Online retailer Amazon China has named Zhengzhou in Henan Province as the most romantic Chinese city of 2015 after the U.S. subsidiary unveiled its annual list of most romantic cities on Thursday, Feb. 4, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Amazon list of the top romantic cities and books was released ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day.
According to Amazon, Zhengzhou led the country in the number of books purchased on the topics of love, marriage and romance last year. The cities of Erdos and Baotou, both in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, ranked second and third, respectively.
Based on Amazon's top 10 list, northern Chinese cities outnumbered southern for the first time.
"The result does not necessarily mean that northern Chinese are more romantic than their southern counterparts. The ranking reflects many factors, not just the atmosphere of a city," said Shi Jianjun, vice president of Amazon China.
The report said that China's four first-tier cities--Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen--were not included in the top 40.
Amazon said that the list seemed to show that residents in smaller cities are under less pressure and have more leisure time to enjoy romantic literature.
A report by gbtimes.com said that "The Storied Life of AJ Fikry" by American author Gabrielle Zevin was the most popular novel among Chinese readers in the genres of love, marriage and relationships.
Zhengzhou City is the capital of Henan Province, located in Central China. The city is famous for the Shaolin Temple, the cradle of the Chinese martial arts, which provided inspiration for kung fu movies. The place is a vital transportation hub especially for railways as many important railway trunks pass the city such as the Longhai Railway (Lanzhou to Lianyungang) and Jingguang Railway (Beijing to Guangzhou).
The city is also a national historical and cultural city. The ancient city was the capital of Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.) 3,500 years ago where porcelain and the Chinese technique of bronze smelting were developed.