As one of＂China＇s Happiest Cities＂， according to a recent national forum， Qingdao in Shandong province has always pursued meeting people＇s yearning for a better life as its goal． It has also focused on the needs of urban development and aimed to enhance people＇s sense of gain， happiness and security．

The city has carried out a series of actions to improve people＇s livelihoods．

During the first three quarters of this year， Qingdao has introduced 202，000 talents and improved its medical insurance reform．

From January to October， the number of people participating in the city＇s insurance policy reached 9．15 million and the medical insurance fund expenditure reached 22．45 billion yuan （＄3．23 billion）， a year－on－year increase of 11．78 percent． Qingdao has invested 2．6 billion yuan to implement a one－time job expansion subsidy as well as an entrepreneurship subsidy for college graduates． It has also supported nearly 50，000 urban and rural public welfare jobs．

The city＇s education expenditure is 26．2 billion yuan， a year－on－year increase of 14．6 percent． A total of 40 new primary and secondary schools and kindergartens are expected to be built in the near future．

Qingdao has arranged 1．7 billion yuan to renovate 318 old communities， install 603 elevators， support 1，005 new public rental housing units and provide rental subsidies to more than 14，000 households to meet the needs of low－income families．

Data from the city＇s urban renewal and construction office show Qingdao has arranged a total of 1，280 construction projects this year with an annual investment of 158．39 billion yuan．

Through the end of November， 1，235 construction projects had been started， using an investment of 177．05 billion yuan． Of the projects， 547 have been completed．

Urban renewal is opening up a new space for high－quality development in Qingdao， helping the city undergo changes every day．

Since the beginning of this year， the construction of city infrastructure has been in full swing． It focuses on solving a number of travel congestion points and difficulties that are of high concern to citizens．

Three projects including the Haier Road－Yinchuan Road Interchange and the Nanjing Road Widening and Transformation realized the opening of the main line ahead of schedule， while the Qingdao Section of Weiqing Expressway was completed and open to traffic． The Metro Line 4 is also scheduled to open by the end of the year．

The transformation of old cities and villages is an important task in the three－year urban renewal and construction．

So far， 27 newly launched urban village renovation projects have been signed， 10 projects have been relocated and 318 old community renovation projects were started and completed in the same year． The number of renovated households ranks first in the province．

Qingdao is bringing a full sense of green concept to the masses． Since the beginning of this year， the construction of the park city has achieved good results．

A total of 47 of the city＇s 60 mountain parks have been completed and 64 of the 74 pocket parks have been completed．

The green coverage rate of the built－up area has surpassed 43 percent， and 349 unauthorized buildings have been demolished， covering an area of more than 3．1 million square meters． Some 300 residential buildings have reached the standards for the establishment of environmental order demonstration buildings and 17，000 new parking spaces have been added．

On Dec 21， Qingdao was listed as one of＂China＇s Happiest Cities＂ at the 2022 China Happy City Forum， co－hosted by Xinhua News Agency＇s Outlook Oriental Weekly and Outlook Think Tank．