Liyang, Changzhou was recently awarded the title of Natural Oxygen Bar of China in Beijing on July 18.

The Natural Oxygen Bar of China evaluation is organized by the China Meteorological Service Association and declared voluntarily by regions every year. Qualified areas are recognized and given awards according to a comprehensive evaluation of their regional tourism and ecological environment, including climate, air quality, atmospheric anion level, ecological and tourism development planning and tourism facilities.

Unlike positive ions which lack an electron, negative ions are ion molecules of oxygen in the air with an extra electron. Negative ions are typically found in higher concentrations around mountains, meadows, waterfalls, beaches, and forests. Urban areas such as office buildings have much lower levels of negative ions.

Liyang boasts excellent ecological environment for holiday and tourism activities throughout the year. The area’s content of negative ions in the air is 3,299/cm? on average annually and the AQI (Air Quality Index) was 83 on average in 2018. Its total coverage of forest, cultivated land and water area reached 89.18%, with high selenium levels in soil and low pH levels in water. Having 20.6 centenarians per 100,000 people, Liyang is also known as a “longevity town.�