A press conference is held to announce the shortlist of Top 100 Deep Breath Small Cities in 2018. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Lianjiang, a county-level city of Zhanjiang, was listed among the candidates for Top 100 Deep Breath Small Cities in 2018 by the China Society of Territorial Economists.

Founded in 1981, the association gathers more than 100 prestigious experts, officials and business representatives to help the nation optimize allocation of territorial resources and advance socioeconomic undertakings.

For that purpose, selection for the Deep Breath Small Cities has been conducted annually since 2014. The award only looks at counties or county-level cities with exceptional levels of forestation or air quality. The industrial and functional zones in large or medium-sized cities can also be recognized if they have an outstanding ecological environment.

Specifically, the nominees are expected to have high rates of vegetation coverage, large proportion of days recorded at the excellent or fine air quality level, a strong concentration of negative oxygen ion in outdoor spaces, good levels of comfort in landscaping areas plus low incidences of smog.

Lianjiang is the only western Guangdong city on the shortlist of the Top 100 Deep Breath Small Cities. It has ranked high in the area across multiple forestal indicators including that of surface, coverage, volume and output value in recent years.

According to the China Society of Territorial Economists, the finalists of the award will be announced on May 19, which is also the China Tourism Day, after public opinion solicitation and further expert evaluation.

An aerial view of the greenways in Lianjiang. [Photo/lianjiang.gov.cn]