CRI听力:Chinese Leisure Environment City Ranking

What is a city like if it has good leisure environment? The people we met have this to say.

"First of all, the natural environment should be good, with green hills, clear water and good weather. Secondly, there must be good recreation facilities, such as cinemas and theaters."

"The rhythm of life is not very fast. And the weather conditions must be good."

"Relatively small city, fewer people, with less life pressure."

Doctor Lv Ning who participated in the evaluation says they used two indices, namely the natural environment and leisure facilities.

"First of all, the natural environment which we can experience directly, such as the air quality, the amount of sunshine and the green coverage rate. Secondly, the leisure facilities refer to the people's culture-related facilities. For example, we take into account such indices as the number of libraries, cinemas, parks, and public spaces."

Talking about why Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen are not among the Top 10, Lv Ning says she is not surprised.

"There are several reasons that these three super cities don't rank among the Top 10. Firstly, the statistics we use are data per capita. Yes, Beijing has lots of cinemas, theaters and libraries, but the number per capita is very small due to the large population. Secondly, these cities have relatively fewer public green areas. The last reason is the 'city diseases', including population expansion, traffic congestion, overstressed living style, and unbalanced development between the city's economics growth and its environmental health."

The researchers have also discovered that big cities dwellers are not in the mood to engage in leisure because they are exhausted and under great pressures, while in middle and small cities, people don't have enough facilities for leisure activities.

Doctor Lv says the ranking has positive effects.

"Cities are not only places to work, but the places to live as well. We work eight hours a day, and the rest of the time we need to relax and have leisure. We reflect on ourselves in our leisure times, therefore we can work better."

The researchers believe that people's happiness greatly depends on a city's leisure environment. But even the Champion city Sanya only gets 51 points, which indicates that Chinese cities still have a long way to go.

For CRI, I'm Wang Jing.