Lucid waters and lush mountains in Tonglu, a county in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province [Photo provided to ehangzhou.gov.cn]

Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang province, has fully understood that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and has led its people in building an ecologically aware society.

In the past 15 years, the city has pursued green development and achieved many fruitful results.

Uphold the principle of prioritizing environmental protection

Following the philosophy that nature should be respected, adapted to and protected, Hangzhou has kept 33.2 percent of its land, an area of 5,594.63 square kilometers, under strict protection.

The city has also worked hard on afforestation, becoming the leader in domestic capitals and subprovincial cities with a forest coverage rate of 66.84 percent.

Resources and the environment at national natural reserves such as Qingliang Peak and Tianmu Mountain, as well as forest parks such as Banshan Mountain and Xishan Mountain are now well protected.

Since 2011, West Lake, the Grand Canal (Hangzhou sector), and the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City have been included on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Focusing on the idea of letting nature restore itself, Hangzhou has relocated or shut down over 600 polluting enterprises, four mines and 199 aggregate handling docks. The city has also restored 3,780 hectares of forests and 70 km of coastline, and built 352 km of ecological landscape corridors.

Highlight the construction of urban "green lungs"

Wetlands are considered the "green lungs" of the planet and Hangzhou has set up four new wetland parks since 2003, covering 3,304 hectares. The city now boasts a water system consisting of three rivers, seven lakes and one stream.

Improve the environment in a continuous way

In the first half of 2020, Hangzhou had 172 days of excellent air quality, 32 days more than the same period in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent. The average density of PM2.5 particulate matter was 30.3 micrograms per cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 28.5 percent.

The Liangzhu City Ruins Park is located in Hangzhou's Yuhang district. [Photo/VCG]