KUNMING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in southwest China held a ceremony on Wednesday to officially bestow the tile "hometown of long life" on a county whose population has above-average life expectancy.

Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County became the first-ever county in Yunnan Province to receive the honor, with a certificate issued by the China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (CAGG) on the day.

The county, which borders Vietnam, has a population of 378,000, with 87.6 percent belonging to ethnic minority groups. According to official figures, the population also has a tendency toward longevity.

In late 2018, the average life expectancy in Jinping was 79.31 years old, which was 2.31 years above the national average. The county currently has 52 centenarians, accounting for 13.21 in every 100,000 people. Of those aged 60 and above, 18.98 percent are aged 80 and above.

In December 2019, Jinping passed the evaluations of the CAGG and became the 82nd "hometown of long life" in China.

Among several factors thought to contribute to the phenomenon is Jinping's healthy natural environment. Forests cover 61 percent of the county's land, and it has a national nature reserve of 42,000 hectares.

"We hope that Jinping will enhance the research of longevity and long-life culture, and develop related industries to bolster comprehensive development in the county," said CAGG head Liu Weilin.

Also on Wednesday, Jinping signed six projects with seven companies, with a contracted investment of 1.2 billion yuan (180.4 million U.S. dollars).