Following a forum held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou this Monday, 10 cities at or above the prefectural level have been listed as the happiest cities in China of 2019. This year is Xi’an’s 8 appearance on the chart. But what makes people in Xi’an so happy?
本周一，“2019年中国最具幸福感城市”在广州发布，西安再次入选“十大2019中国最具幸福感城市”，这是它连续第八年获此殊荣。
The top 10 cities rated as the happiest alongside Xi’an are Ningbo, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Changsha, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Tongchuan, Xuzhou, with Hangzhou being announced as the happiest city in China.
“2019中国具幸福感城市”分别是成都、杭州、宁波、西安、广州、长沙、温州、台州、铜川、徐州。
These cities were selected by Oriental Outlook magazine and think tank Liaowang Institute, both run by Xinhua News Agency. The annual selection of the happiest cities in China was first held in 2007 and has now been run 13 times.
“中国最具幸福感城市”调查推选活动由新华社《瞭望东方周刊》与瞭望智库共同主办，一年一度的评选活动于2007年首次举行，迄今已连续成功举办13年。
Xi’an has previously been included 7 times in the top 10, so it comes of no surprise that the city is up there yet again. This is extremely positive for Xi’an as it will attract more people to the city because who wouldn’t want to visit or live in one of the happiest city in China?
西安曾七次进入前十，今年再次入选也就不足为奇了。对西安来说，这将吸引更多的人士，因为，谁不想在中国最幸福的城市之一待着呢?
The key criteria assessed to determine happiness included education, employment, resident’s income, social welfare, healthcare, public safety, living conditions, and environment that concerns people’s happiness.
衡量幸福城市的主要考察标准包括教育、就业、居民收入、社会福利、医疗、公共安全、生活条件和环境。
What makes Xi’an so Happy? 为什么西安如此幸福？
At first thought of the happiest places to live in China, Xi’an wouldn’t typically come to the top of everyone’s mind. Due to the extremely high levels of pollution the city experiences, the cold and wet weather in the winter, also the city being less developed than many other cities in China.
试想中国最幸福的城市，西安往往不是首选答案。这个城市常有污染，气候也不太好。相较于更多发达城市，西安仿佛没有什么特别的优势。
Whether you’ve been to Xi’an or not you will know that the city is teeming with history, as there are many historic sites throughout and around the city, making it an extremely interesting place to visit, especially for history enthusiasts.
无论是否去过西安，你都应该知道这个城市充满了历史底蕴，西安各地都有很多历史遗迹，这使它成为一个非常有趣的地方，尤其是历史爱好者而言。
Over the years there have been state-led efforts to renovate Xi’an into an international city, portraying the larger trend within China of growing cities into thriving metropolis.
近年来，西安也逐渐发展成为更国际化的繁荣都市。
Shaanxi provincial government and additional government agencies have contributed to Xi’an’s recent population and economic growth over the years since 2000.
自2000年以来，陕西省政府和当地机构都纷纷为近年来的西安市都人口和经济增长做出贡献。
These strategies to improve Xi’an have evidently succeeded as the city got into the top 10 for the happiest cities in China and has seen many enhancements in recent years.
这些改善策略显然取得了成功，这座城市进入了中国最幸福城市的前十名，并不断扩大城市自身影响力。
As Xi’an is located in the central area of the country, it has become a highway hub and railway, making it extremely convenient for residents of Xi’an to travel around the country with ease.
西安位于中部地区，地理区位无论对本地居民外出游行，还是外地旅客来西安都十分便捷。
Many residents in Xi’an have a strong sense of pride about their city as they are happy to show of the city’s heritage. After all the city is home to some of the countries most popular historical attractions, including the Drum Tower, Bell Tower and of course, the Terracotta Warriors.
西安人民对这座城市也有强烈的自豪感，十分乐意展示城市的风采。最受欢迎的历史景点的所在地都在西安，比如鼓楼、钟楼，还有举世闻名的兵马俑。
Many argue that the method used to analyse the city’s does not provide an accurate representation of happiness, as all these factors may not necessarily indicate that people are happy. It seems to be rating the cities facilities rather than rating the happiness. There could be amazing education facilities, low unemployment, high living conditions and the top healthcare in a city, yet the people could still be unhappy there. Correlating happiness with the standard of services is not an effective or reliable measurement of people’s feelings within a city.
当然，也有不少人认为这种数据方法并不能准确评估幸福程度。这似乎是在评估城市设施而不是幸福指数。一个城市可能有令人惊叹的教育设施、低失业率、高生活条件和顶级医疗保健，但在那儿的人们可能仍然不快乐。将幸福与基础设施和服务标准联系起来，也许并不是衡量城市中人们感受的最有效方法。
What do you think of Xi’an? 你怎么看西安？
Do you think that happiness can be rated through these criteria? 认同这种评判方式吗？
Let us know in the comments below!欢迎留言告诉我们
