Anji county in East China's Zhejiang province [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Zhejiang province in East China passed the acceptance check as a national pilot ecological province by the Ministry of Ecological Environment, according to a news release from the Zhejiang Department of Ecological Environment May 6.

The province proposed to build itself into an ecological province in 2003, and won recognition for achieving this in 2019. Over the past 16 years, Zhejiang has remained dedicated to the aim and became the first province in China to be granted that title.

According to the assessment report, Zhejiang's practices in ecological management and protection were among the best in the world, and the province's scores in green development and balanced growth in urban and rural areas both ranked top in the country.

Over the past few years, the province has taken innovative measures to preserve and renovate the ecological environment, offering experience for other areas.

In 2008, Anji county in Huzhou city, Zhejiang province, pioneered the efforts to build "beautiful villages".

In 2019, Anji's regional GDP reached 47 billion yuan ($6.64 billion), five times that in 2005. The per capita net income for farmers in the county reached 33,488 yuan, higher than the provincial average.

The county's achievements are a reflection of Zhejiang's efforts in promoting green development. The assessment report showed the province's remarkable achievements both in its economic gains and ecological preservation.

Zhejiang's GDP increased from 800 billion yuan in 2002 to 5.62 trillion yuan in 2018, a seven-fold  increase.

During that period, the province's energy and water consumption for every 10,000 yuan of GDP decreased by 61.3 percent and 88.1 percent.

Among the 16 indicators for being an ecological province, Zhejiang's per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents, annual per capita net income for farmers and the proportion of ecological industry of all industries all surpassed the standard.