A symposium is held on developing and protecting natural resources and eco-friendly products is held in Lishui. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

A major conference on natural resources and eco-friendly products – and strategies on how to develop them – was held recently in Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province.

The National Development and Reform Commission held the symposium, on establishing national pilot demonstration sites to achieve the target, in Lishui on May 25-26.

More than 200 participants from various departments in cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt gathered in Lishui to pool their knowledge and share their experiences.

Lishui has a forest coverage rate of 81.7 percent. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

At the opening forum, officials from Lishui gave a briefing on how their city had approached the matter.

In January 2019, Lishui became the first eco-friendly resources value realization mechanism pilot city in China. After years of efforts, it has reportedly made significant progress in stages and the process has become a main driver for Lishui's overall reform and innovation.

Lishui has abundant natural resources, with a forest coverage rate of 81.7 percent, making it the first so-called natural oxygen bar city in China. The country is currently seeing a surge of tourism in people wanting to holiday in pristine natural environments – in places with thick forests, plenty of fresh air and other natural, healthy and restorative elements.

Lishui's environment and ecological index has ranked first in the province for 17 consecutive years.

The city's open sharing of its approach and experiences won rounds of applause at the forum. Participants said that Lishui had set out a new and fresh way of implementing China's Two Mountains theory, which states that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.