The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, was ranked ninth among the top 10 most attractive cities in China favored by foreign talents.

The list was released by the Ministry of Science and Technology's State Bureau of Foreign Experts on Nov 8. The top three spots went to Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.

The coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, is listed among the top 10 most attractive cities in China favored by foreign talent. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Also on the list were Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Hefei, Nanjing, Chengdu and Suzhou.

According to authorities, Nobel Prize laureates, Chinese government friendship award winners and high-end foreign experts participated in the voting.

The questionnaires involved 23 indicators spanning five fields: policy environment, government affairs environment, working environment, living environment and science and innovation environment.

In recent years, Qingdao has been ramping up efforts to promote innovation-driven development and has launched a series of preferential policies to attract high-end foreign talents.

Qingdao has also launched measures to protect foreigners' legitimate rights and provide conveniences for their time living and working in the city.

Official statistics show that 5,056 foreigners are working in Qingdao with valid work permits, accounting for 52 percent of the province's total. Among them, 14 have been awarded the Chinese government's friendship award, while 45 have been awarded the Shandong provincial government's friendship award. 

Also, three Qingdao-based expats have received the International Science and Technological Cooperation Award, and 20 have been appointed as special experts by the Qingdao municipal government.