By the end of May, Harbin will have opened up all government data to the public, including in the key areas of living standards, the economy, education and technology.

"It will improve the administrative efficiency of the government and reduce government costs," said Zhi Dayong, vice-mayor of Harbin on March 14, at a meeting on government transparency.

The government data platform (http://data.harbin.gov.cn) was launched on Sept 27, 2016. So far, a total of 18 government departments have opened up their data to the public, including in the sectors of public safety, economic development and road traffic.

The most popular information requested by the public includes the locations of traffic cameras, licenses for property sales and admission scores for key senior high schools over the years.