Shanglin county of Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was granted the title of "World Longevity Area" by the International Expert Committee on Population Aging and Longevity (IECPAL) on May 20.

To date, the county is home to 12,900 seniors older than 80. Eighty-two of them are centenarians, 16.53 per 100,000 people, which is far higher than the international standard for "World Longevity Area," -- seven centenarians for every 100,000 people.

Lan Zonggeng, head of Shanglin county, makes a presentation in front of representatives of the International Expert Committee on Population Aging and Longevity. [Photo/gx.people.cn]

According to Liang Pingjiang, Party secretary of Shanglin, the county's supreme ecological environment is one of the major reasons of its high life expectancy. Local forest coverage is up to 52.3 percent, and there are more than 20,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic centimeter of air.

With the honor as a starting point, Shanglin county will accelerate the construction of transportation infrastructure and starred hotels, bolstering itself into a world-renowned travel destination for health-oriented tourism, said Lan Zonggeng, head of the county.

Lan Zonggeng, head of Shanglin county, is presented the certificate of "World Longevity Area." [Photo/gx.people.cn]

Lan Zonggeng, head of Shanglin county, displays the certificates of "World Longevity Area". [Photo/gx.people.cn]