On April 16, the China Youth Daily reported the results of the latest study undertaken by Ipsos China. Some 80 percent of urban residents are satisfied with their lives and nearly half (46 percent) of urban residents believe that their standard of living has improved markedly in the last six months.

The seven cities included in the study were Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qingdao and Qinhuangdao, with 2248 residents aged between 15 and 60 years old randomly selected to participate.

According to the study, residents of the three coastal cities (Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Shanghai) are the happiest, with more than 85 percent of people reporting that they are content. Residents of Shanghai were more satisfied with their lives than those in Beijing (77.7 percent) and Guangzhou (75.8 percent).

Seventy percent of the study's participants said they were confident that their life will improve further during the next six months. However, the low income of some people is worrying. Approximately 30 percent of families whose income is below 1500 yuan are unhappy with their situation in life. They also lack confidence in the future; only 42 percent have an optimistic outlook on life.

By Peopl's Daily Online