Helping people live a happy life is "our mission", Party chief Xi Jinping has said. His remark has raised hopes of the hundreds of millions of people who are pursuing a happy life. But how does one define happy life? Some readers of China Daily's mobile phone news define it as follows:

As someone in her 40s who has a three-generation family to support, I think a happy life is one that is free of worries about whether environmental pollution will harm my family's food and health, because I cannot afford to pay high medical fees for my parents. I should not have to rack my brain about my child's education. I hope to get more holidays so that I can spend more time with my family. I also want to see fewer traffic jams to save time. And I hope there is more trust among people. Most importantly, officials should serve the people sincerely and the social system should guarantee equality to all regardless of family background so that everyone can strive through hard work to live a happy life.

BEIJINGHELEN, Beijing

One can live a happy life if commodity prices are reduced but the quality of goods, especially food, is guaranteed. And I wish I could breathe clean, fresh air every morning and enjoy sunshine on the balcony in the afternoon.

XIAONIAO, Chaozhou, Guangdong province

A happy life means having to do a job best-suited to oneself, having a happy family and secure life, every child having equal access to quality education, not worrying about high medical bills and getting more paid holidays to spend time and travel with family. More importantly, a beautiful environment, safe food and drinking water are the basic foundations of a happy life.

A READER, Shiyan, Hubei province

It is my dream to live in a world without hidden dangers, a world in which I could escape from fears of substandard and contaminated food and fake goods. I long to see a world of smooth-moving traffic. I want to live in world where I don't have to fear being blackmailed for extending a helping hand and targeted for exposing corrupt officials. Hopefully, I could drink clean water without further purifying it, walk on streets without wearing a medicated mask and speak aloud my wishes. For me, all these comprise a genuine happy life.

TAOTAO, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region

As a rural Chinese, a happy life for me is the narrowing of urban-rural income and development gap and creation of more opportunities in the countryside so that people are not forced to go to work in cities. And since I am a fresh college graduate, a good job is essential to a happy life.

WULEI, Nanjing, Jiangsu province

Happiness means students from poor families finishing their diploma with peace of mind, "second-tier" universities recruiting good professors and scholars, people eating food without fear of contamination, enjoying clean air and sunshine every day, and every college graduate getting a job without being considered inexperienced.

A READER, Langfang, Hebei province

(China Daily 03/04/2013 page10)