Chinese cities have scooped the World Habitat Day Awards, which were presented in Nairobi on Monday.

The eastern city of Nanjing has been awarded this year's Habitat Scroll of Honor. For the first time, the top award goes not an outstanding individual, but to a city. The cities of Shaoxing and Zhangjiagang each won a Scroll of Honor.

As the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nanjing is one of the country's ancient cities. It was the capital of six dynasties.

But the city paid a high price in its fast development in recent decades. The Qinhuai River, which runs through the town center, was totally polluted.