Mercer, a consulting, outsourcing and investment company based in the United Kingdom, last week named Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver and Auckland as the top five cities in the world for their quality of living.

According to its quality of living rankings of 221 cities worldwide, major Chinese cities did not even make the top 50 slots. Hong Kong ranked 71, Shanghai 98 with Beijing trailing at 114. Singapore topped the cities in Asia, as the 28th city in the world for its quality of living.

Interestingly, the Chinese media and netizens seem quite unperturbed by the survey results, which place Shanghai and Beijing in the middle of all the listed cities. Only one netizen raised some doubts about the survey in a blog, but without elaboration.

There are reasons for not taking the survey too seriously. For one, the company based its criteria on the quality of living of expatriates. So, despite claims of being "neutral and unbiased", these rankings are based on the quality of life in Western countries. The survey also lumped together cities of vastly different populations - ranging from tens of millions to just half a million.

There is no reason for us to be depressed by this survey. If we were to measure the rate by which cities improved the quality of life of its residents, Beijing and Shanghai would advance in the rankings. In 1978, the average urban resident spent only 311 yuan ($46) a year on consumer items, but in 2008, that figure rose to an annual 11,243 yuan ($1,653). Between 1985 and 2008, per capita housing space in urban centers increased from 8.6 sq m to 23 sq m.

However, despite the dramatic progress made in recent decades, city administrators in Beijing and Shanghai should pay some attention to Mercer's survey, as it points to a direction in which the two leading Chinese cities can further improve the quality of life of their residents.

After all, both municipal governments have vowed to make their cities among the best and most influential in the world.

Mercer's quality of living factors cover a broad range: from political, social, economic, cultural and natural environments to public services, healthcare, housing, education, recreation and consumption. Judged by all these factors, both Beijing and Shanghai have a long way to go.

Especially Beijing. For one, air pollution is a major factor that affects the quality of life of the capital's residents. This spring's sandstorms severely affected the overall air quality in Beijing for the first five months of this year. As a result, between Jan 1 and May 31, there were only 114 days that were rated as good or fair in terms of air quality. That is 7 days less of good air than the same period last year, so Beijing faces a tough battle in fighting pollution and achieving its goal of improving its environment.

Despite the fact that car exhaust is a major contributor to CO2 emissions in Beijing, the city has not instituted effective policies to reduce emissions from motor vehicles. On the contrary, since the global financial crunch two years ago, Beijing has done all it can to boost its auto industry. As a result of all the favorable local policies, the number of automobiles in Beijing rose to 4.02 million by the end of last year from 3.18 million the previous year, an increase of 26 percent. Since 36 out of 100 families now own a car, Beijing is closing in on the middle-level of the world cities in private car ownership, according to the Beijing Bureau of Statistics.

The result is that the traffic is worse, and the air is dirtier when wind does not blow regularly from the north or northwest to drive out the pollution.

Naturally, we cannot ignore Beijing's efforts to improve its public transportation. Since January, construction has begun on several new subway lines. According to the city's projection, Beijing will have some 30 subway lines extending some 1,000 km in the next 10 years.

There is a Chinese saying which states that a ten-thousand mile journey begins with one small step.

Beijing, as well as Shanghai, has made impressive strides in improving the quality of life of their residents over the past 30 years. The direction they are taking toward a more environmentally friendly city is sound. We only hope that there will be no detours.

E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/04/2010 page8)