. Hangzhou is a pleasant place to live, travel and work because of its beautiful scenery, rich culture and modern style,” said Zhang as he took the award.

During the survey, 12 factors related to a city’s international image, such as city culture, government efficiency, city environment, etc., were taken into consideration. The organizing committee also specially entrusted the Gallup (China) Consulting Company to conduct a subjective survey of foreigners in the 30 candidate cities.

Ten cities in the end stood out from the 30 candidates and got the title. They were, in order, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Xi’an, Changsha, Kunming and Changchun.

By Xie Fang and Wang Gongyuan