Shenzhen was again named one of China's civil cities at a national award ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday.

Shenzhen and nine other cities retained the title while 14 more were awarded the honor for the first time. They include neighboring Dongguan and Huizhou cities.

Shenzhen was selected one of the nine National Civil Cities for the first time in 2005 after a nationwide "civil construction" campaign was launched in the early 1980s. The award has been presented every three years since then.

Judges evaluated the local government's performance, rule of law, living conditions and environmental sustainability, among other criteria.

"It (the honor) is the pride of Shenzhen and its residents," Mayor Xu Zongheng said after returning from the award ceremony Tuesday. "It is the best New Year gift for Shenzhen people."

According to Xu, Shenzhen scored highly for the prevailing practice of young people giving seats to the elderly and children.

The award could be attributed to the strenuous efforts of the Shenzhen Municipal Government over the past few years, as well as the support and contribution of Shenzhen citizens, said Xu.