Rugao, a city renowned for the longevity of its residents, has 255 centenarians. Located in east China’s Jiangsu province, it has a population of 1.45 million and has more than 4,000 people over 90 years old and 40,000 over 80. Rugao’s average life expectancy is 75.59, which is 4.59 and 9.59 years higher than the China and world averages, respectively. China has six so-called longevity cities, but Rugao is the only one in a low-lying and economically-developed region. The favorable environment may contribute to the residents living longer. China.org.cn reports more centenarians are likely to be seen as life expectancy is expected to keep rising. A report by the World Health Organization said that by 2009, the average life expectancy in China was 73.05 years, up from 71.4 years in 2000 and 72 in 2006.