The annual survey Amazing China -- the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Expats 2018 unveiled its results at the Shenzhen forum of the Conference on International Exchange of Professionals on April 14 in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province.

Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, announced the results.

Shanghai, China's financial hub, prevailed as expats' favorite city to work and live in for the seventh year in a row, followed by Beijing, Hefei, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Xi'an and Wuhan.

The campaign also looked at cities with the most potential to attract expats, naming Xiamen, Nanjing, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Xuzhou, Haikou, Kunming, Jinan, Dalian and Chengdu.

In recent years, China has implemented a work permit system for foreigners to come to China and a visa system for expats. This has promoted the government affairs, policies, work and living environment of Chinese cities, allowing more expats to live and work better in China.

The survey has been conducted for nine years, starting in 2010. The Amazing China 2018 poll took place from November to December. Results were analyzed from 239 signed votes from top expert panels, 2,815 votes from foreign experts, and 94,849 votes from internet users.

This year, the top expert panels saw the most participation ever of Nobel Prize winners, with four on the team They were Arieh Warshel, the 2013 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry; Edvard I. Moser, the 2014 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine; Konstantin Novoselov, the 2010 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine; and Michael Young, the 2017 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine. These four were also joined by Les Valiant, the 2010 Turing Prize winner.

The survey was conducted by the International Talents magazine. The organizer and Dataway provided data analysis of the survey. China Daily constructed the official website for the survey and reported on the entire process.

The survey has drawn strong support across the country from management departments for foreign experts.