Taicang was named top in China's "happiest county-level cities" list for the third time, according to the 2018 Chinese Happy City Forum held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Nov 26. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

Taicang was named top in China's "happiest county-level cities" list for the third time, according to the 2018 Chinese Happy City Forum held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Nov 26.

The list was released by the weekly magazine Oriental Outlook, managed by China state news agency Xinhua, and formulated based on research into local residents' sense of identity, belonging, safety and satisfaction, as well the appraisal of others.

The five following aspects perfectly illustrate why Taicang topped the list:

Pleasant environment. Taicang has a reserved farmland area of 400,000 mu (26.67 hectares) for ecological shelter zones and has increased its vegetation coverage to 43 percent. Its industrial wastewater and household waste all gets discharged after being purified.

Prosperous culture. The cultural venues in Taicang, such as museums and galleries, are all free of charge. They see annual visitors numbering over 1.7 million and organize more than 180 cultural activities. A total of 300 performances are staged for rural residents each year, amounting to some two million people. Branch libraries of Taicang Library, self-service libraries and the project "a cup of coffee in your left hand and a book in your right hand" have spread all over the city.

Improved education. The city's gross enrolment rate for higher education has reached 70 percent and a dual-system vocational education has been introduced to the city from Germany, creating a new way to cultivate professionals. Education spending has totaled 8.95 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) over the past five years, accounting for 17 percent of the city's public financial expenditure.

Sound Health Care System. Taicang is home to one first class comprehensive hospital, one second class traditional Chinese medicine hospital and 260 medical and health institutions. The city has also introduced quality medical resources from hospitals in Shanghai.

Home-based care services for senior citizens. Taicang started to explore home-based care services for senior citizens in 2007. Today day care centers for senior citizens are available in 90 percent of the city's villages and communities, paid for by the local government and run by social organizations.