Social media users express incredulity that the capital was ranked the country’s best city to live in while disaster-hit Tianjin was ranked the second best

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Chinese internet users have mocked a report claiming that Beijing is the country’s most liveable city even as they enjoy unusually blue skies in the lead-up to a major military parade.

China’s capital city ranked 69th out of the world’s 140 most liveable cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) semi-annual survey, released this week.

The city was ranked higher than any other Chinese city, just ahead of neighbouring Tianjin where a massive explosion last week has left a toxic aftermath in its port area.

“Best joke of the week,” said one user of Weibo, China’s Twitter.

“Did they get extra points for all the smog?” asked another wag.

The news came at the same time as new research, also published in the Economist, showed that breathing Beijing’s air is the equivalent of smoking almost 40 cigarettes a day.

Berkeley Earth’s scientific director, Richard Muller, told the magazine that air pollution causes 1.6 million deaths a year in China, or 17% of the total.

“How ironic is this?” another Weibo user asked in response to the survey. “Perhaps the news should have been published on 1 April.”

But Jon Copestake, editor of the EIU survey, said pollution was just one of more than 40 indicator scores that form the overall weighted score for cities.

According to Copestake, many Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai received a score within the 70-80 band which implies day–to–day living is generally fine, but that some aspects of life may entail problems.

“The category that pushes Beijing a bit higher than the others is education – which I think is a fair reflection of the higher quality institutions here,” said Tom Rafferty, Asia economist for the EIU, in Beijing.

“It also has, I would argue, more cultural options than most other Chinese cities, a wider range of consumer goods and services, better international transport links – all factors that go into the liveability rating,” he added.

Despite the online scorn, official data analysed by Greenpeace East Asia’s Beijing office indicates the city has actually been experiencing more blue skies this year than in the first half of 2014.

According to the data, Beijing’s average levels of dangerous particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, or PM2.5, has dropped 15.6%.

And in recent days Beijingers have been enjoying the kind of blue skies that only ever seem to accompany large-scale events in the capital.



A number of anti-smog measures are being introduced to the capital in the lead-up to a huge parade on 3 September commemorating the end of the second world war.

Twelve thousand troops are set to march through Tiananmen Square next month as part of the military parade and authorities are keen to have picture-perfect skies.

According to state media agency Xinhua, “polluting factories will be closed, jobs which raise dust at construction sites will be suspended, and trucks carrying construction materials will be kept off the roads”.

But some measures, such as car restrictions, are clearly already in place as air quality index levels drop to as low as 25.

Four out of five government vehicles will be taken off the road between now and the parade and private vehicles will be allowed on the roads only on alternate days, based on odd- and even-numbered license plates.

Almost all steel mills in Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin are to be shut down in the lead-up to the military parade, Xu Xiangchun, chief analyst at Mysteel Research told Bloomberg last month.

According to Xu, as much as 6 million tonnes may be cut, more than was lost last November when similar curbs were used for the Apec meeting of Asia Pacific leaders.

But despite the blue skies, many Beijing residents may choose to stay inside as much of the city goes into lockdown. Many businesses have already closed their shutters and major roads and subways are to be shut down for the parade rehearsals.

“It’s good everything’s shut,” another Weibo user said in a comment on the closures. “That way we can all snuggle up at home in our ‘Chinese Dream’!”

Additional reporting: Amber Ziye Wang.