Hangzhou is granted the title of "happiest city" along with nine other Chinese cities at the 2019 Chinese Happy City Forum held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Nov 25. [Photo/people.com.cn]

Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, made the 2019 list of China's top 10 happiest cities, according to an index report released at the 2019 Chinese Happy City Forum held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Nov 25.

As the only city to have appeared on the list for 13 consecutive years, Hangzhou was granted the special honorary title of "demonstration city for happiness" by the organizing committee of the forum.

Co-hosted by Oriental Outlook magazine and the Liaowang Institute of the Xinhua News Agency, the survey polled more than 12 million respondents from across the country and measured 16 categories, including life satisfaction, income, living environment, education, healthcare, transportation, public security and future expectations.

"Happiness is a subjective feeling", Zhou Jiangyong, Party secretary of Hangzhou, said at the forum, adding that the title of "happiest city" is the highest honor the city could hope to receive.

Zhou went on to share his insights into happiness with attendees and briefed them on the city's efforts to provide convenient services for residents, improve education, boost digital economy, attract skilled workers and preserve the environment. 

Other cities honored with the title include Chengdu, Ningbo, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Changsha, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Tongchuan and Xuzhou.

Now in their 13th year, the Oriental Outlook's rankings have developed into one of China's most influential measurements of a city's overall development and quality of life. Nearly 1 billion people worldwide have submitted questionnaires over the past 13 years.