People in Shanghai, China's economic powerhouse, have the highest levels of stress, followed by the capital Beijing and southern China's Shenzhen, according to a survey by China's leading travel website Qunar.com.

The average stress level in China is 78.1 on a 0-100 index, the Southern Daily reported.

Qunar based its findings on data from WeChat, a popular mobile messaging app by Tencent Holdings.

People in China's first-tier cities face the most stress, usually as high as 82 points, with Shanghai topping the rankings with 84 points.

The survey also found that 76.4 percent of respondents prefer to travel if they are given a full seven days off work.

Traveling has become the most important way to let off pressure, leading to many tourism products aimed at stress relief.

Students, teachers and those working in Internet startups, or the financial and medical industries, have the highest stress levels. In comparison, civil servants face relatively less pressure.