An aerial view of the Taihu Lake scenic area in Huzhou, Zhejiang province. CHINA DAILY

As greener lifestyles continue to trend, East China province strives to transform itself into ecological civilization

Zhejiang province in East China will firmly implement the Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization laid out by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, fulfilling its mission to build Zhejiang into a pilot demonstration area of the idea, Yuan Jiajun, secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Zhejiang is the place where the Thought originated and where the "lucid water and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept was first implemented.

During his inspection trip to Zhejiang in spring last year, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, explicitly urged the provincial government to develop the province into a pilot demonstration area of ecological civilization.

Over the past few years, the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and the provincial government have both striven to fulfill the Double-Eight Strategy-a provincial development plan proposed by Xi in 2003 when he was Party secretary of Zhejiang, in which he listed the province's eight advantages and eight areas of development in light of these advantages-fully implement the "lucid water" concept and collaboratively push high-quality development and environmental protection in the province in an effort to improve residents' livelihood through highly efficient governance and management.

In the process of building Zhejiang into a livable and picturesque place with a superb natural environment, a modern-day Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains painting is being created, and a successful path of ecological and environmental protection with Zhejiang characteristics has been tapped.

In 2018, Zhejiang's Green Rural Revival Program won the Champions of the Earth Award, the United Nation's highest environmental honor.

China has also recognized Zhejiang as its first national ecology province, and the public's satisfaction toward the ecology and environment in the province has been growing for nine consecutive years, according to provincial government data.

Fighting pollution

Zhejiang has pushed ahead with precise, scientific measures to improve its environment and reduce pollution. It launched special campaigns to clear skies, reducing industrial waste and odors caused by industrial furnaces in key areas, Yuan said.

Further, it has spared no effort in establishing clean-air demonstration areas, weeding out outdated diesel cargo trucks and reducing the average concentration of PM2.5 particles and ozone.

Through the promotion of river chief, lake chief and beach chief systems, Zhejiang has worked to make each river and lake green, clean and beautiful, seeking to eliminate odorous water bodies and improving the ecology of coastal areas and industrial parks.

Last year, the average concentration of PM2.5 particles in all Zhejiang's cities stood at 25 micrograms per cubic meter, dropping 19.4 percent year-on-year, with 94.6 percent of the province's water quality above Level III.

The quality of all source areas for drinking-water in Zhejiang above county level meet national standards. Meanwhile, the areas with Level I and II seawater near the coast have expanded by 11.4 percentage points, with that below Level IV decreasing by 13.8 percentage points.