(Yicai Global) Aug. 15 -- Suzhou, Beijing and Tianjin are the three most livable cities in the Chinese mainland, according to a global list compiled by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.

A total of eight mainland cities made the 2018 list, which was published yesterday by the unit of The Economist newspaper. The EIU's global livable city index comprises 140 municipalities, with indicators including stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure.

Suzhou, a city famed for its classical Chinese gardens that lies to the west of Shanghai in Jiangsu province, was placed 74 on the list. It was joined by the Chinese capital Beijing (75), Tianjin (77), Shanghai (81), Shenzhen (82), Dalian (90), Guangzhou (95) and Qingdao (97).

Vienna bounced Melbourne from the top global spot it had occupied for seven years. According to the EIU's Global Liveability Index 2018, the top 10 habitable cities worldwide are:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Osaka, Japan
4. Calgary, Canada 
5. Sydney, Australia
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Adelaide, Australia

The old Hapsburg city of Vienna was given the burst it needed to breeze past Melbourne thanks to the ebbing risk of terrorist attacks against Western Europe combined with the Austrian capital's low crime rate. It also became the first European city to top the ranking, the EIU said in its report.

European cities generally perform well, the EIU noted. Manchester in the UK ranked in 35th place, while London came in at 48. Among US cities, Honolulu showed the best leg to rank 23rd.

In Asia, the Japanese city of Osaka clinched the highest position by taking third place, followed by Tokyo in a dead heat with Toronto for seventh. The third Asian city is Hong Kong (35), followed by Singapore (37) and Seoul (59).

This also marks the best performance of Osaka and Tokyo in the EIU's ranking over decades. The crime rate and public transportation there are continuing to improve, the EIU's analysis shows, with their overall scores both topping 95 percent.

Editor: Ben Armour