The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province has been included on the list of "2021 Happiest Cities in China".

Qingdao has been included on the list of "2021 Happiest Cities in China". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The happiest cities selection was created by Oriental Outlook magazine and the Xinhua News Agency Liaowang Institute. They evaluated cities countrywide based on a variety of indexes that span employment, resident incomes, public safety, education, transportation and healthcare.

Chengdu, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Changsha, Wuhan, Nanjing, Guiyang, Xining, and Harbin also made the list.

Qingdao is an important central city in China's coastal areas, a coastal resort city, an international port city, and a national historical and cultural city. Red-tile roofs interwoven between green trees and surrounded by the blue sea and crystal clear sky is a scene often associated with Qingdao.

In recent years, the city has been beefing up efforts to promote high-quality development, speed up the construction of a modern international metropolis and strive to bring more happiness to the general public.

The Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge looks quite spectacular against the glowing sunset. [Photo/IC]

Jiaozhou, a county-level city in Qingdao, has been named one of China's happiest cities (county-level) in 2021 for the first time.

Jiaozhou has highlighted efforts to attract high-quality investments to promote the gathering of modern logistics, Internet Plus, high-end equipment manufacturing and aviation-related industries to foster new growth drivers. The city is also working to build an efficient service-oriented government.

In recent years, Jiaozhou has been seizing opportunities brought about by the China-SCO demonstration zone to further open up and boost regional high-quality development.