Dalian, a city on China's Northeast Coast, recently hosted a meeting of the World Economic Forum. Time correspondent Simon Elegant covered the event, but seemed more impressed by the city than by the political and intellectual yakking which occurred during the forum.

Elegant (is that a pen name/? It's got to be.) praises Dalian:

Living in China, I am not supposed to react with impressed surprise when I discover a sparkling, well-ordered modern metropolis full of parks, wide avenues and happy citizens going about their lives under blue skies and benign summer sun.

Granted, the city was surely primed and polished preceding the forum. Still, this isn't the first time I've heard Dalian praised. In China, and around Asia as well, the city's soccer team is well known. This has given the city some positive press around the Asian region.

Wikitravel recently featured the city on its homepage, and the municipal authorities have done a good job promoting their city on regional and, to a lesser extent, international stages.

As Chinese cities become more crowded and polluted, Dalian will stand out more and more.