The city of Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province was awarded the title of National Civilized City in 2020 recently, according to local media.

In China, a national civilized city refers to a city with a relatively high level of urban infrastructure, whose residents enjoy a high quality of life.

The title of National Civilized City is the highest honor granted by the Office of the National Steering Committee for Ethical and Cultural Progress, which reflects the overall level of civilization in cities in mainland China.

The environment and ecology of Lishui improved dramatically during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), according to local officials.

They said that last year, public satisfaction about Lishui's environment scored highly again – ranking it top in the province for 12 consecutive years.